The GTA Construction Report – January 2009 – PAGE A5
Niagara Column
How Green Are We Really?
SANDRA KING – The GTA Construction Report
sure. We are definitely proud of our certified In this day and age with our environment
Yes, we do have a fantastic Green Belt projects: Stratus Vineyards Ltd., Niagara- and economy both in a plight, we do not
Green was the theme for 2008 (the econ- area, and all being well (or not, depending On-The-Lake (Silver - 2005); Brock Uni- have the luxury to stick our heads in the
omy and ‘recession’ aside) and in the Niag- on your perspective), plans are in place for versity Plaza 2006, St. Catharines (Silver – sand and think that maintaining our con-
ara region I thought we were pulling our growing it further, but in terms of new con- 2007); Campbell East Office Building, struction status quo will suffice. There is a
environmental weight, but now I’m not so struction, we could be doing more. Thorold (Silver – 2007); Southbrook Vine- better way and the investment required to
yards, Niagara-On-The-Lake (Gold – 2008) get there is an open mind and ingenuity.
and Balls Falls Centre for Conservation, LEED is an easy-to-follow, point-based
NCA collects food for charity,
Lincoln (Gold – 2008), but beyond these system that was developed by the U.S.
five, there are only two registered projects Green Building Council (USGBC). The
waiting on certification in the Niagara re- Canadian Green Building Council
exceeds previous year’s tally
gion to date. Toronto and the GTA take the (CaGBC) has since adapted the U.S. system
green cake when it comes to LEED in- to suit our nation-specific requirements in
volvement, but of course there is a much the following categories:
ALICIA FLOYD – The GTA Construction Report
other prizes that had all been donated for
higher construction density in this bustling • sustainable sites
the purpose of drawing as many members
The construction industry is always
metropolis and surrounding area than what • water efficiency
of the community into helping Community
looking for new ways to build up commu-
we will ever see in Niagara and of course • energy and atmosphere
Care.
nities and this month it was by way of a
this must be taken into consideration. • materials and resources
With well over 80 people in attendance,
mountain. A food mountain, that is.
Cost should not be an excuse since the • indoor environmental quality
the final results were astounding for an
In response to a friendly challenge from
financial rewards in saved energy down the • innovation and design process
event that lasted only a few hours. Over
the Hamilton and
road will soon recoup additional spending
Toronto branches of the 2,000 pounds of food, and more than
Niagara Construction Associations
required to meet the LEED criteria. How- –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Young $2,000 dollars in monetary contributions
Leaders Committee to see who could raise
ever, with proper planning and intelligent LEED Ratings
will be donated to Community Care of St.
the most food donations for charity, St.
design, these costs should be minimal, so Certified: 26-32 points
Catharines this year. Pleased to have ex-
Catharines members set wheels in motion
why are we not seeing more of it? It can’t be Silver: 33-38 points
ceeded their collections from last year, the
this month and planned a highly successful
because of construction time, this too, Gold: 39-51 points
committee is proud that they brought the
food drive.
should be about the same. I fear that it is Platinum: 52-69 points
community together to help others over the
On December 11, the NCA
still due to the fact that 1) it is easier to con- –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Young Lead- holiday season.
ers Committee held their second annual
tinue to do what has always been done 2)
The NCA would like to recognize all
food drive for charity. Rob Hill of FENA
there is confusion as to what is actually re- For more information on LEED and
sponsors for supporting the goals of the
Insurance Solutions Inc., along with the
quired. green buildings, visit www.cagbc.org
NCA: Brock Elevator, Calamar Construc-
NCA, helped to plan the event and attain tion Canada, Changing Seasons, D.F.
the goal of exceeding last year’s donations Brown, Guaranteed Company of North
of 1,500 pounds of food. This year the food America (GCNA), Hub International,
drive was organized as a large event held at Marks Supply Inc., Weinmann Electric
THE NIAGARA CONSTRUCTION
a local hotel. This new format drew out Limited and FENA Insurance Inc. Also,
many members of an already very commit- sincere thanks to everyone who came out to
ASSOCIATION’S AWARDS GALA
ted group of people. According to Hill there the event and contributed to such a worth-
was a lot for members to enjoy including a while cause.
The NCA Awards Gala is designed to honour and pay tribute to the outstanding
speech from the CCA President. Already Rob Hill and other members of
contributions made by our members. NCA encourages all worthy companies –
big or small to put forward their name, or the name of a colleague, for one of
In addition to coordinating the event, the NCA Young Leaders Committee are
NCA’s Awards:
Rob Hill was also the top contributor, do- looking forward to next year where they are
nating over 475 pounds of food. The cre- confident they will exceed what they have
PROJECT OF THE YEAR AWARD
ativity of Hill and the FENA staff drew gathered this year. OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION TO THE NCA “ED CHRISTENSEN”
people into their own business on the days Keep in mind that Community Care of
AWARD INDUSTRY LEADERSHIP AWARD
before the event in order to collect all they St. Catharines accepts donations from any-
could for a good cause. Supporting busi- one willing to give, all year long. For more
Nominations forms and specific terms of reference for each award are included
nesses and staff members were given the information on how you can donate, please
in this document. Entries will be judged by a Committee which consists of two
added incentive of receiving a draw ticket
experts/leaders in the field related to the award in question. All awards will be
visit www.communitycarestca, or contact
presented at NCA’s Awards Gala on February 20th, 2009.
for every three pounds of food donated. your local branch of the NCA.
Many people won fabulous gift baskets and
COMPLETE YOUR SUBMISSION:
Contact the NCA office for a nomination form.
ASSEMBLE PHOTOGRAPHS:
If you don’t have suitable photos, contact the architect, design professional,
engineer and/ or the owner as they usually have photos of the project at
various stages, including completion.
MEET THE DEADLINE:
Your completed Submission Package must be sent
no later than Friday, January 16th 2009, to:
NIAGARA CONSTRUCTION ASSOCIATION
34 Scott Street West, St. Catharines, ON L2R 1C9
905-682-6661 Fax: 905-688-5029
niagaraconstruction@bellnet.ca
www.niagaraconstrcution.org
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