A three-building residential development in Guelph, Ont. has achieved BuiltGreen Gold certification, after successfully completing the program’s audit process in June, the first high density project to do so in Ontario.
BuiltGreen is an environmental and energy efficiency rating program popular in Western Canada that is starting to gain recognition in Central and Eastern Canada. Over 34,000 residential units, from single family to multi-unit, have been certified by BuiltGreen Canada over the years, making it perhaps the single most popular program among builders west of Ontario.
The Parkwood Place project was developed by Highstreet Ventures of Kelowna, B.C., a company that focuses on advanced residential building techniques and sustainable processes. The construction was contracted to Maple Reinders, headquartered in Mississauga, Ont. Maple Reinders is one the first companies in the province to become a certified BuiltGreen builder.
In addition to the high energy efficiency offered by the building envelope that includes triple pane windows, the development features solar panel power generation that also feeds EV-ready parking stalls, plus a community garden.
BuiltGreen has gained traction in the West not by setting standards but by working within existing codes and by integrating with NR Canada’s EnerGuide system. In fact, to be BuiltGreen certified, a building must also have an EnerGuide rating and label. In addition to significant support from the home construction industry itself, all single family new homes certified through BuiltGreen Canada are automatically eligible for a partial mortgage loan insurance premium refund of 15 per cent through CMHC, Genworth, and other providers.
Jenifer Christensen, CEO of BuiltGreen Canada, is excited that the Edmonton-based organization has begun reaching out across the rest of the country.
“We know our programs are unique and believe we can fill a gap in this important market,” she said.
Casey Edge, CEO of the Victoria Residential Builders Association (VRBA), is an avid supporter of BuiltGreen’s approach.
“I am always cautious about programs created by those without skin in the game,” Edge said. “Some programs focus solely on energy efficiency while Built Green also promotes water conservation, recycling etc. BuiltGreen has an education component and an emphasis on proven practice, which are critical to any credible program. Simply put, BuiltGreen is preferred because it works in the real world of home building for both contractors and consumers.”
BuiltGreen goes beyond mere energy efficiency. Its seven-section building checklist addresses growing public awareness of ecological conservation and carbon reduction: materials and methods; indoor air quality; ventilation; waste management; water conservation and business practices.
“These are represented in a checklist, which guides builders on how to build more sustainably and is used to calculate points towards certification in the program,” BuiltGreen says. “There are four levels of achievement: Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum. Each level is based on compliance requirements including energy performance and overall points earned in the other sections of the checklist — with each level of certification, compliance requirements are higher.”
In this way, BuiltGreen resembles LEED, a program that has embraced in residential apartment and commercial construction, but has received limited acceptance in smaller residential projects.
The certification of Parkwood Place marks BuiltGreen’s continued growth and acceptance into higher density projects, a trajectory that has increased over recent years. In the first quarter of 2019 alone, BuiltGreen certified five high density residential projects.
Recent Comments
comments for this post are closed