Grant: College and Community Innovation Program

As climate change concerns grow, environmentally-friendly construction methods and materials are of growing interest to industry. Construction and demolition (C&D) waste comprises 30% of Albertan municipal landfills. Buildings consume 60% of all energy and one-third of all fresh water, while one-fifth of all materials consumed in Canada are used in building construction and operation. With very little change in building technologies occurring over the past 50 years, the time is overdue to develop new, efficient methods for this important industry.This project is timely, as Canada and the rest of the world have recently become concerned with possible solutions to climate change. The design and construction industries are now embracing the potential environmental and health benefits of green building technologies. New research is needed to meet municipal green building targets (one million Net Zero homes by 2030, 80% reduction in landfill waste 2010 and 50% reduction in water usage) while simultaneously addressing federal policies on Green House Gas emission reductions, improved indoor air quality issues and improved building code restrictions.Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT) Applied Research and Innovation Services established a Green Building Technologies (GBT) applied research initiative in 2008 with three main goals: to lead industry in implementing green-building technologies; to provide training for students in green-building technologies; and to enhance commercialization of green technologies for Canadian industry. GBT applied research program's focuses on four main research areas: 1) Net Zero Envelope & Systems Monitoring; 2) Architectural Ecology; 3) Building Integrated Renewable Energy/ Alternative Energy); and 4) Education and Industry Transformation.