Environment committee  Am I first, or is Mr. Hill?

Environment committee  On the reuse of materials, I'd add that part of the LEED process when you're building a LEED building is that you have to commit to handling waste and recyclable materials in a certain way. I've done a lot of work on the construction side as well. I'd have to say that when LEED was launched, industry in Canada really stepped up and put in processes that address waste production from the construction process.

Environment committee  Okay. I would just add that there are regional issues on the code side, and I think there are many differences across the country. Yesterday at NRCan we had a fellow from the Northwest Territories on the energy side. They face totally different issues up there. Costs are so incredible there.

Environment committee  Do you mean the production of the waste and what happens to that waste when you demolish? Is that what you're referring to? Right now when you do any renovations, you do a hazardous material assessment of your building before you even engage a contractor. That audit of the asset becomes kind of the foundation for what you're going to do.

Environment committee  It's an extension of what Benjamin was saying. Is there a way to tie this all together and add training to some of these more targeted kilowatt hour reductions and that type of thing? Is there a way that we can extend payback periods, as he also mentioned? There are often programs that are limited in length, for example.

Environment committee  I'll start with just one point, which is that when you are presenting an energy-saving project to an owner for approval, oftentimes you'll use a very simple payback analogy. If you say it's going to cost $1 million for this retrofit, rightly or wrongly, a lot of owners will say,“Okay, what's my payback?”

Environment committee  Can I add one little thing just very quickly?

Environment committee  In many industrial buildings, the landlord or the owner of the building provides the HVAC unit that's on the roof, but the tenant pays the utility costs. It's a bit the reverse of what you said, but it's the same problem. Most of those rooftop units operate at between 50% and 60% efficiency right now, so you're burning gas, but new technology is coming that will deliver up to 80% or 90%.

Environment committee  I would just add, though, that the other motivation for us is frankly very basic. It starts at tenant satisfaction. Many of our owners are renting out their properties. Again, tenants demand sustainability, so we are responding to tenant demands. A happy tenant translates into renewals, which translates into a better bottom line.

Environment committee  A big trend is right now is metering. In a commercial building, the trend is to try to get as many suites, as many spaces, as possible within a building metered so that the occupants can see for themselves what their energy costs are. That's the easiest way to start getting your energy costs under control without changing to LED lights or upgrading your HVAC systems or anything.

Environment committee  Most of our industry has moved to what are called “net leases”. The electricity is extra. The janitorial is extra. You pay a base component of rent, but then you pay an operating cost component. That includes a myriad of things, one of which is your electricity, but it's reconciled.

Environment committee  Sure. Start with the feds first or we'll run out of time, unfortunately.

Environment committee  You're out of time.

Environment committee  I think it's important to note that the reason commercial real estate is a little different is that in Canada a lot of it is driven by pension fund ownership at this point. Many of the investment firms demand sustainability. Their investors want and demand it. They actually compete among each other with ratings, so a lot of your investment return is based on whether your building is sustainable.

Environment committee  Can I add one quick comment?