Leadership in Energy
and Environmental Design
LEED is the internationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings. LEED gives building owners and operators the tools they need to have an immediate and measurable impact on their buildings performance. LEED promotes a whole-building approach to sustainability by recognizing performance in five key areas of human and environmental health:
- Sustainable Development
- Water Savings
- Energy Efficiency
- Materials Selection
- Indoor Environment Quality
LEED certification is an established, tested, verifiable and industry accepted means of measuring and achieving standards of energy efficiency and environmental sensitivity on buiding projects.
947 Fort Street's Approach to Green
As the first LEED Gold building on Fort St, this development is breaking ground to bring a more vibrant, diverse and environmentally sound building to the area. The LEED tool is a very occupant-oriented approach to energy and environmental efficiency. As a result, many of the direct benefits of LEED certification accrue to the tenant / occupant of a space. Energy savings on the building systems accrue to the tenant through lower ‘triple-net’ costs; and reduced loads on municipal services translate into lower unit rates for water and sewer.
Better interior environment, with natural lighting and exterior views for the majority of staff, translates into higher levels of productivity, higher staff morale, and lower absenteeism rates.
Many of the measures that will be taken to achieve LEED certification will be invisible to the average building user; but some, like the landscaped ‘green’ roof areas, will provide a direct and obvious benefit to the users and passers-by on a daily basis. Some of the key LEED rating features that will be incorporated into the project design include:
- Interior Secured Bike Storage and Changing Facilities
- Centrally Located Building Site
- Located within 400m of multiple public transit bus routes
- Waste Management Recycling Facilities
- 70% of Construction Waste during construction will be diverted from landfills and recycled
- 10% of all materials used during construction will be sourced and manufactured regionally
- Indoor Atmospheric Quality Management Plans and Programs implemented during construction in order to increase Indoor Atmospheric Quality during occupancy.
- Reduction of storm water run-off; using run-off for landscape irrigation
- Green roofs on level 2 and roof in order to reduce urban heat gain
- 30% reduction in potable water use through implementing and specifying high quality low flow toilets and fixtures.
- Low/No VOC finishes specified throughout; mandatory 2 week ventilation / commissioning of building interior spaces prior to occupancy
For more information on the LEED accreditation system, please visit:
The Canada Green Building Council