Build Green And Affordable From The Start

Buildings currently constitute roughly 43% of emissions in Burlington.

As the City prepares to support further population growth, the time is now to ensure the required homes and other buildings are designed and constructed to combat climate change while being affordable to
maintain and operate.

Building green from the start offers significant co-benefits. By building energy efficient and low carbon buildings from the outset, we can reduce monthly energy bills, improve air quality, and
protect homes from the costly impacts of extreme weather. Importantly, this proactive approach is more cost effective than retrofitting existing buildings in the near future.

Communities across Ontario are calling on our leaders to tackle climate change and the housing crises simultaneously. Green Development Standards (GDS) are an established municipal policy tool that encourages and requires new developments to achieve key sustainability criteria. They are not new – the mandatory Toronto Green Standard has been in effect since 2010!

Why mandatory Green Development Standards matter

The City of Burlington currently has voluntary Sustainable Building and Development Guidelines, but these are now out of step with the leading practices in Ontario. They must be strengthened with the inclusion of key best practice components, such as but not limited to:

• mandatory standards for new developments that are aligned with net zero by 2050;
  
• a tiered pathway to net zero new buildings over time, which offers certainty and stimulates innovation within the local development community; and
  
• alignment with our peer municipalities to ensure a consistent approach to development across the GTHA region.
  

Green Development Standards in Burlington would ensure consistent standards and expectations for the building of high-quality, efficient, and climate-resilient buildings.

This is why BurlingtonGreen is joining the efforts of the Bay Area Climate Change Council to collaborate with a working group of community members ranging from industry and developers
to environmentalists with the goal of building consensus around ambitious and realistic targets for Green Development Standards in our region. We are advocating for the establishment of mandatory, effective standards in Burlington in 2025, before more shovels go in the ground.

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