Government of Canada Adopts New Environmental Standard for Buildings

For immediate release

OTTAWA, November 24, 2005 — The Government of Canada is adopting the Go Green Comprehensive program to manage its office buildings in a more environmentally friendly manner.

The Go Green Comprehensive program is a national initiative administered by the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA Canada) designed to assess and improve the way building are managed from an environmental perspective.

“Our decision to adopt the Go Green standard for all federal government office buildings demonstrates the Government of Canada ’s commitment to greening its operations,” said the Honourable Scott Brison, Minister of Public Works and Government Services Canada. “In April we stated that any new federal office buildings would be built to meet the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Gold standard. BOMA Go Green Comprehensive complements this standard by helping us meet our sustainable development commitments in the operations of existing buildings.

BOMA Canada’s Go Green Comprehensive program, launched in May 2005, assesses and benchmarks buildings in several key areas, including energy, water, indoor environment and environmental management. It will be helpful in planning building maintenance projects, by helping predict how they will improve the environmental performance of a building.

“PWGSC was involved in developing the program and testing it in around 20 buildings in the National Capital Area,” said Minister Brison. “This program will be an important tool in helping us meet our environmental compliance and sustainability commitments.”

Adopting BOMA Canada’s Go Green Comprehensive program is just one of many initiatives supporting the Government of Canada’s Project Green. Project Green is a set of policies and programs aimed at promoting a sustainable environment, healthy population and competitive economy.

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For further information, please contact:

Renée David
Press Secretary
Public Works and Government Services Canada
(819) 997-5421

Media Relations
Public Works and Government Services Canada
(819) 956-2315

Backgrounder

Environmental Standards for Federal Government Office Buildings

The Government of Canada is committed to improving the environmental sustainability of its office buildings. Adopting the BOMA Go Green Comprehensive program is one of several initiatives the government is undertaking.

BOMA Go Green Comprehensive Program

PWGSC has officially adopted the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA Canada) Go Green Comprehensive program, launched by BOMA Canada in May 2005. It assesses and benchmarks existing buildings in several key areas, including: energy, water, resources, indoor environment and environmental management, and certifies a building if it achieves 70 percent or greater for this assessment.

This program was developed with the cooperation of Public Works and Government Services Canada and was tested in roughly 20 buildings in the National Capital Area, with positive results.

Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold

When the Government of Canada launched Project Green in April 2005 it stated that any new federal office buildings would be built to meet the LEED Gold standard. This means that new buildings will use slightly more than half of the energy used by the average equivalent building currently in the government’s inventory. The standard will also be sought for new long-term leases.

The LEED system covers such areas as water and energy efficiency, using recycled and salvaged building materials, durability and improving the indoor environment for employees.

Energy Efficiency Initiatives

The federal government builds all its new facilities to be 25 percent more energy efficient than the existing Model National Energy Code for Buildings. It committed to retrofitting a further 20 percent of its commercial buildings by 2010 to improve energy efficiency.

Environmental Management of Federal Buildings

PWGSC takes the environmental management of its buildings very seriously. It incorporates environmentally responsible practices into its project management activities and includes environmental and sustainable design specialists on project teams.

Similarly, when PWGSC launched a request for proposals in September, seeking guidance from industry on the most cost-effective and efficient way to manage government-owned office buildings, it required that either the bidder, a designated subcontractor or a key team member have at least ten years of experience in sustainability and environmental management systems. It also required the firm that takes on the project to take into consideration PWGSC’s environmental compliance and sustainability commitments by clearly indicating in their proposal how their recommendations would help us meet or exceed these commitments.