Green building certification

Learn about the green building standards and certification programs available in Canada. They will give you the tools you need to improve your buildings’ energy performance – and make your business more marketable.

ENERGY STAR certification for commercial and institutional buildings in Canada

Natural Resources Canada’s ENERGY STAR certification program recognizes high performing buildings in Canada. Successful buildings can share their success with everyone who walks through their doors.

Building Owners and Managers Association's Building Environmental Standards (BOMA BEST)

The BOMA BEST program is the Canadian industry standard for commercial building sustainability certification (based on the internationally recognized Green Globes™ environmental assessment platform).

BOMA BEST is the only assessment and certification program of its kind for commercial buildings in Canada. It is designed to assess the environmental performance of existing buildings and how well they are managed and leverages ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager to help building owners and managers track their energy consumption. It is offered by BOMA Canada as a service to all commercial building owners and managers across Canada.

Certification is available for five specific building types: offices, shopping centres, open air retail plazas, light industrial buildings, and multi-unit residential buildings.

Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)^®

LEED is a third-party certification program and an internationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high-performance green buildings run by the CaGBC .

LEED gives building owners and operators the tools they need to immediately and measurably improve their buildings' energy performance. LEED has certified hundreds of projects – from individual buildings to entire neighbourhoods. In the process, LEED has transformed the way built environments are designed, constructed, and operated.

Canada Green Building Council (CaGBC)

The Canada Green Building Council is a not-for-profit, national organization that has been working since 2002 to advance green building and sustainable community development practices in Canada. The CaGBC is the license holder for the LEED green building rating system in Canada and supports the WELL Building Standard and GRESB (Green Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark) in Canada.

The CaGBC works closely with its membership, partners and other stakeholders including NRCan to leverage ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager to promote energy benchmarking in commercial and institutional buildings.

Green Key Eco-Rating Program

The Green Key Eco-Rating Program recognizes hotels, motels and resorts that are committed to improving their environmental and cost performance. Hoteliers get a thorough environmental audit, and are awarded a “green key rating” of 1 to 5. Then they’re taught how to "unlock" opportunities to reduce their costs and environmental impacts by lowering their energy consumption, training their employees and improving their supply chains.