Lead what’s next: Industry momentum at Building Lasting Change 2026
Decarbonization, investment strategies, and real-world solutions take centre stage in Montréal
CAGBC Staff on June 22, 2026
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Montréal, QC – June 22, 2026 – Canada’s green building sector gathered in Montréal for Building Lasting Change™ (BLC) — CAGBC’s annual conference.
From June 17 to June 19, speakers and participants examined the drivers reshaping the market — from evolving regulations and investor expectations to new financing models and the urgent need to decarbonize existing buildings at scale. The message was clear: green building is a current market imperative — and those ready to lead what’s next are best positioned to benefit from the opportunities green building represents.
“Building Lasting Change 2026 reflects a critical shift in our industry. Climate action is no longer a standalone priority — it’s central to competitiveness, innovation, and economic growth. Real estate investors and owners increasingly see green building as a core risk mitigation strategy and a driver of stronger asset performance,” said Thomas Mueller, CAGBC’s President and CEO. “Today, focus is moving from aspiration to results. Green building must deliver measurable value for investors, owners, and developers, and that’s exactly the kind of practical, outcomes-driven leadership this conference is advancing.”
Conference Highlights
With dedicated business and technical streams, BLC equips attendees with the insights needed to navigate complexity, unlock asset value, and future proof portfolios. The event is anchored by high-impact plenaries, including:
- Opening keynote: CAGBC’s Thomas Mueller, and a panel including Graeme Hussey, Nesting Ground, Derek Newby, Perkins & Will and Nick Gefucia, EllisDon, explored how low-carbon, high-performance buildings are emerging as critical infrastructure for competitiveness, resilience, and capital attraction.
- Day 2 plenary: Keynote speaker Peter Howard from Zfolio spoke on how climate and transition risk could unlock a massive opportunity for Canada’s green building sector, and joined a panel discussion with Kathleen Beaumont, Investment Management Corporation of Ontario (IMCO), Ali Hoss, Colliers, and Fanny Doucet, Scotiabank.
- Closing plenary: Panelists Julian Smith from JLL, Mike Williams from RWDI and Climate First, Della Nice from Fengate, Jeff Kopas from Sovereign General insurance Company, and Vanessa Simard-Mckinnon, National Bank examined how Canada can bridge the gap between designing for climate resilience and the financial realities of insurance, lending, and property valuation.
The event also reinforced BLC’s role as a national platform for highlighting the issues, successes and priorities of Canada’s green building sector, with numerous announcements from CAGBC and other industry leaders:
Zero Carbon Building – Practitioner Micro Credential
Building on the success of its Zero Carbon Building – Essentials program, CAGBC announced a new ZCB micro-credential. Created with RDH and Introba, Zero Carbon Building – Practitioner (ZCB-Practitioner) moves beyond the foundational to deepen participants’ knowledge and address evolving market needs, including transition planning, deep carbon retrofits, and more. The program targets engineers, architects, sustainability/energy consultants, building operators/owners, and project managers, and features four on-demand courses and a workshop.
CAGBC is grateful for funding from Natural Resources Canada’s Deep Retrofit Accelerator Initiative in the development of ZCB-Practitioner courses related to transition planning and retrofits.
CAGBC celebrates Canada’s green building leaders
A highlight of the conference, the CAGBC Awards recognize the individuals and projects driving meaningful progress in Canada’s green building sector, highlighting the collaboration, innovation, and practical implementation shaping a low-carbon future for Canada’s built environment.
Evolution of the Zero Carbon Building – Performance Standard
CAGBC also shared its vision for the next evolution in its ZCB-Performance Standard. These changes, coming in the fall of 2026, will enable building owners to verify asset performance, require them to define their transition plan, and get rewarded for decarbonization actions over time. This reimagining of the performance aspect of the ZCB-Standards will help Canada scale a pipeline of deep retrofits built on the principals of the ZCB Program and the Carbon Transition Planning Guide.
Rethinking Value: The Business Impact of Green Buildings
CAGBC shared a new report seeking to better understand why owners pursue building certification and what value certified buildings generate. Along with PriceWaterhouseCooper (PwC), 22 financial and building case studies across four asset classes — residential, institutional, logistics, and office — were explored. What they uncovered was that owners are increasingly turning to certification not simply as a sustainability measure, but as a tool for unlocking value. Asset specific reports will follow.
