Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED, is the most widely-used green building rating system in the world. In over 160 countries, project teams leverage LEED to deliver positive returns on investments in buildings that are highly efficient and resilient, improve occupant health, and reduce carbon emissions at both the construction and operation stages. With more than 2.6 million square feet of space certifying each day, millions of people around the world live, work, learn and relax in LEED certified buildings, homes and communities.
LEED v4 has seen strong uptake in the Canadian market, and revisions in LEED v4.1 are further ensuring the program is embraced as a solution to help the industry contribute to Canada’s carbon emissions targets.
“High performance, continuous improvement, and holistic solutions have been hallmarks of LEED since day one,” said Thomas Mueller, President and CEO of CaGBC and CEO of GBCI CA. “We listened to the market, and these principles are reflected in the newest version of LEED. In LEED v4.1 we are shifting to performance management and recertification to ensure buildings live up to their potential from an environmental, financial, and health perspective.”
Canada has consistently ranked among the top countries in LEED adoption. As of this fall, Canada has achieved over 4,350 LEED certifications overall and is a world leader in the adoption of the latest LEED version.
Of Canadian LEED v4 projects, almost half are commercial and institutional new construction, with Ontario leading the way regionally with 27 percent of projects, followed by British Columbia at 17 percent and Alberta at 15 percent.
New homes account for a quarter of LEED v4 projects, with Quebec’s very early adoption of LEED v4 for home construction resulting in a full 74 percent of home projects coming from that province.
Existing buildings are a growing segment of LEED v4 registrations as streamlined documentation requirements tied to building performance drive uptake across more markets and building classes. In fact, existing buildings account for a quarter of total LEED v4 projects, and large commercial owners are leveraging LEED v4.1 Operations and Maintenance (O+M) to help them meet their sustainability goals and speed up the recertification process.
As the buildings industry evolves, LEED continues to be relevant, agile and deliver on improved building performance. Learn more about LEED v4.1 by taking the CaGBC’s one-hour on demand course entitledLEED v4.1 – An overview of LEED’s newest rating system. To celebrate the LEED v4 1,000 project milestone, this course will be available free until December 31, 2019. To register, visit cagbc.org/registration.
