Built Green offers a means to build back better with support
options
EDMONTON, AB, Aug. 19,
2024 /CNW/ - The ravages of forest fires in
Canada's beloved Jasper National Park that began in July remain
out of control, while extensive flooding in Ontario continues into August. Late in June, a
wildfire in Labrador forced
evacuations in Churchill Falls,
while weeks earlier, wildfires across Western Canada caused alerts and evacuation
orders. In parallel, an evacuation order was issued for
Fort Nelson in British Columbia, while fires rage in the
Northwest Territories. In the
meantime, much of Canada is still
facing drought conditions that have persisted over the last year.
There are coastal flooding warnings, while the upcoming Atlantic
hurricane season is predicted to generate the most named storms on
record. These are a mere few accounts of the extreme weather
conditions experienced over the last several weeks.
"It makes business sense to choose more
climate-resilient practices. The groundwork has been laid through
Built Green."
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.1 The magnitude of
this presents significant risk to the health and safety of
Canadians.
With rebuilding already in progress, Built Green Canada is
offering support to builders and municipalities who are part of
these efforts and want to build back better. Built Green's programs
provide a pathway toward healthier, more durable, sustainably built
homes. This requires the incorporation of climate-resilient
strategies—a consideration in the organization's third-party
certification programs; meanwhile, one of the most unknown benefits
of a sustainably built home is improved durability.
The organization's programs take a holistic approach to ensure a
tight building envelope is balanced with good ventilation and
healthier products that contribute to improved indoor air quality.
An approach that recognizes the house as a system: an
interconnected sum of its parts, which affect each other and
contribute to the occupant's quality of life and environmental
impact. The program includes energy and envelope, materials and
methods, indoor air quality, ventilation, waste management, water
conservation, occupant wellness and business practices.
Whether building new, renovating or restoring builds damaged by
natural and mechanical disasters, Built Green is offering financial
support to those who want to certify their builds through its
programs. All residential builders faced with rebuilding in their
community will receive a full waiver on their membership fees,
their introductory training course and their first three builds'
certification fees for those going through the BUILT GREEN® Single
Family, Renovation or Restoration programs, and this will remain in
effect through 2025.*
The BUILT GREEN® Restoration program was developed through
a partnership with Hudson Restoration, operating out of
Southern Ontario. This boutique,
eco-friendly disaster restoration company serves property owners
and their insurance providers by offering remediation, restoration
and reconstruction services for high-value residential, heritage
and commercial properties. Hudson's pursuit of sustainable options
is a step ahead in the restoration space, whose partnership with
Built Green produced this new program that enables industry to
provide customers with more choice around restoring
sustainably.
"We're constantly looking for ways to continue to do better,
while navigating the unpredictability of our work as restorers.
Faced with the flooding we're dealing with, it only makes business
sense to choose more climate-resilient practices. The groundwork
has already been laid through Built Green's restoration program,
which provides straightforward pathways to restore more
responsibly," says Nick Hudson,
President at Hudson Restoration.
"The restoration industry has an important role to play in
contributing to a healthier, more sustainable built environment,"
says Jenifer Christenson, CEO at
Built Green Canada. "We want to highlight all those—restorers,
renovators and new builders—who are choosing to build back better,
with more climate-resilient buildings, and we encourage homeowners
and insurance providers to recognize those choosing to build back
better."
Resiliency measures are a priority and industry are working
through ways to incorporate disaster preparedness solutions into
their developments. Built Green's programs include specific
resiliency checklist items that continue to grow and evolve,
through new technologies, partnerships and industry whose input is
integral in our programs resonating and remaining relevant.
The organization remains committed to industry input to ensure
its programs are relevant and resonate in the Built Green community
and beyond. Those facing rebuilding efforts are encouraged to reach
out, as Built Green will support through education and discounted
fees, with an openness to new ways of doing things, given the local
nuances across the country. Meanwhile, Built Green welcomes the
opportunity to work with municipalities planning their rebuilding
efforts, and offers a Communities program to help guide the process
through a more sustainable lens.
Built Green Canada began in 2003, and since then, builders
have worked with them to complete 51,670 BUILT GREEN® certified
single family, multi-family, and high density projects, as well as
two phase-one community certifications, represented in Alberta, British
Columbia, Saskatchewan and
Ontario (as at June 30, 2024).
*
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For multi-family and
high density projects, membership fees will be waived, while
certification fees will be reduced by 30 per cent.
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SOURCE Built Green Canada