Canadian Design and Construction Report staff writer
The Canada Green Building Council (CaGBC) has opened the 2017 CaGBC Green Building Product of the Year Award competition.
CaGBC initiated the competition in 2015 to encourage Canadian companies to develop sustainable building products and materials to better support the green building industry.
Product submissions are assessed based on four key areas: sustainability, transparency and verification, innovation, and application.
Full criteria can be found by visiting the award webpage. Entrants to the competition must be a National CaGBC member to apply, and the product must be manufactured or designed in Canada to be eligible (services and software are not eligible). A jury of experts from across Canada will to decide on this year’s winner. The submission deadline is Feb. 3.
The top three entrants will be asked to provide a short video about their product that will be shown to delegates at Building Lasting Change 2017, CaGBC’s National Conference and Showcase, May 30 to June 1 at the Vancouver Convention Centre. The winner will be presented with the award at the Leadership Awards Gala in Vancouver on May 31.
The winner also gains the right to use the CaGBC Product of the Year crest on its marketing materials and product website. This crest is only available to one winning project each year, making it an exclusive signifier of a truly green product.
“This is our third year recognizing a Green Building Product of the Year, and we expect to see an increasing number of submissions as the demand for sustainable building products grows in Canada,” says CaGBC president and CEO Thomas Mueller. “This award ties into our overall mission of encouraging innovation and getting products with reduced environmental and carbon footprints noticed in the market.”
Last year’s winner LightZone™ Glass Inc. says winning the 2016 Award was invaluable to its product and brand.
“Winning the Canada Green Building Council’s 2016 Product of the Year Award was pivotal to the successful market introduction of LiteZone insulating glass,” says LiteZone president Greg Clarahan. “This prestigious award shone a light on LiteZone for everyone to see who cares about energy efficiency. LiteZone achieves ultra high insulating values and extreme longevity that can significantly contribute to a more sustainable future. We can attest that this annual award by CaGBC propels the adoption of new technologies important to achieving greener buildings. We are very grateful to have been bestowed this benefit and are proud that LiteZone will always be an ‘Award Winning’ technology.”
Potential applicants can view the submittal process and more about the award by visiting the Product of the Year webpage, or by beginning the application process here.