Creating Something Remarkable
Everyone seems to be talking about LEED these days. But what is LEED exactly? Well, it stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, a third party certification that originated in the United States in 1998. The U.S. program is administered by the U.S. Green Building Council and is considered the standard in the commercial property industry. (The recently launched Canadian program, based on U.S. standards, is administered by the Canada Green Building Council.)
The primary purpose of the LEED program is to encourage and motivate property owners and developers to reduce their environmental footprints by implementing new green standards in the design, construction, and day-to-day management of commercial buildings. The five key green categories in the LEED program are:
- Sustainable site development
- Water efficiency
- Energy efficiency
- Materials selection
- Indoor environmental quality
The certification program, originally designed for new construction, has now been extended to existing buildings (Simcoe Place, RBC Centre's sister property has recently been certified LEED Gold EB). RBC Centre falls into the new construction category. The Cadillac Fairview Corporation Limited announced in January 2012 that the RBC Centre attained LEED® Gold Certification, becoming the largest certified LEED for New Construction project in Canada.
For more LEED information: www.cagbc.org