Why Build Sustainably
There is growing awareness and increased expectation of the importance of a more sustainable future, and these expectations extend across all industries, including the built environment. Homebuyers not only want a better performing home, they also often assume it is better built and rely on you to deliver.
Year after year, the Home Buyer’s Preference Study, through the Canadian Home Builders Association and AVID ratings, shows sustainable building-related features in the top 10 “must haves”. If your homebuyers aren’t asking about the green features, they may not know what to ask: they’re not experts on what goes into a home, so it’s an opportunity for you to educate your customers on the benefits and highlight your competitive advantage—so please tell them.
Among the benefits, homeowners of a more sustainable build enjoy a healthier home, with increased durability and a lower environmental impact. These homes are affordable with a reduction in monthly operating costs, rebate eligibility, improved resale value, and more.
While energy efficiency and sustainability are often interchanged, these concepts overlap, but they’re not the same. Energy efficiency aims to optimize energy use, while sustainable building has a broader scope that also includes materials and methods, indoor air quality, water conservation, waste management, occupant health and more. Sustainable building aims to achieve long-term balance—meeting our needs without harming future generations by minimizing negative impacts on the environment throughout a building's lifecycle. The BUILT GREEN® programs are designed to take that broader, holistic approach to sustainability, for which there are many builder benefits.
Find Your Competitive Advantage
As National Energy Tier Code now addresses energy, builders who previously used energy alone as a competitive advantage are looking for ways to both meet code and get an edge beyond what everyone must do. The differentiator originally associated with energy alone is gone (beyond cases of exceptionally high performance). This will continue to gain momentum, as we move closer to Canada’s goal of achieving Net Zero Energy Ready (NZER) buildings by 2030.
Future-Proof Homes with Resiliency Measures
There are increasing occurrences of natural disasters and the need for resiliency measures and increased durability—lesser-known benefits of a more sustainably built home. Climate change is causing extreme temperatures and more frequently than in the past, contributing to drought and wildfire risk. And what follows is more intense rainfall, which is predicted to increase urban flood risks, alongside coastal flooding in many areas as the sea level rises. This requires effective disaster preparedness strategies, including building homes with measures that are ready for tomorrow. It is a matter of doing what we can to future proof homes and buildings.
Stay Ahead of Building Code
The BUILT GREEN® programs align with, support, and extend beyond energy code (9.36) and National Energy Tier Code—where a minimum energy efficiency is required: a base level that all builders must achieve. These are affordable, straightforward programs that offer a pathway to build better, more resilient homes. Built Green Canada is committed to working alongside our builders through the process to ensure their successful project certification. We provide performance-based pathways, where you can choose what you want to integrate into your build to improve overall performance, alongside the preservation of natural resources, reduction of pollution and GHG emissions, ventilation and air quality, the improvement of home durability, and more.
Reap the Benefits
Our holistic approach means we look at the house as a system, and this supports builders in achieving code and provides a competitive advantage beyond energy, while providing builders with pass-along benefits for their homebuyers, and a way to meet consumer demand for healthier, more sustainable homes with the economic benefits that come with increased efficiency and durability. Here’s what builders are saying.