When looking into a new condo development, I noted that part of the advertising touted that it was "LEED silver". Great, but what the heck does that mean? I needed to investigate further. The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System encourages and accelerates global adoption of sustainable green building and development practices through the creation and implementation of universally understood and accepted tools and performance criteria. LEED is a third-party certification program and an internationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings. It provides 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 site development, water efficiency, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality. Sounds a little ho hum - academic (in a very green kind of way), but how does that translate in practice for the residents? Well, in this particular condo, residents benefit from membership in a hybrid car-sharing program, and the building itself will have a vegetated green roof with a rain water storage system.
The biggest benefit will be in terms of energy costs; energy usage is estimated to be reduced by 35% by using energy efficient windows and lighting, energy star appliances, high efficiency boilers and heat recovery ventilators. Units have individual controls, dual flush toilets and water efficient faucets and showerheads. Units feature sustainable hardwood flooring and zero VOC emitting paints, coatings, adhesives, sealants and flooring. An advanced recycling system will allow residents to separate materials at source, making recycling easier. Last but not least, a comprehensive education and training program will be offered to the residents to ensure that they understand the sustainability benefits of their building, and how to take full advantage of them. Very cool, progressive, responsible ideas such as this one will certainly further establish this builder's reputation and credibility as an elite developer of urban spaces, and helping make residents more environmentally friendly just by letting them go home.
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