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Green Buildings in North & West Vancouver


Blog by Andrew Reid | September 10th, 2014


Agents Debate The Effects Of The Growing “Green Movement” In Real Estate

News Updates From North & West Vancouver Realtor, Andrew Reid

It’s no secret there’s been a steady shift in perspectives across industries when it comes to environmental awareness -- and the real estate sector is following this shift with the rise of so-called “green buildings”.

Real estate agents shared their thoughts about the forces behind this “movement” at the recent Green Real Estate conference in Toronto.

Michael Brooks, CEO of the Real Property Association of Canada (REALpac) said, “The greener buildings are a means to an end. If it wasn’t for carbon dioxide, we wouldn’t care about the kilowatts; it would just be another cost in the building. We can talk about business-case driven goals, but let’s focus on the bigger issue: the energy externalities.”

Still, there were others who suggested that the big picture and the business case are largely inseparable.

“We don’t do it for the Mother Theresa award. We do it because it’s a good investment,” said Phil Gillin, senior managing director and head of Canadian property investment for Sun Life Financial.

Current and future contributing factors of these greener approaches to building design, management and operations will also likely include fallout from extreme and increasingly volatile weather, rising energy prices and demographic trends.

The construction of greener buildings may be a hot topic of debate among builders but, whether you’re looking to put up a small apartment building with only 10 units or a massive condo building with 200 units, builders still need to get buy-in from investors, owners, and potential tenants whose perception of costs can sway decision-making and, at the end of the day, capital expenditure.