Ottawa, February 8, 2007 — The Government of Canada is missing a significant opportunity to take decisive action on climate change and make immediate reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.

“The Canada Green Building Council calls on Minister Baird and Minister Lunn to recognize the crucial role buildings can play in reducing greenhouse gas emissions,” says Thomas Mueller, president of the Canada Green Building Council (CaGBC). Up to 40 per cent of GHG emissions in Canada come from the operation of buildings—the places where we live and work.

Leading Canadian building owners, developers and design professionals know how to deliver large scale and permanent reductions in GHG emissions. Over the past five years, these professionals have designed, constructed and operated hundreds of green, energy-efficient buildings across Canada with the support of Natural Resources Canada’s Commercial Building Incentive Program (CBIP).

Recently-announced federal initiatives give no meaningful support to the building industry and cancel the CBIP funding that has helped improve energy performance of buildings since 1998. “The government should build on the demonstrated success of CBIP rather than canceling it, and not putting anything new in its place,” adds Mueller. “We urge the government to entrench a stronger federal role in green building development and support the momentum of the Canadian building industry.”

A growing number of institutional and private sector property owners and developers are committing to building green. To date, more than 500,000 m2 of floor space in Canada has been recognized through the Leadership in Energy and Environmental and Design (LEED®) rating system. On average, LEED® certified buildings are 44% more energy efficient than their conventional counterparts. Today, more than 5 million m2 of new and existing construction projects are registered for LEED® certification. While the largest part of the funding for the improved design of these buildings comes from industry, continued federal support is essential.

“Broad-based, industry-led solutions are working—we are affecting real change,” he says. Incentives that facilitate the adoption of better practices mean that federal tax dollars are invested where they maximize the benefits to the environment, the communities and the economy for all Canadians.

CaGBC is the leading national industry organization advancing green building practices for livable communities. The CaGBC represents 1,600 member organizations (more than 500,000 professionals) involved in the building industry.

Contact
Nancy Grenier, CaGBC
Phone: 604-908-6242
ngrenier@cagbc.org
www.cagbc.org