A review of LEED credits in Canadian building projects to optimize benefits and lower costs

The expansion and advancement of businesses, cities, municipalities and populations in Canada are increasingly demanding the effective usage of land and resources in building development. Companies, organizations and individuals are seeking to construct more environmentally responsible buildings to help minimize negative effects these structures place on the natural environment, as well as on the people that have either direct or indirect contact with them. There are standards available as resources to those seeking to construct such edifices. In an effort to set a benchmark for what constitutes a green building, the Canada Green Building Council (CaGBC) provides a certification system named Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED). LEED is a point scheme that seeks to measure sustainability. Many stakeholders in the construction industry in Canada are increasingly employing this system to validate and approve their achievement of a Sustainable Development (SD). In turn, inadequate management of SD projects may increase design and construction costs. This thesis reviews the usage of LEED in building construction in Canada. It looks at potential challenges and barriers associated with increased costs faced by its implementation, specifically pertaining to the construction industry in Canada. First, information from 42 new construction projects using LEED across Canada was collected and analyzed. The points most often obtained, as well as the least obtained were tabulated. A Credit Frequency Indicator (CFI) was used to depict the usage of credits by each project, and gives insight to what credits future projects with similar goals could focus on. Second, data was obtained from individuals directly involved in LEED projects through surveys. Project and respondent data was tabulated and presented to strengthen the validity of the responses. LEED credit data was also collected, analyzed, and presented in tables and figures in order to understand the cost and schedule impact of each LEED credit, as well as the relative difficulty of implementing these credits. Credits were ranked in order of highest to lowest mean values for the cost impact, schedule impact, and difficulty. The historical data and survey responses were correlated to show the relationship between the frequency of credit use in Canada, and the impact factors. Conclusions based on the data are presented. Recommendations for improvements to the LEED program concerning Canadian projects are made in respect to specific credits. Recommendations for future work are also discussed.