Wednesday, April 18, 2007

Nancy Cohen, Vice President, Strategic Occupancy Planning,
     Cushman & Wakefield LePage Inc.
Jonathan Westeinde, Managing Partner, Windmill Development Group Ltd.
 

Keynote Presentations

Creating Urban Wealth Today: Connecting the Economy, the Environment and Development
There are few public speakers in Canada as powerful as Glen Murray on the subject of the future of our cities and our environment. As an urban strategist, a former Mayor of Winnipeg, and the Chair of the National Roundtable on the Environment and Economy, he has a vision that Canadian cities can create urban wealth and health through economic development and environmental stewardship.

In this opening address, Glen will share his thoughts on how climate change is impacting the cities we build and live in, and the role that buildings and related energy uses can now play in national climate change and urban development. He will share some of the strategies building owners, investors and residents can expect from future policies and taxes, and how capital decision-making influences the kinds of cities we build and the effect on the environment. He will provide his thoughts on why green buildings are the best practices for our cities, for our climate, and for the development industry.

As an urban strategist with AuthentiCity, Glen Murray is best known for his vision to build culturally dynamic urban centres. He inspires Canadians to look at cities as the economic engines of the country that must be built on a foundation of culture, creativity, quality of place and environmental stewardship. His vision is anchored in practical and extensive municipal experience and from working with business and union leaders and in partnership with other levels of government. He was the first Chair of the Big City Mayors Caucus in 2002 while he was Mayor of Winnipeg. In that capacity he led the campaign for new fiscal arrangements for municipalities - the New Deal for Cities. Glen Chairs the National Roundtable on the Environment and Economy.
 

Re-Affirming the Business Case and Value for Higher Performance Buildings:  Has Green Become the New Normal? 

In the 1990s, not many people had heard of the terms green building or high performance buildings in Canada. Today, green building has become a $10 billion industry in the United States and it is gaining significant momentum in Canada. What has been at the forefront of this rapid market transformation?  Why have over 90 U.S. federal agencies, states and municipal governments adopted green building standards as the required norm? Why are major financial institutions, corporations and developers committed to green buildings as a way to realize their environmental goals?

This presentation will demonstrate why greening a building is increasingly being seen as a practical, financially-viable strategy for real estate developers, owners, investors, and tenants. What have been the key factors responsible for the acceptance, development, implementation, and acceleration of green-building practices in the United States and Canada? Why are institutional investors among the strongest advocates for green investment and see this as a sound business proposition?  Why have corporate real estate users increasingly become proponents for high-performance work environments? The presenter will also examine how sustainable value is created, discuss some common myths and fallacies, demonstrate how green valuation can improve everyone’s bottom line, and hint at the future of asset value in an increasingly green world.

Gregory Kats is one of the most knowledgeable individuals on green buildings in the United States. As Co-Founder and Principal of Capital E, he provides strategic services for Fortune 500 companies, public agencies and finance firms on green building and clean energy- related technology, financing and legislation.  He is Chair of the Energy and Atmosphere Technical Advisory Group for LEED, and serves on the USGBC’s LEED Steering Committee. Greg also authored the most widely-cited study on the cost and benefits of green buildings which was conducted for 40 California state agencies. The study is cited as a primary rationale for the 2004 California Executive order requiring all future state public construction and retrofits be green, and for similar initiatives in other cities and states. Greg also served as the Director of Financing for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy at the U.S. Department of Energy (1996-2001), managing the country’s largest clean technology development and deployment program.
 

Moderator:
Jonathan Westeinde, Managing Partner, Windmill Development Group

Panel:
Matthew Kiernan, Founder & Chief Executive,
     Innovest Strategic Value Advisors Inc.
Timothy Lowe, Principal,
     Waronzof Associates, Inc.
Doug Pearce, CEO & CIO,
     British Columbia Investment
     Management Corporation
 

Concurrent Sessions (Select A1, A2, or A3)

Session A1
Lessons Learned From the First Generation of Green Buildings: Hear the Experts
While there is considerable interest and more activity in green buildings in Canada at this time, the number of completed projects and available historic data bases is still relatively small. This session will examine the experiences and the results to-date from the early adopters of green building, green development and high-performance buildings. What can we learn from projects that were undertaken over the past ten years? The discussion will also provide some valuable insights with respect to what you should do – and not do – when planning, designing, and constructing green buildings. Reference will also be made to some U.S. experiences where the market has been trending ahead of Canada over the past fifteen years.

