After Construction

Ensuring Long-term Environmental Performance

Protecting human health and ensuring a safe environment does not end with the completion of a new building or structure. Increasingly, certification systems are being used to test, measure and assign a rating to the new construction based on its sustainability and eco- friendliness. These systems are also applied to older buildings and structures, thereby improving their overall performance and reducing their environmental footprint. For instance, the Green Globes program can tell building owners where work needs to be done to make their buildings more sustainable.

Contractors are the people who make existing buildings more environmentally friendly. Energy retrofits are one of the best ways to do this. Energy retrofits involve changing or upgrading windows, lighting, hot water tanks, heating and ventilation systems, and so forth to make these components more efficient and less energy-reliant.
 
A thorough energy retrofit can reduce a building’s energy use by 50 per cent. Of course, contractors must also regularly maintain and repair a structure – this usually ensures that the risk of environmental damage is minimized.