GTA Construction Report staff writer
Niagara Sustainability Initiative (NSI) continues to host workshops and special events to promote sustainable work environments.
On April 17 the group hostedBuildings that Give Back: Greening Buildings for a Sustainable Future. The event featured guest speakers Braden Kurczak, business development manager at MMM Group who discussed LEED certification and John Smiciklas, director, energy and environment at BOMA Canada, who spoke about certification for existing buildings through retrofits.
Tony Cupido, senior advisor at MHPM Project Leaders presented two cutting edge green building case studies: the green roof at 141 Adelaide in Toronto and the rainwater capture and purification system at McMaster University’s Engineering Technology Building.
The educational forum intended to address green buildings, their place in Ontario’s current economic climate and the costs, benefits and challenges associated with their development. Speakers addressed the 70 or so gathered participants about “the immediate and measurable benefits of green building certification programs including LEED and BOMA BESt.”
BOMA BESt (Building Environmental Standards), a national program launched in 2005 by BOMA Canada, addresses an industry need for realistic standards for energy and environmental performance of existing buildings based on accurate, independently verified information.
A press release said: “Each speaker specifically touched upon the importance of thehuman connection to green buildings, whether it was the benefit of increased productivity ingreen buildings or the importance of changing energy and resource consuming behaviours.”
On May 28, NSI will celebrate and highlight the sustainability successes of its partner organizations at its third annual Evening of Recognition.
