New buildings in Toronto to face tougher green standards on May 1

Tougher rules on greenhouse gas emissions for new buildings will kick in on May 1 in Toronto as part of the city's battle against climate change.

Under the changes to the Toronto Green Standard (TGS) — the city's sustainable design requirements —  city-owned buildings will face a higher environmental standard than privately-owned structures.

"It's certainly a challenge, but I think it's absolutely necessary," said Marianne Touchie, a building science professor at the University Toronto.

"I think the tiered approach is the right way to go."

Energy use in buildings accounts for more than half of Toronto's greenhouse gas output, making them the city's largest single source of emissions, according to the City of Toronto's website. Under the new standards, all new city owned buildings will have to meet a net zero emissions target. The city will offer financial incentives to encourage privately owned buildings to meet similar standards voluntarily. 

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The city hopes the changes will push developers to move away from power sources like natural gas and toward more green options like solar power, as well as more efficient heating and cooling systems. All new buildings will now face requirements like tougher emission standards, facilities for electric vehicles and more green features like grass and trees. The rules are part of Toronto's goal of becoming a net-zero city by 2040.

In Scarborough, one city-owned building is ahead of the game in meeting the new rules.

Construction began last week on the North East Scarborough Community Recreation & Child Care Centre. When it opens in 2024  it's expected to be the city's first net-zero community centre. 

The idea is to offset, or "net-to-zero," the climate impacts of a project, says Zeina Elali, the senior sustainability adviser with Perkins&Will, the firm the designed the building. That means if something in the structure does produce greenhouse gas emissions, the builder will need to do something else to counter it.

To be truly a sustainable building, it is important to consider both "operational carbon" — the emissions needed to heat a building and keep it operating — and "embodied carbon" — the amount of energy used in construction and the materials the building is made of, she says.

Elali says that's exactly what this project is doing: considering operational carbon but also factoring in embodied carbon — something all city-owned projects will need to account for in this next phase of the Toronto Green Standard.

Perkins&Will was already exploring working in this way but putting it into the Toronto Green Standard is creating a catalyst for the development and construction industry, says Elali.

"It's forcing companies to finally pick up the right skill sets," she said.