Advancing a Sustainable Buildings Workforce for Canada Initiative
CAGBC is spearheading a multi-year workforce development initiative supported through the federal government’s Sectoral Workforce Solutions Program (SWSP) within Employment and Social Development Canada.
CAGBC will lead labour market research to better understand employment trends and demographics in the green building sector and develop training resources to grow and reskill the green construction workforce.
The initiative will identify and address critical and systemic challenges facing Canada’s residential construction sector as it transitions to a low-carbon future with support from collaborators including Archipel, Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA), Canada’s Building Trades Unions (CBTU), Labor Education Centre (LEC), Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC), Real Property Association of Canada (REALPAC), and the Toronto Community Benefits Network (TCBN).
New LEED v5 Kickstarter available
CAGBC is supporting professionals looking to earn their LEED® Green Associate credential with a dedicated LEED v5 GA Kickstarter — an instructor-led exam preparatory program designed to build knowledge, confidence and exam readiness on the latest version of LEED. Whether you are new to LEED or advancing your sustainability career, this offering provides a timely pathway to engage with the latest version of the rating system and succeed on the v5 exam.
The first LEED V5 GA Kickstarter will be in July.
Industry events announcements around BLC included:
- The Retrofit Accelerator Network: CAGBC hosted a networking meeting bringing together all Retrofit Accelerators implementing programs through Natural Resources Canada’s Deep Retrofit Accelerator Initiative, fostering collaboration and shared learning across the program. CAGBC is a participant through Retrofits Now, a one-stop industry resource created by the CAGBC, with support from The Purpose Retrofit Accelerator.
- Valuing the Future Workshop: Following the release of the Valuing the Future report, REALPAC and CAGBC offered a workshop designed to help building owners, appraisers, investors, and industry stakeholders better understand how physical and transition risks may affect asset value.
- National Embodied Carbon Summit: The third annual Embodied Carbon Summit drew around 80 industry leaders to discuss progress on its mission to enable embodied carbon reductions in the built environment. This follows the publication of the read out from last year’s summit, which can be found here.
- Ottawa Community Housing: Launched The Total Cost of Ownership report, examining how green buildings can be a low-cost tool to stimulate Canadian economic development – with affordable housing leading the way.
- Responsible Buildings Pact: Launched at BLC in 2024, the Responsible Buildings Pact released a summary of its year two progress. The Pact is a cross-industry initiative led by the Climate Smart Buildings Alliance to increase the use of low-carbon materials.
- Akonovia: During a BLC session, Akonovia shared details of their recent publication, The Sustainable Real Estate White Paper. Bringing together industry stakeholders, the report aims to strengthen participation in energy transition and climate change adaptation. English version coming later in June.
- Construction Sustainability Alliance of Canada (ADCC): Pomerleau and eight of Canada’s largest general contractors (ADCC) and the Transition Accelerator shared a new report “Growing and Greening Canadian Construction,” which outlines five high-impact actions to significantly reduce construction site emissions while also improving cost, speed, and reliability. Read it here
As we reflect on this year’s conference, one theme stands out: Canada’s green building sector is ready to lead what’s next, moving decisively from ambition to implementation, contributing to Canada’s economy and global competitiveness. With new tools, standards, and training opportunities announced, and strong collaboration across industry, government and partners, the path to zero-carbon, high-performance buildings is becoming clearer and more achievable. CAGBC will continue to convene, support and equip the market to act at scale — ensuring Canada’s buildings deliver lasting value for people, the economy, and the climate.
CAGBC thanks all speakers and sponsors of Building Lasting Change, including presenting sponsor Mitsubishi Electric Heating & Cooling, Business Events Montréal (Tourisme Montréal), plenary sponsors BDC, Saint-Gobain, and Pomerleau, forum sponsor RBC, technical stream sponsors Ædifica, BPA, CIMA+, and Perkins&Will. For a full list of CAGBC sponsors, visit: https://www.cagbc.org/membership/become-a-sponsor/cagbc-sponsors/
BLC will return to Vancouver in 2027.