Moderator:
Michael Brooks, Executive Director,
     Real Property Association of Canada

Panel:
Peter Busby, Managing Director,
     Busby Perkins + Will has the largest
     portfolio of completed green projects in Canada; widely considered to be
     one of North America's leading green architecture firms
Stephen Carpenter, President,
     Enermodal Engineering, consultant to more
     LEED and high performance buildings than any other firm in Canada
Joe Van Belleghem, Partner, Developments,
     Windmill Development Group Ltd.

Session A2
How Can Cities Facilitate Greener Buildings:  Pittsburgh vs. Vancouver vs. Toronto
While developers and building occupants play pivotal roles in shaping and influencing decisions to green a new or existing building, municipalities and local organizations can also assume key roles in driving market demand for green building through education, project facilitation, and planning and development-oriented policies. This session will examine three examples of cities and their recent experiences in encouraging greater implementation of green practices by design, construction and development professionals. What roles are being played by municipal planners and non-profit organizations? How effective have they been to this point?          

Moderator: 
Michael Singleton, Executive Director, Sustainable Buildings Canada

Panel:
Ernie Sota, Board of Directors,
     Green Building Alliance, Pittsburgh
Lawson Oates, Director, Environment Office,
     City of Toronto
David Ramslie, Green Building Planner,
     City of Vancouver

Session A3
How Much More Does A Green Building Really Cost? Managing a Green Building Project from Design to Commissioning: Effective Strategies that Work in Containing Your Costs
Some architects, contractors and developers have long been proactive in the field of green building and have relatively sophisticated systems in place for choosing the right products and technologies during the design phase. This panel will share how making those right choices makes a big difference in the long-term management and maintenance of the building. Learn about tools that can be used in the design and construction phases of a green development that can ensure that the project stays on budget and meets its sustainability objectives. Hear how life cycle assessment, whole-building design, careful commissioning and thoughtful management can help assure that cost savings continue into the future. How are you setting your initial budget?  What quality assurance should you use to ensure that you are getting the most out of consultants? Evidence is now also mounting that significantly higher first costs of green design and construction could be a myth based on outdated information. Find out whether it costs more to design and construct a greener building than a conventional new one, what may be attributable to any difference, and what the business case is for a return on that investment.

Moderator:
Lisa Lafave, Portfolio Manager, Real Estate, HOOPP

Speakers:
Loghman Azar, Partner,
     LINE Architects Inc.
Stephen Pope, C-2000 Project Leader,
     Buildings Group,
     Natural Resources Canada
Doug Webber, Project Manager,
     Halsall Associates Limited
 

Session B1
The Corporate Real Estate Perspective: How the Benefits for Tenants are A Major Driver in the Demand for Greener Buildings; What Will Be the Implications of LEED-CI on Marketing New and Existing Buildings?
The benefits of building green include not only savings from reduced utility costs and lower operations and maintenance expenses, but also enhanced occupant productivity and health. Four of the attributes associated with green building design have been positively and significantly correlated with higher levels of productivity (increased ventilation control, more lighting control, greater temperature control and increased day lighting). Learn more about the compelling body of laboratory and field evidence that indicates a wealth of benefits for the people who work in green buildings.  You will also learn the tenant side of the green building discussion. Are they strong proponents of having their existing buildings made greener or having the market offer newer high performance building? What implications do green buildings have on leases? Is it necessary for tenants to pay a higher NER for this to happen? Discussion will also focus on LEED for Commercial Interiors and what the implications might be of these standards on the marketing of new buildings vs. existing buildings.

