Greater Toronto
Chapter Members
Vote in Favour of Integrated Nationwide Model What Chapter Members can look forward to: increased local engagement Canada is a global leader in green building, largely
There is now an even greater opportunity for advocacy, engagement and change
due to the work of the members of the Canada Green
locally by being better equipped to support the Toronto market and represent
Building Council who have made major strides in the
regional interests at the national level. By having Chapter staff join an integrated
transformation of the Canadian industry over the last 12
team, resources will be better allocated to enable chapter teams to work even more
years. In fact, the U.S. Green Building Council recently
closely with regional communities that will help drive the market forward.
announced that Canada was the top country for LEED certified projects internationally for the second year in
With all of these changes, Chapter members can also be confident that they will
a row. Throughout this time of growth, the Chapters
receive the same high level of service from Chapter staff, and that local educational
of the Canada Green Building Council have played
programming and events, community participation and volunteer opportunities will
a crucial role in bringing the collective mission to all
continue and be enhanced moving forward.
corners of the country. The Greater Toronto Area (GTA) itself is home to now over 500 LEED certified
Key elements of the nationwide model
projects, with hundreds more registered.
• The new integrated model would come into effect on January 1, 2016. Some of its key elements are that the Chapter Board will transition to becoming a Chapter
Despite these milestones, there is still much to be
Leadership Board with increased focus on strategic regional issues and will provide
done to advance green building across the country.
direction to staff to deliver events, programs and other initiatives that provide
This is why over the last year and a half, CaGBC
increased value for members and stakeholders.
National and the Chapters began exploring new ways
• The Chapter will have a representative on a newly formed nationwide committee
of working together to increase our mission impact.
to discuss and address regional challenges and opportunities, and contribute to the
This consultative process resulted in the design of
development of nationwide strategies.
an integrated nationwide model that would better
• The Chapter Executive Director will become an employee of the nationwide
support the needs of our members.
organization and be part of the CaGBC’s senior management team, but would remain located in the region.
Under the new model, the Chapters will continue to focus their efforts in supporting their local members,
There will be no immediate change to individual Chapter memberships. However,
providing advocacy and delivering programs and
under the new structure (starting in 2016) CaGBC member companies will be
events that address regional interests. The Chapter will
entitled to unlimited individual Chapter memberships in the Chapters of their choice.
also participate more actively in the development of
This change will increase and simplify access to local programming and events,
integrated strategies, in conjunction with National and
grow the community of green building practitioners, and widen networking and
other Chapters, to further advance green building in
business opportunities.
the region and across the country. The Greater Toronto Chapter is happy to be moving forward with the integrated This summer, the Greater Toronto Chapter and Atlantic
nationwide model and looks forward to working with current and new members in
Chapter members unanimously voted in favour of the
the coming year to hear what matters to you in our local market, so that we can
newly integrated nationwide model. Other CaGBC
work together to affect continued growth and change in the GTA.
Chapters will be voting on the model this fall.
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FALL 2015 Toronto FOCUS