Built Environment

Dalhousie is committed to green building

What is green building?

Green building seeks efficiencies in energy, water and materials use, through better design and construction, more efficient operations, and proper materials re-use and disposal at the end of a building’s life cycle. In addition to the positive environmental impacts of green building, an organization’s operating costs can be substantially reduced, and human health can be improved through better indoor air quality and reduced levels of toxic substances in the building process.

Dalhousie's buildings

Dalhousie University has three campuses mixed into the downtown core of the city of Halifax, Nova Scotia. One hundred and ten buildings cover a total of 4.5 million square feet of space. These buildings and houses date from 1850 to the present.

LEED

Buildings in 1990 or later have met energy efficiency standards that meet former federal energy programs such as Canadian Buildings Incentive Programs. Green certification standards such as LEED (Leadership in the Energy and Environmental Design) are being pursued for new buildings and major building upgrades.

Dalhousie has recently passed a green building policy [PDF - 92 kB] that recommends all new buildings should be built to LEED gold standards or higher. Dalhousie is also a member of the Canada Green Building Council.