Green building and sustainable construction are areas with strong growth projections in the near future. Let’s take a looks at AET’s Project Evergreen.
Project Evergreen, a green design addition and renovation of AET’s headquarters, was evaluated to CaGBC’s Zero Carbon Building – Performance Standard v2 and has achieved ZCB – Performance v2 certification. This respected certification reinforces AET’s commitment to conduct their business in a manner that has a positive impact on the communities in which they live and work.
The CaGBC® Zero Carbon Building Standard represents a unique, made-in-Canada solution that has created a new zero carbon standard for assessing the carbon performance of commercial, institutional, and multi-family buildings in Canada, designed to help achieve climate change commitments and allowing new and existing buildings to reach zero carbon.[1]
The certification process takes a carbon-centric approach and identifies carbon reductions as the key indicator of building performance.
In 2017, phase 1 of Project Evergreen commenced, incorporating several innovative green features to the head office leading to a reduction in energy, water usage, and landfill waste. Some features include;
- LED lighting throughout
- Clearview atrium to allow natural daylighting
- Second floor light tunnel to allow for natural lighting in windowless office space
- Interface tile carpeting throughout made from recycled material
- Living wall tied into the cold air return to filter air and improve air quality.
- Separate zoned heating/cooling with a motion sensor thermostat
- Energy star appliances and equipment
- Hemp oil finish to all trim and doors
- Low flow faucets and dual flush toilets
- 2-foot roof overhang to provide shading in summer and gain in winter.
- Low emissivity roofing membrane to prevent heat gain
- R50 insulated roof and continuous R30 floor to ceiling walls
- Outdoor lighting on photo sensors
- Reclaimed brick and timber wall finishing
- UV water purification system
- R70 ceiling insulation upgrade in the existing building
- Installation of a bioswale and rain garden for onsite stormwater management.
In 2019, Project Evergreen was finalized with the installation of a 15.75kWh rooftop/awning solar photovoltaic system equipped with an onsite Tesla Powerwall energy storage unit and monitoring gateway that generates enough carbon-free energy to power the entire building.
The certification process takes a carbon-centric approach and identifies carbon reductions as the key indicator of building performance. Requirements of the ZCB-Performance v2 certification include the ability to demonstrate a zero-carbon balance, the development of a zero-carbon transition plan away from fossil fuels, energy usage and peak demand reporting, and embodied carbon reporting.
AET calculated embodied carbon through the Athena Impact Estimator software, covering both the structural and envelope building components in the analysis. The zero-carbon transition plan includes designing and installing a Cold Climate Heat Pump System to replace the natural gas-consuming equipment and is supported with a Class C cost estimate.
Since its inception, sustainability at AET has meant to survive and prosper, to create more value than we consume, to be innovative and adaptive to change, and to fulfill our present needs within the carrying capacity of our planet without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. This certification puts AET one step closer to becoming a Carbon Neutral business by 2030, and they are honoured to be among the group of businesses committed to reducing their greenhouse gas emissions and working towards securing our climate future.
“We’re proud to receive the Canada Green Building Council ZCB-Performance v2 certification”, said Managing Director & CEO Scott Freiburger.
“The Performance certification provides valuable recognition and strengthens our carbon reduction commitments, demonstrating that a zero-carbon building for existing buildings is an achievable goal.”
Credit: AET Group Inc.
