December 3, 2007

Construct Canada sets green example for construction industry

The “greening” of Construct Canada is driven as much by market forces as it is by its organizers.

“It is not just about the demand — we have set greening examples ourselves by producing the first zero-waste trade show with Construct Canada in 2005,” said organizer George Przybylowski of York Communications.

Two years ago, Construct Canada organizers and the Metro Toronto Convention Centre partnered to produce the first major exposition and conference in Canada to be a zero-waste event.

The co-operation of show attendees, exhibitors and convention centre staff in 2005 produced a 95 per cent diversion rate of all waste associated with the show.

By recycling 11.89 metric tonnes of paper fibre, it saved the equivalent of 238 trees, 29.24 cubic yards of landfill space, 4,280 gallons of water, 1189 gallons of gasoline, 713 lbs of air pollutants and 123,668 kilowatts of electricity.

Organizers have partnered again this year with the convention centre to make the show a zero-waste event.

This year’s three-day show has more than 1,100 exhibitors, 450 speakers and 200 presentations and technical demonstrations, making it Canada’s largest exposition for construction, engineering, architectural, renovation and property management professionals.

Przybylowski added that this year’s Construct Canada responds to the growing concern for the environment and all things “green” by the construction industry.

The latest information on green building design, construction, best practices, energy-efficient strategies, products, services and technologies can be found from the showroom floor to workshops and seminars.

Michael Atkinson, president of the Canadian Construction Association, will moderate a contractor roundtable called Challenges and Opportunities in Green Building and Design.

Atkinson said that seeing a strong presence on green building at a large construction industry event such as Construct Canada is very beneficial.

“There is no question, green building provides a tremendous opportunity for the construction industry,” said Atkinson.

“Buildings are recognized as one of the biggest greenhouse gas emitters. People want to come up with ways to improve the environmental impact of a building’s footprint.”

The roundtable Atkinson will moderated addressed key areas in green buildings such as cost management, site planning, design and new risks and problems.

“You learn more from your mistakes than your successes,” Atkinson said.

“We are newcomers to this and there is a desire in the industry and Canada to become world leaders.”

A strong focus on green issues, technologies and information at Construct Canada is another indicator that “going green” has gone beyond being a trend, said Nancy Grenier, Canada Green Building Council communications and marketing manager.

“We are entering the mainstream and it is great to see such a focus at Construct Canada — it helps legitimize going green,” Grenier said.

The Council has seen signs of this mainstream growth in its LEED for Construction workshops.

As of September there were 862 registrants, a large jump from just 307 last year and 115 in 2005.

The fact Construct Canada green workshop and seminars are not just educational, but also explore the business side of building cleaner and more efficient structures is also important, adds Grenier.

“You can only move things along so far with an altruistic approach,” she said.

“But when you start seeing the next wave of builders learning they can do well and make a living at it, that is encouraging.”

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