Moderator:
Craig Tresham, Senior Vice President,
     Avison Young Commercial Real Estate

Panel:
David Clusiau, Principal,
     NORR Limited Architects & Engineers
Gary Saulson, Director, Corporate Real Estate,
     PNC Bank Financial Services Group 
Julie Struthers, Director, Major Properties,
     Corporate Real Estate,
     RBC Financial Group

Session B2
Green Certification and Rating Tools: What is Their Current Status? Which One Is Right For Your Building? Can Performance Guarantees Be Offered or Not?
This session will provide an update on the LEED program in Canada, BOMA Go Green Plus, and Green Globes environmental assessment and rating systems. A panel discussion will examine the successes and challenges associated with the major rating systems and metrics that are available and being used as performance indicators of a greener building in today’s market. The second part of this session will examine the implications of any guarantees that can be offered by designers and other professionals working on green buildings. To what extent are architects and engineers liable if they guarantee the outcomes or the performance of a building and its system?

Moderator:
Bruce Lorimer, President, Lorimer Consulting

Panel:
Nolan Heuchert, Senior Vice President, Marsh Canada Limited
Wayne Proulx, member of the BOMA Toronto
     Go Green Committee; member of the US
     Green Building Intiative’s Technical Committee
Ian Theaker, LEED Program Manager,
     Canada Green Building Council

Session B3
Case Studies: Multi-Unit Residential, Retail and Institutional Buildings
This session will focus on the experiences of consultants and developers in greening buildings beyond the office sector: condominiums and apartments, retail properties, hotels, and institutional buildings. What were the primary reasons that led to the decision to design and develop a green building? What were the relative impacts of the costs of greening these projects? What were some of major high-performance features of the buildings? Case studies will include the first LEED Platinum building in Canada and how these additional features were approved within the budget for the project.

Moderator:
Jamie James, Partner, Windmill Development Group Ltd.

Speakers:
Scott Dutchak, Vice President,
     Development, Calloway REIT
Jean-Yves Germain, Co-President,
     Groupe Germain
Robert Manherz, President,
     Dundurn Edge Developments Inc.
Bill Nankivell, CEO,
      B+H Architects
 

Why Green Buildings are Smart Business and a Win-Win for Everyone
Since the mid-1990's, the Tower Companies has pursued the ideals of environmentally conscious and sustainable development. Today, Tower is the 25th largest purchaser of green energy in the U.S. and is internationally recognized as an authority on green building technology, setting new standards for green development in office, residential, retail and mixed-use real estate environments (that include the Green Office Building of the Year and America's first LEED-certified, multi-family, rental housing community). Tower’s corporate leadership is continually seeking to enhance the synergy between health, mind and spirit that can be achieved in every built environment. The company has developed over one million sq. ft. of green projects in the Washington area, and purchases wind energy to meet 100% of the electrical energy needs for their entire portfolio. One of their current priorities is to become carbon neutral by 2008. What were the reasons for these decisions? What have been the outcomes and results for the Tower Companies?

Speaker:
Marnie Abramson, Director,
     Marketing & Public Relations,
     The Tower Companies

Session C1
Case Studies: Recent Experiences in Green Office Buildings
Using case studies of green office buildings in various Canadian cities, this panel will examine a range of questions. What were the primary reasons that led to the decision to develop a green office building?  How will the landlords and tenants of these greener buildings be marketing that distinction?  How will they differentiate these buildings or themselves from the rest of the market? Where possible, comments will also be made on the costs or the business case related to the projects and the perspectives of the owners, tenants, developers and A/E/C team on the project design and management.  What are some of the major high performance features of office buildings being developed today?  One of the examples used will refer to the first “flex” office property being developed in Canada as a LEED certifiable building.

Moderator:
Doug Hitchcox, Vice President & Director,
     Cushman & Wakefield LePage Inc.

