Scotia Plaza earns zero carbon certification
Canada’s second-tallest office building is now its largest zero-carbon certified building.
Scotia Plaza at 40 King Street West in downtown Toronto earned a Zero Carbon Building – Performance v2 Certification from the Canada Green Building Council (CaGBC), owners KingSett Capital announced on June 5.
At more than 1.5 million square feet and 68 storeys, Scotia Plaza becomes the largest building in the country to achieve the milestone.
“We congratulate KingSett Capital on achieving Zero Carbon Building – Performance v2 certification, making Scotia Plaza’s 40 King St. W. both the largest ZCB-certified building yet and the very first under the newly updated standard,” said CaGBC president and CEO Thomas Mueller. “KingSett’s achievement validates that zero carbon buildings – whether new builds or retrofits – are both technically and financially feasible for owners willing to innovate and invest in a low carbon future for Canada.”
Earning the zero-carbon designation from the CaGBC is the latest in a series of achievements realized at Scotia Plaza. In 2008, the building became one of the first major office towers in the country to achieve LEED Platinum certification.
In a typical month, the energy innovations in place inside Scotia Place save enough oil to drive across Canada 90 times, enough trees to build 25 homes, enough electricity to power 212 homes, and the equivalent of the average annual consumption of water in 13.5 homes.
These are in addition to the charging stations available for electric vehicles, the use of energy-efficient LED fixtures throughout the building, and the more than 5,700 square feet of green roof space.
“We are delighted to announce Scotia Plaza’s 40 King St. W. Zero Carbon Building certification,” said Jon Love, CEO KingSett Capital. “This would not have been possible without the collaboration and ongoing efforts of the owners, property management team, customers and employees. We continue to create value and drive change through our commitment to reducing the carbon emissions of our properties.”
KingSett Capital has plans in place to further improve Scotia Plaza’s environmental performance. Over the next 18 months, the building’s mechanical systems will be replaced with less carbon-intensive technology. In addition, the owners are offsetting the building’s emissions through Gold Standard certified carbon offsets.
The building has also achieved the largest Fitwel certification in Canada for a multi-tenant base building. The Fitwel certification was developed by the Unites States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to boost occupant health and wellbeing across seven categories, including physical, mental and social health.