Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
The Canada Green Building Council is an industry-driven organization that has been in existence for 12 years. We focus very much on market-driven solutions. One reason that green buildings—these are environmentally responsible, high-performance buildings—have been successful is that for the owners and the developers there is typically a very good return on investment.
Globally the construction industry is a $6.8 trillion business. It's one of the largest industry sectors in the world. Buildings also have a tremendous environmental impact in terms of carbon emissions—about 30% to 35%—water, waste, etc., aside from the amount of land they consume. So this is a significant opportunity for reduction of environmental impacts and for innovation globally.
Canada was one of the early adopters of green building and we are considered to be a global leader. We are often visited by delegations from all over the world, including China, Europe, and Latin America, for our expertise in the area of designing high-performance buildings and communities.
Globally green building has been on the rise, particularly around new construction, but also around the retrofit of existing buildings. It's now firmly established. Over a hundred countries in the world have strong green building programs and, as I said, Canada is a leader in this area.
This is an innovation opportunity to really achieve high-performance and low-impact buildings. I can give you an example of some of the countries that have been served by a study done by McGraw Hill Construction on the construction sector for the world body in 2013.
Between 2012 and 2015 there will be an increase of between 20% and 30% in firms and businesses doing green buildings. That's a significant increase in green building activity.
If you look at green building growth by sector in Canada, over the next three years there will be significant growth: 44% in the commercial sector, 44% in the institutional sector, 31% in the high-rise residential sector, and 51% in existing buildings. So across the board more and more buildings in all sectors are going to be built to higher environmental standards.
Our council, along with some of our industry partners, commissioned a study this year that showed us how green building activity in Canada will increase. In 2011, 37% of Canada's architectural firms, developers, and building owners built 30% or more of their projects green. By 2014, the current year, this has increased to 56%. So 56% of firms are now building 30% or more of their projects green, and it's expected that by 2017 that's going to be 71%.
So if half of those firms are building more than 60% of their projects green, that means that green building—design, construction, operation, product manufacturing, etc., including infrastructure—has become a core business for many firms in Canada, and that's mirrored in other parts of the world as well.
The issue is that many of those products and technologies that are being used in very advanced buildings, including those of the Government of Canada, which are built to a high green building standard, particularly the LEED building rating system, use products and technologies that are actually imported.