Everything you need to know about LEED

What does it mean for a building to be LEED Certified? “Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design” (LEED) Certification is awarded to buildings that are designed, built and operated sustainably, meaning they have a lesser negative impact on the environment around them. 

According to Canada Green Building Council, buildings generate up to 30% of all greenhouse gases, 35% of landfill waste (from construction and demolition), and up to 70% of municipal water is consumed in and around buildings. So, it’s important that buildings are built and operated as green as possible, to lessen their harmful impact on the world and help meet environmental goals. 

More details please!

Image: Minto Communities' LEED Certified Upperwest condos in Ottawa

Many of us see “LEED Certified” on buildings and in the news, but do we actually know what it means? Believe it or not, the structures that surround us greatly impact our health and the well-being of our planet. They generate waste with the materials that are used to construct them and are costly to maintain. 

This is where we introduce you to LEED Certified buildings and homes. LEED (meaning “Leadership in Energy and Design”) provides a framework that ensures the creation of healthy, highly efficient and cost-saving green buildings. It’s a third-party certification sustainable rating system for buildings and homes. 

And fun fact, Canada ranked second in the world for LEED certified buildings a as of the end of 2023. How cool is that? What’s cooler (although we might be biased) is that Minto Communities and Minto Apartments are included in that statistic. People are really considering the impact their homes have on the environment to keep up with their living green lifestyles.

How do buildings get LEED Certified?

Image: Kitchen in 1235 Marlborough, Minto Apartments’ LEED Certified Purpose-Built Rental in Oakville

Many steps and strategies are used to analyze key areas of human and environmental health that develop the decision of what buildings get LEED Certified. Canada Green Building Council lists the key areas as: 

• Location and transportation

• Sustainable site development

• Water savings

• Energy efficiency

• Materials selection

• Indoor environmental quality

Points are awarded based on the categories listed above. There are also four possible levels of certifications that a building or home can achieve with the number of points collected: 

• Certified: 40-49 points

• Silver: 50-59 points

• Gold: 60-79 points

• Platinum: 80 points

The different level of certifications accommodate all different project types and goals. A point system references the level of green a building or home has reached, with platinum being the ultimate level of green achievement!

Canada’s a “Top 10” LEED country

The U.S. Green Building Council released its annual list of Top 10 Countries and Regions for LEED Certified projects internationally, and Canada has topped the list, placing second! Canada has the most significant number of LEED Certified projects outside of the U.S. with a combined total of 5538 certified projects as of 2022. 

Since 2005, Canada’s LEED Certified projects have led to:   

• Energy savings of 35.2 million eMWh (enough to power 1,197,000 homes in Canada for a full year)

• Water savings totaling over 60 billion litres (enough to fill 24,000 Olympic swimming pools) 

• Recycling over 3.85 million tons of construction and demolition waste (enough waste to fill the entire Rogers Centre in Toronto 15 times)

• GHG reduction of 6.8 million CO2e tons in greenhouse gas emissions (which would be like taking 1,450,000 cars off the roads for a year)

• Green roofs amounting to 355,000 square metres (enough to green the length of the Don Valley Parkway in Toronto)

The Canada Green Building Council (CAGBC) took it one step further by ranking Canada’s provinces on the total number of certifications each holds. The results are from CAGBC’s 2021 Annual Review:

1. Ontario – 1,873 certifications

2. Quebec – 1258 certifications 

3. British Columbia – 841 certifications

4. Alberta – 751 certifications 

5. Atlantic – 198 certifications 

6. Manitoba – 138 certifications 

7. Saskatchewan – 78 certifications  

8. Northwest Territories – 8 certifications 

Based on these numbers, Canada is definitely heading in the right direction to reduce waste and consumption by minimizing the impacts our buildings have on the environment surrounding them.  

Minto Group's LEED Certifications

Image: Green roof on Minto Communities’ 30Roe LEED Certified condo in Toronto

Around the world the number if LEED Certifications is growing, as is Minto's LEED portfolio. Since 2009, we’ve been committed to achieving a minimum of LEED Silver Certification on all of our new high-rise developments. 

Here's our list of top LEED Certified buildings in Canada:

1. MintoMidtown – Built by Minto Communities but no longer owned or operated by us, this was North America’s largest condominium project to receive LEED Gold certification at the time it was built.

2. Minto Communities’ 30Roe – A fully occupied condominium project in Toronto with LEED Gold Certification. A whopping 94 percent of construction waste was diverted from landfill. Great job, Minto Communities!

3. Minto Commercial’s 180 Kent Street – Achieved LEED Platinum Certification. With Platinum being the highest standard in LEED Certification, this 20-storey commercial building was the first LEED Platinum Core and Shell office tower in Canada! 

4. Minto Apartments’ 1235 Marlborough – This 14-storey, purpose-built rental building in Oakville achieved LEED Certification in September 2018. 1235 Marlborough was built to provide utility cost savings to renters, enhanced comfort, health and wellness, and reduce the building’s impact on the environment.

5. Minto Communities’ Lansdowne – LEED Gold Certification was awarded to Minto Communities in 2018 for their Lansdowne condos in Ottawa – the Vibe and Rideau. 

6. Minto Communities’ The Annex – These brand new condos in Kensington, Calgary are LEED Certified to reduce consumer costs and create sustainable living for future generations. 

7. Minto Communities’ UpperWest – These eco-friendly condos in Ottawa were awarded LEED Certification in 2015, built thoughtfully with water and energy conservation technology.

8. Minto Apartments’ Martin Grove – Located in Richgrove Village, 620 Martin Grove was awarded the LEED Gold certification in 2013. Minto has implemented features at this property that reduce residents’ energy and water consumption, “all-off” switches, ENERGY STAR® appliances, and stormwater management systems. 

9. Minto Apartments’ The ROE – Equipped with sustainable features such as a rainwater harvesting system and air quality control systems, Minto Roehampton is also LEED Building Design and Construction Gold Certified. 

10. Minto Apartments’ One80five – Awarded in 2022, Minto One80Five is LEED O M Gold certified, demonstrating Minto’s commitment to ensuring that the building operations and maintenance meet LEED’s environmental and safety standards.  

What does LEED Certification mean to you?

LEED Certifications, while proving that a building is greener for the environment, benefits us all, too. More specifically, LEED’s certification framework aims to protect residents’ health by emphasizing the importance of high indoor environmental quality. According to the CAGBC, green buildings contain lower concentrations of CO2 and have high ventilation rates. 

If you’d like to keep up with current LEED Certified projects in Ontario, check out this live interactive Green Building Map. Buying a LEED Certified home is the perfect step toward reducing your environmental footprint – and bringing balance to the conservation and preservation of the Earth’s natural resources.  

Any questions? Want to let us know what living in a LEED Certified building means to you? Tell us with #LiveBetter10 and check out our other post.