Finance committee  I would have to say western and northern Europe. Over the last 20 years, they have been driven mainly by EU regulation. They really systematically work towards low-energy and energy-plus buildings, as they call them. I can tell you, just as a matter of comparison, that our average home would use roughly, depending where you are, maybe 300 kilowatt hours per square metre per year.

Finance committee  It was our pleasure to do that.

Finance committee  Thank you for the invitation, Mr. Chair. The building sector represents a significant opportunity to reduce carbon emissions and other environmental impacts. In Canada, over 30% of emissions come from the building sector. The green building industry, over the last 10 years, has acquired the capacity and the knowledge to deliver results on carbon emission reductions with a positive return on investment.

Finance committee  It's the entire building industry, not just homes.

Finance committee  It depends on the region. The region is probably lower. The region of greater Vancouver is about $500,000, I think.

Finance committee  Vancouver is very high. In the city of Vancouver proper it would be $800,000 or something like that. Toronto is probably not far behind, $650,000 or something like that.

Finance committee  That's the average—in the city proper.

Finance committee  If you're talking about new home construction to, say, make energy improvements, I would say probably $15,000 or maybe $20,000. It's not a huge investment, actually.

Finance committee  The thing with the big companies is that these are for-profit companies. That's what we call in the industry the “split incentive”. They buy to sell, not to own. If you build to own, then you're fine, because you can get the payback over time and the paybacks are very advantageous.

Finance committee  Yes, yes, but you get the point, right?

Finance committee  Well, I think probably as with any industry it creates a lot of uncertainty. These individuals who work in that field are particularly.... They're essentially energy auditors. They're very skilled in terms of working with the builders, once the innovation and the new build is under way, to identify how buildings can really be built to high energy efficiency standards.

Finance committee  We're not asking for regulation; we are asking for market-driven solutions. The council is well known. We do not ask for regulation. We certainly support increases in the building code, as they apply to all buildings in Canada, but we are really looking for market-driven solutions, because as I said we know how to do it.

Finance committee  I do remember the question. It's a very easy answer. I think that the Government of Canada is one of the largest building owners in the country, if not the largest one, and the Government of Canada also leases a lot of office space and so on. It's an opportunity through procurement to require high environmental standards for the office space, or the spaces that it leases.

Finance committee  There are two items that come to mind immediately. One is to establish a centre of excellence around research in sustainable construction. I know there are federal programs around a centre of excellence. I mean there's the NRC that has the Institute for Research in Construction.

Finance committee  How much of it will be consumer-driven? In terms of the average consumer, who is the homeowner, we estimate that probably about 20% to 30% of homeowners are interested in having better homes. There are more products and technologies available now to green your home, from flooring to all kinds of furnaces and so on.