New blueprint for green buildings focuses on eco-efficiency

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By Rick Whittaker

When Canadians think about energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs), many of us link these issues to large emitters in the industry and resource sectors. But there are many, less obvious sources of GHGs that have a definite impact on our environment – and as you read this article, chances are you’re sitting in one right now.

Canada’s commercial building sector – an environmental footprint
The commercial building sector – including all of Canada’s offices, educational and health care facilities, and retail and hospitality outlets – accounts for about 14% of secondary energy use in Canada, and has seen energy-related GHG emissions increase 42% between 1990 and 2004. For this sector to move in a more eco-efficient direction, we need a whole new approach to both the way we design, build and use commercial buildings as well as the regulations and policies that guide these activities.

In addition to the rise in energy use, the commercial building sector saw its water consumption rise from 2.3 billion litres per day to 2.8 billion litres per day between 1983 and 1999. The sector currently consumes about 1.2 trillion litres per year of municipally-treated water. All of this water is chemically treated and purified to potable water quality, regardless of how it is used. It is currently used to run mechanical equipment, flush toilets and water landscaping; only a small portion is used for human consumption. Very little water is recycled or supplied from other sources such as rainwater.

In 2004 commercial buildings generated more than 14 million tonnes of solid waste, of which only 22% was diverted or recycled. The remainder was disposed of in local landfills. Paper products and organic material make up about two thirds of the solid waste stream.

Envisioning the future
After a series of consultations with industry stakeholders and upon reviewing key government and industry reports, a future vision has been set that aims for a dramatic reduction of the sector’s environmental footprint: by 2030 commercial buildings will have cut their energy intensity – a combination of energy consumption and GHG emissions – in half. Municipal water consumption will decrease by 65% and solid waste will be reduced by 85% from 2007 levels.

The achievement of these objectives depends on a need for a comprehensive and integrated process of building design, construction and operation.

Right now, too many of the key players in the development and operation of the typical commercial building work in isolation, focusing only on their niche areas of expertise – be it design, engineering, construction, or operations. This isolated thinking needs to change. A spotlight should be cast on real-world demonstrations that break these silos in the design process, so that the liability and lifetime economic viability of these buildings, and their alignment with comfort and usability, becomes the new norm.

A blueprint for green buildings
A report recently released by Sustainable Development Technology Canada serves as a blueprint for greener commercial buildings in Canada. The report draws attention to a number of technical and non-technical changes in the design, construction and maintenance of Canada’s commercial buildings that need to be made to reduce their energy utilization, water consumption and waste production.

By examining market characteristics such as building size, construction and type, and based on a set of industry-driven vision statements for the sector, the report identifies the technologies that can help create more sustainable buildings – the ones we use now and the ones that will be built in the future.

The report focuses much of its analysis on building operations, and with good reason. Although embodied energy, material selection, construction, and demolition are important in a life cycle approach to buildings, the largest environmental impacts are a result of the operation of buildings. Operations account for approximately 85% of the lifetime energy in commercial buildings, but are simultaneously affected by the one-time capital choices made during design and construction.

Non-technical changes
Industry stakeholders agree that the single largest driver of sustainable buildings could be a realistic and consistent price on fossil fuel based carbon. Since the operation of buildings is very carbon-dependent, establishing a price on carbon could drive the development and use of materials and processes that have low embodied energy and operating systems, which minimize consumption of fossil fuel-based energy.

Developing high-performance commercial buildings requires close collaboration among building owners, financiers, architects, engineers, contractors, suppliers, managers and operators. There also needs to be a greater agreement on the economic, resource, productivity and system requirements of buildings. This requires a holistic approach to regional planning, and integrated design and construction practices.

Among the other non-technical changes recommended, the report stresses the importance of accurate data, improved eco-labeling and life-cycle-based performance standards that will enable certification of buildings on a life-cycle rather than on an as-built basis.

Educating the general public, government regulators and policy makers, and the financial community about the performance benefits of sustainable buildings will help ensure the rapid deployment of technologies within the commercial building sector. Canada could develop a stronger knowledge base in sustainable building design. Colleges and universities need to increase their content offering in sustainable technologies in order to maximize the knowledge potential in Canada.

Technical changes
The report notes that key to the sustainability of commercial buildings is developing integrated building designs. This refers to the process of designing and siting sustainable buildings while optimizing resource use, building functionality and occupant comfort.

There is also a need to implement best available and best emerging technologies as well as a need for “next generation” building technologies that work to minimize the thermal transfer of energy and maximize the use of available natural resources, such as solar or wind power. The technologies here include improved building fabric, foundation, glazing, doors and openings, and insulating materials.

Technologies that help building operators and occupants be aware of their individual resource consumption while maintaining or improving indoor environmental quality can lead to positive changes in human behaviour.

A sustainable buildings philosophy
Future buildings should be an integral part of sustainable community development, and become increasingly integrated with the surrounding environment. This would allow resource management to be optimized across the entire community, through such things as distributed power generation and integrated waste management.

Switching to this type of life-cycle approach is crucial if we are to truly achieve on-going sustainability in our commercial buildings. Progress has been made over the last few years with the rise of LEED designation and other tools, but more work needs to be done to establish at-a-glance, meaningful measurements that give owners and tenants sustainability indicators to help guide their decision-making.

Future buildings conceived in this way will be easier and safer to construct and operate. Design and building techniques will enhance construction safety, reduce development and construction time, and cut labour intensity. Communities will benefit from better land and resource use, better quality of life, and will encourage sustainable building development.

Rick Whittaker is vice-president, Investments at SDTC. For more information on SDTC or a copy of the Eco-efficiency in Commercial Buildings ‘SD Business Case’™, go to the Knowledge Centre at www.sdtc.ca.