Panel:
Craig Boyle, Sustainable Design Specialist,
     Office of Greening Operations,
     Public Works & Government Services Canada
Mark Chapman, Vice President,
     Office Developments,
     Giffels Design-Build Inc.
Dermot Sweeny, Principal Partner,
     Sweeny Sterling Finlayson & Company Inc.

Session C2
How Are Energy and Environmental Technologies and Strategies Being Used in Higher Performance Buildings?
Since energy can represent 40% or more of the operating expenses of a building, it is a substantial cost that can be reduced through energy efficiency and related measures that are a fundamental part of green building design.  Research has shown that green buildings on average use 30% less energy than conventional structure, have lower electricity peak consumption, are more likely to generate renewable energy on-site, and may purchase grid power generated from renewable energy sources.

This session will examine some of the very latest environmental features and energy related strategies, practices and technologies that can be implemented in the design, construction, renovation and operation of a greener building.  Case studies will include some leading-edge projects in Canada.

Moderator & Speaker:
Andrew Pride, Vice President,
      Minto Energy Management

Speakers:
Chuck Farmer, Director, Business Market Channels,
      Ontario Power Authority
Luigi LaRocca, Senior Associate,
     Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg Architects
Wayne Proulx, National Manager, Energy &
     Environmental Services,
     GWL Realty Advisors Inc.

Session C3
Proven Green Building Technologies: How To Make Your New or Existing Building Green the Risk-Free Way
The session will examine some practical experiences in determining a greening strategy for a new or existing building including the cost implications of this decision. What can be practically done if the building is new? 20 years old? 35 years old? 50 years old? At what point is it more cost effective to retrofit the building or develop a green building from scratch? The presentation will examine the three main building components and show some of the experiences that are being used to optimize them: the building envelope; the lighting load; and the mechanical system.

Moderator:
Cheryl Gray, Senior Vice President, National Real Estate Services,
     Bentall Capital LP

Speakers will include:
Guy Favreau, Vice President, Architecture,
     Ædifica
Ed Lowans, Senior Sustainability Consultant,
     Halsall Associates Limited
 

Peer Discussion and Closing Roundtable: Reaffirming the Business Case for Green and High Performance Buildings: What Does the Future Hold?

A panel discussion that will review the key conclusions reached throughout the conference as well as provide some final observations on related issues. These will include:

• What is the definitive bottom line on the costs of these types of projects and their return on investment? Are they significantly higher than conventional developments or not? Does the ROI justify any higher costs?

• What are investors saying about this? Since many investors have a longer-term view, do they need to be sold on high-performance buildings or have they already become advocates?

• As the largest real estate user in Canada, how are the federal government’s real estate and accommodation priorities and strategies impacting the greening of its existing building stock, properties under lease, and the standards and criteria that will apply to all future new developments?

• To what extent is the market now supporting these initiatives?  Does the “greening of buildings” now have sufficient corporate culture?

• What issues or challenges still need to be addressed to facilitate a greater increase in the greening of new and existing buildings?

• What will happen to buildings that are not greened? Will they become obsolete or will the market discount their value?

• How is green building impacting the jobs of real estate CEOs, CFOs and asset managers, leasing executives, et al?

Moderators:
Nancy Cohen, Vice President, Strategic Occupancy Planning,
     Cushman & Wakefield LePage Inc.
Jonathan Westeinde, Managing Partner, Windmill Development Group Ltd.

Panel:
Stephen Carpenter, President, Enermodal Engineering
Chris Corps, President, Asset Strategics Ltd.
Amy Erixon, COO, Giffels Management Limited
Tim McGrath, Assistant Deputy Minister, Real Property Branch, PWGSC
Paul Morassutti, Executive Vice President, Valuation, Altus Helyar
Tom Payne, Partner, Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg Architects

4:30 p.m.

Conference Adjourns

New Feature!  Informal Discussion Rooms

Throughout the conference, there will be an opportunity to participate in small roundtable discussions with speakers and your peers attending the conference.  A specially equipped room will be set aside for greater in-depth conversations with most of the speakers following their presentations.