Rebuilding better could be the rallying cry for a lot of B.C. industry sectors but perhaps none more so than the building industry itself.
Buildings built better deliver bottom-line benefits on numerous fronts. Better environments for tenants and lower operating costs for building owners are two. But the overall dollars and sense of building energy efficiency and lowering construction’s environmental impact are massive.
Buildings and construction contribute an estimated 39% of global greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs). Residential, commercial and industrial buildings account for an estimated 17% of Canada’s GHGs. Reducing those percentages will contribute greatly to any ambitions B.C. and the rest of Canada have in hitting climate change targets.
But there is much more value than that in building buildings better. As a recently released Canada Green Building Council (CGBC) report outlines, the contribution of green buildings to employment and economic activity is also significant.
Canada’s Green Building Engine estimates that the country’s green building industry at last count employed approximately 463,000 direct full-time workers. Its contribution to Canada’s GDP more than doubled to $48 billion in 2018 from $23 billion in 2014. According to CGBC estimates, the green building sector could create 1.5 million direct jobs by 2030, contribute $150 billion in direct GDP and cut carbon dioxide emissions by 53 million tonnes compared with 2018.
But the green building market today is 80% new construction. Retrofitting existing building stock is a huge untapped opportunity. Natural Resources Canada estimates that the country has approximately 2.9 billion square metres of inefficient buildings and homes that contribute 30% to Canada’s overall GHG emissions when construction and building materials are factored in.
That is money left on the table for construction trades. It is also an energy efficiency and pollution shortfall we can no longer afford.
