designs,” Wright said. “But if the client
doesn’t want to do it, that becomes a chal-
lenge.”
According to Wright, the government is
forcing owners to rethink green design in
terms of their carbon foot print, not just for
operational savings.
“New building codes in Ontario are chang-
ing how owners think as we move to elimi-
nating fossil fuels in buildings by 2030,” he
said. “Most owners are currently unaware
that buildings will be required to undergo
Energy Audits which could add liabilities
for owners even though the current On-
tario Codes require Owners to be dealing
with this.”
Unlike the European market where green
technologies like solar energy have been
around long enough that adoption and
mass production have taken off, going
green remains costly in Canada. LEED-
approved buildings require architects and
engineers to do more work which owners
may not want to pay for.
“There are certain things we can all do
with minimal costs that can improve re-
ductions to energy consumption in build-
ings.” Wright said.
Utilizing passive design, which is nothing
JUNE 2016
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business elite canada
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