About Us
Built Green Canada is a national, not for profit committed to working with builders interested in responsible sustainability practices, primarily in the residential building sector. We offer third-party certification programs that take a holistic approach, to include energy efficiency as a key focus, and go beyond to other critical aspects of sustainable building—including the preservation of natural resources, reduction of pollution and GHG emissions, ventilation and air quality, the improvement of home durability, and more. Our certification levels start at Bronze and go up to Net Zero Energy+.
Committed to the integrity of our programs, Built Green Canada provides learning opportunities that allow for continuous improvements to building practices, participation affordability and third-party certification, which requires builders to contract Energy Advisors or Engineers to assess the effectiveness of the systems in the home or building.
*For those builders constructing single family homes or renovations, the certification is a two-in-one: the BUILT GREEN® label and the EnerGuide label, offering verification of the energy performance and the green features integrated into the home.
Our Holistic Approach
Built Green’s holistic approach means using advanced building technologies that consider the home as a system or a sum of its parts—everything from site orientation, building materials, HVAC equipment, windows, water and electrical consumption, and builder practices. These all contribute to the way Built Green Canada guides builders through the latest technologies to ensure a healthier, more durable home with a lower environmental impact, costs savings to the homebuyer and choices they can make on how to have a greener home.
Our Guiding Principles
Our certification programs have been created with the mission to encourage, facilitate, and progress sustainable building practices, and with that comes Built Green Canada’s guiding principles: our programs are voluntary, training is essential, checklists offer choices and are straightforward to navigate, Built Green is affordable, third-party certification offers proof, and industry input is integral.
Our Connection to Industry
To remain relevant, practical and rigorous, we have ongoing input from those on the ground—pushing innovation, while working to stay ahead of building code and their competitors in a fast-paced industry amidst regular market fluctuations. We also work with industry experts through a Board of Directors and Technical Standards Committee.
As a not for profit created to support industry, we keep certification costs low—they’re minimal, compared to other programs. By providing training, supplier relationships and five levels of achievement, we work to ensure our programs are accessible—likewise, they can be implemented anywhere in Canada where there’s access to energy advisors and engineers.
Our Past & Present
Our formation in 2003 was the result of a passionate group of builders wanting a means to progress and showcase their sustainability efforts through third-party certification programs. From this, they created Built Green Canada, formed in collaboration with Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, the Alberta Research Council, Natural Resources Canada, Climate Change Central, and other key stakeholders.
Since then, we’ve grown a lot. Today, we offer programs for Single Family, MURBs, [Single Family] Renovations, High Density (including multi-storey residential tower and mixed-use), High Density Renovations (including heritage and repurposed conversions), Communities, as well as pilots in Restorations, Small- and -Medium Commercial and Schools.
From our beginnings over 20 years ago, builders have worked with us to complete over 55,500 BUILT GREEN® certified projects represented in Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Ontario (as at June 30, 2025).