LEED and Sustainability
Sustainability requires that human activity uses nature’s resources at a rate that can be replenished naturally. For construction, we would add that sustainability includes the concept of a building’s longevity and its potential to adapt to change in use and occupancy. Other considerations include building design that allows for ease of retrofitting or de-construction versus demolition.
LEED, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is a certification program used for the design, construction and operation of high performance green and sustainable buildings. LEED provides building owners and operators the tools needed to assess and validate a building’s performance.
Buttcon is involved in sustainability. We are currently managing the construction of several LEED rated projects and are aggressively pursuing other LEED related projects. Present projects that have achieved, or are in the process of achieving, LEED certification are:
- GO Transit Streetsville Bus Maintenance Facility, Mississauga – LEED Silver
- GO Transit Halton Hills Bus Maintenance Facility, Halton Hills – LEED Gold
- GO Transit Brampton Bus Maintenance Facility, Brampton – LEED Gold
- GO Transit East Region Bus Maintenance Facility, Oshawa – LEED Gold
- GO Transit East Gwillimbury Bus Maintenance Facility, East Gwillimbury – LEED Gold
- Centennial College Athletic and Wellness Centre, Toronto – LEED Gold
- Welland Community Wellness Centre Expansion, Welland – LEED Basic
- Lakehead University Student Residence, Orillia – LEED Platinum
- Kipling Acres Long Term Care Facility – LEED Silver
- Infrastructure Ontario – MTO new Traffic Operations Centre – LEED Silver
- Wellington-Dufferin Guelph Public Health – New Health Centre Units – Orangeville and Guelph – LEED Silver
Buttcon is a founding member of the Toronto Chapter of the Canadian Green Building Council (CaGBC). One of our current in-house educational mandates is for our Project Managers and Project Coordinators to achieve LEED Certification.
In order to apply “sustainable” thinking to our projects we need to think in terms of those activities and strategies that could apply to each unique project. The common goal, or intent, with these strategies is to reduce impact of the project on the environment. We want to be involved with the construction of buildings that will be comfortable and healthy for the occupants in addition to continued future expansion and/or re-purposing.
By implementing strategies that respect the environment we can assist owners of projects to create facilities that promote sustainability and educate people regarding the benefits of living and working sustainably, leading the way for the greater community at large.