Learn More

Designing green, building green, living green.
Using more wood in buildings helps keep us on the path toward a sustainable future.

Green Building: Materials and Resources

Green building programs that include a "materials and resources" category consider it beneficial to the environment if the material or resource:


A green building program that cannot accurately distinguish low environmental impact products from high impact products, but that nonetheless encourages the use of some products over others, is green in name only.

What are green rating tools?

These are tools used to assess the greenness of a building take into consideration some or all of these environmentally related categories: •    Sustainable sites •    Water efficiency •    Energy and atmosphere •    Materials and resources •    Indoor air quality •    Innovation and design process •    Location and linkages •    Homeowner awareness

Building codes and standards vs rating programs

In Canada, buildings are designed according to a code – either a provincial building code, or a recent version of one of Canada’s national codes adopted by regulation in a province or territory.

Codes are legislated requirements that describe building safety and performance. Rating systems are an additional approach, following goals for energy efficiency, interior air quality, water conservation and other sustainability criteria.  This framework may use a checklist, software tools, consensus standards and certain named attributes.

Ratings are voluntary unless they are adopted by an authority with jurisdiction or have not yet been referenced in any code, in any country.

Upcoming green codes and standards

•    Model National Energy Code for Buildings of Canada

•    US National Green Building ANSI Standard:

•    US Green Building Assessment Protocol for Commercial Buildings

ISO 14000 and ISO 26000

The 14000 series of standards from the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) provides a roadmap to organizing to achieve environmental responsibility. A new series of standards now under development will provide guidance to the private sector, government, and all other segments of society regarding social responsibility. The new set of standards, identified as the ISO 26000 series, is currently in draft form and available for public comment and discussion.  Implementation is slated for 2010.

More on green rating systems

Going green does not mean you need to pick one rating system fully. Many rating tools provide excellent ideas for better, higher performance, environmentally responsible designs. One option is to use one or more rating tools as a checklist only, saving on the administration fees while ensuring that the finished building meets the goals and expectations required.

Two examples of this strategy are:
•    Gardiner Public School, ON, Sep 2008
•    Ripple Rock Elementary School, BC, Feb 2007

There is a growing concern that some buildings will not perform as expected because rating systems deal only with the design, and not with the performance of the structure once complete. Concern over lawsuits from owners of buildings with energy consumption much higher than expected is expressed in:
•   Liability Exposure in Green Building, CHBA 2008
•   Legal Risks of Green Building, Custom Home 2008
•   Don't let Green Design Cause Red Ink, AIA 2007

Here is an article that can stimulate thoughts on a better way to rate green buildings:
•    A Better Way to Rate Green Buildings, Building Science 2008

Go to Quick Facts!