In a recent announcement, the Environment Minister of Canada stated that the federal government’s buildings will run on green power by 2025.

The Government’s Plan to Go Green

In terms of cost, the Environment Minister says that renewable electricity has become very competitive with fossil fuels and she believes it will be on par by 2025.

The plan includes reducing greenhouse gas emissions from federal government buildings and fleets by 40% by 2030. There is also a promise to spend $1 billion to modernize heating and cooling systems in more than 80 locations in the Ottawa region – which would reduce emissions in those buildings by a third.

The federal government wants to lead by example for the rest of the country and also show the world that Canada is very serious about supporting a clean-growth economy. Will they follow suit?

Real Estate Developers Building Green

It seems that future of real estate development is green. In our previous blog “Why You Should Build Green”, we looked at the reasons developers are looking to build green – for moral reasons as well as cost savings. We also discussed how this trend continues to grow and is forecasted to continue.

On the other hand, are these sustainability targets too difficult to meet or are they impractical?

LEED Buildings in Vancouver Fail to Meet Targets

Many green certified buildings in Vancouver are failing to meet their sustainability targets due to gaps in oversight and poor operations management.

The City of Vancouver mandates that commercial developments that are seeking re-zoning to be designed and built to achieve LEED gold certification.

Many commercial buildings are not properly tested once they are completed and not operated to meet their sustainability targets once tenants are in place.

It seems that while the government had great intentions, there is not a process to ensure that it meets LEED standards.

So looking at these situations, the question remains then: Are green buildings the future of commercial real estate in Canada? While it seems that is the plan for the government and developers, will it happen or will it be too difficult to implement?