BG–10.002 - April 1, 2010
Buildings consume huge amounts of energy and resources through heating, air conditioning, water heating, and lighting. Construction waste and water usage also contribute to a building’s environmental footprint.
A major custodian of realty assets, the Department of National Defence (DND) holds a large number of properties all across the country to support the Canadian Forces, including some 21,000 buildings, 2.25 million hectares of land, 5,500 kilometres of roads, and 3,000 kilometres of water, storm, and sewer pipes.
DND is doing its part to conserve energy and materials, as well as change how it designs, constructs, and uses its buildings.
DND integrates green building concepts into the design process of construction plans using the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) and Green Globes Design assessment tools.
Green Buildings
A green building is defined as a building that achieves high performance over its full life cycle in multiple areas, such as minimal consumption of non-renewable natural resources, minimal atmospheric emissions that have negative environmental impacts, minimal discharge of harmful liquid effluents and solid wastes, minimal negative impacts on site ecosystems, and maximum quality of indoor environment.
Programs
DND uses two major assessment tools to determine the adequacy of designs in meeting these green building requirements: LEED Green Building Rating System and the Green Globes Design Eco-Rating Program.
LEED Green Building Rating System
LEED Green Building Rating System is an initiative of the Canada Green Building Council (CaGBC). It is a third party certification program and an internationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction, and operation of high performance buildings. The Canadian rating system is an adaptation of the US Green Building Council's (USGBC) LEED Green Building Rating System tailored specifically for Canadian climates, construction practices, and regulations.
LEED promotes a whole-building approach to environmental sustainability by recognizing performance in five areas of human and environmental health: sustainable site development, water efficiency, energy efficiency, materials selection, and indoor environmental quality. Points are organized into these five areas.
Each measure that is taken to reduce the environmental footprint of the building is given a point. For example, up to ten points can be awarded for reducing the design energy cost compared to the Model National Energy Code for Buildings (MNECB).
Certification is based on the total point score achieved, following an independent review and an audit of selected points. There are four possible levels of certification: certified, silver, gold, and platinum. The thresholds for the LEED Green Building Rating System are:
- LEED Certified: 26 to 32 points
- LEED Silver: 33 to 38 points
- LEED Gold: 39 to 51 points
- LEED Platinum: 52 to 70 points
DND’s design performance goal is to build to a minimum of LEED Silver.
Green Globes Design Eco-Rating Program
The Green Globes Design Eco-Rating program is a registered trademark of ECD Energy & Environment Canada Ltd. It is a third party certification program designed to evaluate and rate the energy and environmental design of buildings.
The goal of this program is to guide environmental performance integration into the design of new buildings. This program identifies opportunities to save energy and water, reduce waste, and prevent pollution (water, air, and land) in the management and operation of these new buildings, based upon the key elements of eco-efficiency.
This program involves a graduated rating system designed to recognize buildings that are improving their energy and environmental performance. To evaluate and rate the energy and environmental design of buildings using the Green Globes Design Eco-Rating program, an online questionnaire is conducted that consists of approximately 150 questions and takes a couple of hours to answer. The questions are grouped under seven broad areas of assessment that include: project management; site; energy; water; resources; emissions, effluents, and other impacts; and indoor environment.
Once the questionnaire has been completed, a printable report is generated that provides percentage ratings for the overall score. This report also identifies strengths and weaknesses, offers opportunities for improvement, and provides online web-links to relevant green building resources.
Once a design has been assessed, a third-party review may be conducted. The verification process takes place during a meeting between the verifier and the design team, and consists of a review of the design and construction documentation for the project. Once verification is complete, the project is awarded a Green Globes certificate. The designations for the Green Globes Design Eco-Rating program are:
- 1 Green Globe (15 to 34%): Basic
- 2 Green Globes (35 to 54%): Sound
- 3 Green Globes (55 to 69%): Good
- 4 Green Globes (70 to 84%): Superior
- 5 Green Globes (more than 85%): Outstanding
DND’s design performance goal is to build to a minimum score of three out of five globes.
For projects with a value of more than $10 million, DND uses the LEED Canada assessment methodology, while for those under $10 million, DND uses Green Globes.
Example of a DND LEED Building:
Chiefs’ & Petty Officers’ and Officers’ Facility, Juno Building CFB Stadacona, Halifax, NS:
This 50 year old facility that has been designated as a DND heritage building is a consolidation of the Chiefs’ & Petty Officers’ and Officers’ recreation and dining facilities. DND upgraded this facility to the same energy efficient standards of the new construction while keeping the heritage characteristics of the original facility.
On April 28, 2005 the facility was DND’s first building to be certified by the CaGBC under the LEED Green Building Rating System. This facility is also one of the first LEED certified buildings in Atlantic Canada.
The green aspects of this facility exceeds the MNECB and achieves a 32 per cent reduction in energy consumption, compared to an equivalent building built strictly to code.
This facility uses ‘stormceptors’, a device that treats storm water before it is released into receiving waters or municipal sewer systems and low-flow plumbing fixtures to reduce potable water use by 20 per cent. Heat recovery comes from exhaust air and waste water, exterior walls and roof are well insulated, and energy efficient windows are used.
Example of a DND Green Globes Building:
Vimy Training Quarters, CFB Kingston, ON:
The Vimy Training Quarters is a three-storey, 5,160 square-metre, military residential building designed on the model of a modest hotel.
Built to be green, the Vimy Training Quarters uses heat pumps, heat recovery units, a central Energy Management Control System, occupancy sensors, and energy efficient lighting. It has highly insulated walls and roof, as well as energy-efficient doors and windows. Additionally, the building is equipped with low-flush toilets (using less than six litre of water per flush), water-saving fixtures on faucets and showerheads, installed showers instead of bath-tubs, and uses water-saving appliances, such as front-loading washing machines. The materials are selected from local sources as much as possible to reduce fuel usage for transportation of materials. The landscaping material is selected to be of local species that limit watering requirements.
Plans to adapt this design for additional Training Quarters across the country means that this energy-efficient and sustainably designed facility will be built on several Canadian Forces Bases, proving Canada's commitment to the environment and to the quality of life of the Forces, and also reducing the Department’s operation and maintenance costs.
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