Green development standards are local design requirements for new buildings that increase energy efficiency and lead to better designed communities. Fifteen municipalities in the Greater Toronto Area have adopted them.
On November 19, 2024, the Residential Construction Council of Ontario (RESCON) launched a legal challenge against the City of Toronto for its Toronto Green Standard (TGS). In a recent opinion piece, the president of RESCON cites the housing affordability crisis and conflict with the Ontario Building Code among the reasons for the challenge.
The Atmospheric Fund (TAF)’s Evan Wiseman addresses several of their claims and other common misconceptions about green standards:
1. Do municipalities have legal authority to implement green development standards?
Cities have a variety of powers under the Municipal Act (or City of Toronto Act) and the Planning Act that can be used to authorize green development standards. For example, cities have broad bylaw-making authority over matters of “environmental well-being… including respecting climate change.” They also have authority to engage in community energy planning, including consideration of “energy conservation, climate change, and green energy.”
Cities also have explicit authority to regulate the “use and installation of heating and cooking appliances.” The Planning Act specifically requires cities to prioritize “conservation of energy and water” and “promotion of development that is designed to be sustainable” in all planning processes.
2. Are green development standards slowing down housing construction?
No, green standards have not resulted in a housing slowdown. In 2023, Toronto exceeded its housing targets by 51%, with nearly 96% of housing starts subject to the Toronto Green Standard. Overall, Toronto’s housing starts have grown or stayed consistent nearly every year since the TGS was implemented.
3. How do green standards affect the cost of housing?
Green development standards can have an incremental impact on upfront housing construction costs, although these impacts are dwarfed by other factors such as interest rates and inflation. Most studies have found that construction of energy-efficient buildings cost 2-4% more than traditional methods, and those prices will continue to fall as more standards come into place. Furthermore, it is important to recognize that energy efficient buildings lead to utility cost savings for homeowners and housing operators, delivering long-term affordability gains.
A variety of factors influence construction costs: cost of materials and commodities, labour, interest rates, taxes and fees, and other economic factors. However, the purchase price or rent for new housing is determined by supply and demand. In recent years, strong population growth has increased demand for housing faster than the development industry has been able to build supply, driving up housing costs in both new and existing housing markets.
4. Is the Ontario Building Code enough to ensure cities meet their climate targets?
No. The energy efficiency requirements in the Ontario Building Code (OBC) have not been updated since 2017. The Ontario Auditor General reported OBC energy requirements are not strong enough to achieve energy efficiency gains and do not address greenhouse gas emissions. Late last year, Efficiency Canada found that Ontario has no timelines for achieving net-zero energy-ready buildings by 2030 and has not adopted a tiered code that could accelerate the uptake of energy-efficient buildings. Cities cannot reach their climate targets without a pathway to low-carbon new construction, as outlined in the Pan-Canadian Framework on Climate Change.
5. How do green standards improve the quality of buildings overall?
Green development standards improve building resilience, making them more immune to the impacts of a changing climate, such as heat waves and flash floods. They’re also healthier for the people who live and work in them, with energy efficient heating and cooling mitigating extreme temperatures, and better ventilation delivering healthier indoor air.
6. How were developers consulted in the creation of Toronto Green Standard?
Toronto has extensively consulted with the development and construction sectors since the beginning of its green standards 15 years ago. Major developers and associations from construction services company EllisDon, to BILD, to Minto, all supported the adoption of the TGS, with minor suggestions for amendments. EllisDon submitted a letter in support of Version 3 of the TGS, stating:
“EllisDon welcomes the Toronto Green Standard Version 3, as a vehicle in the implementation of the Zero Emissions Building Framework. We believe that the focused priorities and metrics are necessary if we want to transform into a low-carbon economy and meet our climate change commitments. EllisDon is prepared to support this standard and framework in its implementation, promotion, and awareness.”
RESCON has even championed some elements related to TGS updates, such as its support for the removal of minimum parking requirements. This measure reduces embodied carbon in construction, promotes other modes of transportation, and saves developers significant construction costs.
7. Are green development standards in conflict with the Ontario Building Code?
No. The basis of the legal challenge is a claim that green standards amount to a municipal building code, creating conflict with the Ontario Building Code. However, green standards are fundamentally different from a building code.
The OBC is several thousand pages long and contains prescriptive requirements for nearly every conceivable type of construction. The code’s detailed technical requirements govern how buildings can be built and what materials can be used. It covers a broad range of issues including fire and structural safety, accessibility, and sanitation. Even the smallest details are covered, right down to how bright the lighting needs to be in every type of room and where thermostats can be placed.
Green Development Standards, on the other hand, are a concise set of narrowly-focused sustainable design measures. They don’t tell developers how to build the building or what materials to use. They provide clear, outcome-based design expectations and leave developers and building designers to determine how best to meet them. And, importantly, they contain no design requirements that contradict the Ontario Building Code.
8. Do green standards lack standardization across the region?
No. Municipalities are collaborating closely and have a high degree of harmonization and alignment across jurisdictions, including metrics, targets, and approaches.
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TAF says Toronto’s flagship green standard has been its most successful climate policy to date, endorsed by past mayors from David Miller to John Tory, and past city councillors from Doug Ford to Mike Layton.
Green development standards have been proven to increase the quality of buildings, create operational savings for residents and owners, reduce strain on the electricity grid, create local economic prosperity through skilled job creation, and reduce carbon emissions. Cities can and should be permitted to regulate such environmental health and safety under the Municipal Act.
Environmental groups are also taking action, TAF says. Learn more about Stand.earth’s campaign here. Get updates about this legal challenge and more, delivered to your inbox, by subscribing to TAF’s monthly newsletter.
This post was first published by The Atmospheric Fund and is republished with permission. Disclosure: Energy Mix Productions provides editorial services to TAF, but had no role in producing this post.
