New Westminster – The City of New Westminster has joined a number of BC municipalities in adopting the well-recognized LEED® building rating system for new civic buildings. Adopting the LEED Gold rating standard demonstrates that New Westminster is serious about reducing greenhouse gases, saving energy, reducing operational costs and the City’s overall environmental footprint.

The LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) building rating system is a points-based environmental rating system used to construct a sustainable or high performance “green” building. Green buildings are designed and operate in a way to conserve natural resources, create a healthier environment for occupants and reduce both landfill waste and greenhouse gases (GHG) emitted to the atmosphere.

"Moving to a LEED Gold standard for new civic facility construction underscores the City of New Westminster’s ongoing commitment to environmental and financial sustainability,” said Mayor Wayne Wright. “We’ll continue looking for more ways to demonstrate leadership and reduce our environmental footprint moving forward.”

The City of New Westminster plans to achieve LEED Gold certification as its preferred standard for all newly-constructed civic buildings greater than 500 square metres (5,300 sq. ft.). Studies show that the cost of construction using LEED standards (which tends to be higher than conventional building methods) is offset by substantial cost savings over the lifecycle of the building. Measurable benefits relating to employee satisfaction with their physical work environment leading to improved productivity have also been noted.

In September 2008, the City of New Westminster adopted a corporate Greenhouse Gas Reduction Plan as part of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities’ Partners for Climate Protection (PCP) Program. The City has committed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 15% (below 2007 levels) by 2017. The development of a high performance building policy (i.e. LEED Gold) for new municipal buildings was an identified action from the plan.


The City of New Westminster is currently planning the construction of a new multi-use civic facility located in the Downtown. The new facility will be the first city-owned LEED Gold standard building.

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Contact:
Jennifer Lukianchuk
Environmental Coordinator
604-515-3780
jlukianchuk@newwestcity.ca