Green Buildings That Pay Off

Green building saves money and creates jobs. It's also the simplest way for communities to lower dependency on fossil fuels and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
In this series, a multi-disciplinary team from the Tyee Solutions Society reports on how the next generation of green buildings are paying off in the form of financial and energy savings, improved living, and new jobs in a strengthened economy. Contributors include environmental reporter Colleen Kimmett, education reporter Katie Hyslop, and sustainability reporter Monte Paulsen among others.
This series is part of the larger Green From The Ground Up series, a project made possible through the support of the Vancity/Real Estate Foundation Green Building Grant Program. Support for this project does not necessarily imply endorsement of the findings or contents of these reports. If your organization would like to republish any of these articles, please contact Michelle Hoar.
In This Series
Five Myths About Green Building
Green doesn't have to mean expensive, exotic or uncomfortable. First in a series.
Green Homes For Less
Three affordable homes that could change that way you think about green building. Second in a series.
How Do They Decide a Building Is 'Green'?
The Tyee Guide to green building certification systems in Canada. Third in a series.
Building Jobs By Tearing Down Houses the Green Way
Vancouver aims to boost a new employment sector: recycling buildings.
Step Inside the Real Home of the Future: Passivhaus
Canadians helped invent a house so efficient you could heat it with a hair dryer. Then we forgot about it. First of three parts.
In Snowy Whistler, a House with No Furnace
Canada's first Passivhaus points to the future of green building with wood. Second of three parts.
Low-Energy Homes Mean Thousands of New Jobs
In Europe, that is, where Passivhaus principles are going into building codes. Could B.C. do it?
How Green School Buildings Help Children Grow
Students and teachers are more healthy and productive in sustainably-built schools, research shows.
How to Design a Building that Restores the Earth
UBC's Centre for Interactive Research on Sustainability aims to set a new North American standard by actually benefitting the environment.
A Smarter Way to Help You Pay for Greening Your Home
On-bill financing is making energy saving upgrades more affordable in the US. And soon here?
Greening Homes Can Be Big Boost to Economy
As U.S. programs show, Canada could 'win-win-win' by doing more to help homeowners retrofit.
How Many 'Miles-per-Gallon' Does Your House Get?
Home buyers deserve labels revealing future utility costs, say efficient building advocates.
Building Green from the Ground Up
We asked experts how to make true sustainability the norm. Here's what they told us. Last in a Tyee Solutions Society series.
Real Cities Give Their People Places to Pee
Public washrooms should be plentiful and accessible, says one scholar. And cities that do flush, flourish.