Building Certification & Rating

There are a wide range of certification programs available to help recognize and promote buildings that meet various levels of sustainability.

Building ratings provide a scale that allows you to evaluate the sustainable performance of your building and may be used to determine if it qualifies for a certification.

The following information is meant to help you navigate these various programs and decide if they are applicable to your building.

Certification Programs

LEED

Application: New construction and major renovations
Building types: Commercial and Multi-Family Part 3, Schools, Retail, Data Centers, Warehouse, Hospitality, Healthcare, Homes (in US and Canada only)
Description: Certification levels are based on a point rating system where points are awarded for various sustainable design and operation criteria. Certification levels are Certified, Silver, Gold and Platinum. LEED can be considered both a certification program and rating system.

Built Green

Application: New construction and renovations
Building types: All residential buildings
Description: Certification levels are determined based on an EnerGuide rating and a point rating systems where points are awarded for various sustainable design criteria. Certification levels are Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum.

BOMA BEST

Application: Existing buildings
Building types: Commercial
Description: Certification levels are based on a minimum requirement of best practices and an assessment score from an additional series of management and operational procedures. Certification levels range from 1 through 4, with 4 indicating the highest achieving buildings.

ENERGY STAR for New Homes

Application: New construction
Building types: Part 9 Residential
Description: The ENERGY STAR for New Homes Standard is designed to be 20% more energy efficient than a home built to code.  A building can follow either a performance path using the EnerGuide rating system or a prescriptive path choosing from a selection of Builder Option Packages (BOPs). An ENERGY STAR home must achieve a maximum air leakage and include heat recovery ventilation and ENERGY STAR appliances.

R-2000

Application: New construction
Building types: Part 9 Residential
Description: The R-2000 Standard sets out a series of house performance requirements beyond building codes, covering: energy demand, ventilation, environment, air-quality, safety and water conservation.

Passive House

Application: New construction
Building types: All buildings, but typically Part 9 Residential
Description: The Passive House Standard requires that a building be designed to meet maximum energy use intensity and air leakage targets. Unlike other certification and ratings programs, Passive House standards do not offset envelope energy efficiency with renewable generation technologies such as solar panels or heat pumps.

Rating Systems

EnerGuide

Application: New construction, renovations and existing buildings
Building types: Ground-oriented Residential
Description: Assesses the design and performance of homes to provide a value indicating annual energy use. EnerGuide is the most common residential building energy rating system used in Canada and is also a component of many certification programs and building codes.

LEED

Application: New construction and major renovations
Building types: Commercial and Multi-Family Part 3, Schools, Retail, Data Centers, Warehouse, Hospitality, Healthcare, Homes (in US and Canada only)
Description: LEED uses a point rating system where points are awarded for various sustainable design and operation criteria. Since the points are used to certify a building, LEED can be considered both a certification program and rating system.