Registration has opened for the 2016 Canadian Green Building Council (CaGBC) Green Building Product of the Year Award.
CaGBC initiated the Product of the Year award in 2016 to encourage Canadian companies to develop sustainable building products and materials in order 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 CaGBC member to apply, and the product must be manufactured or designed in Canada to be eligible.
A jury of experts from across Canada has been chosen to decide on this year’s winner. The jury members are:
- Joel Courchesne, president, Courchesne et associés inc.
- Rebecca Holt, sustainable building advisor, Perkins+Will Canada
- Sheila Brown, manager/project management, Newmark Knight Frank Devoncore
- Mark Hutchinson, vice-president of green building programs, Canada Green Building Council
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 2016, CaGBC’s National Conference and Expo, June 6 to 8 at the Allstream Centre in Toronto. The winner will be presented with the award at the Leadership Awards Gala in Toronto on June 7, at the Liberty Grand Entertainment Complex. 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.
“We were very impressed with the winning selections in the inaugural competition last year and expect to see even more interest in 2016 as the demand for third-party verified green and healthy building products continues to grow in Canada,” says CaGBC president and CEO Thomas Mueller. “The Green Building Product of the Year pushes manufacturers and suppliers to innovate and create the most sustainable solutions for buildings across Canada.”
Last year’s winner, the Enzo line of prefabricated modular building interiors by DIRTT Environmental Solutions, says winning the 2015 Award was invaluable to their product and their brand. “Winning the Green Building Product of the Year Award in 2015 opened doors for DIRTT and enhanced our reputation for transparency and sustainable design,” says Andrée Iffrig, leader-sustainability for DIRTT. “We were thrilled about this recognition from our peers and reminded that we can’t rest on our laurels. This CaGBC award speaks to the excellence of green product design and manufacturing in Canada, a fact worth celebrating.”
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.
