CHBA - Alberta to Operate Built Green™ Alberta

The CHBA - Alberta Board of Directors is pleased to announce that in early 2009, Built Green™ Alberta will move under the operations of CHBA - Alberta. This will be an opportunity for Built Green™ Alberta to increase its brand recognition among consumers and continue to build the program among the membership.

Environment Minister Rob Renner is keen to see the housing industry taking the lead in offering environmentally sustainable choices for consumers. Built Green™ under CHBA - Alberta leadership will give the industry the opportunity to demonstrate how that can happen. With a reputable industry led program in place, government is less likely to impose green building standards in the Building Code.

Built Green™ Platinum

The Built Green™ Society of Canada has reached another milestone in environmental building. The first Platinum level buildings have been labelled in both Single Family and Multi Family housing programs. The single family Platinum level is based on an EnerGuide rating of 82 combined with 120 Built Green™ Checklist points. This level goes beyond the environmental standards set by the R-2000 program and is one of the most stringent environmental labels available in residential housing in North America. To view the complete media release, click here.

Environmental Success Story

In a recent memo from CHBA President, John Hrynkow, CHBA reports earlier this year, Canada's official report under the Kyoto Treaty showed that greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions released by Canadian homes in 2006 had fallen to 8.5% below their level in 1990 - surpassing the Kyoto target set for Canada as a whole. In order to verify that this good news was solid, the CHBA commissioned Marbek Resource Consultants, Canada's leading energy analysts, to review the data and provide their perspective. The Marbek research verifies that the residential sector has made tremendous progress in terms of the energy performance of homes. Read the entire memo here.

10,000 on ABC!

Alberta Builder Connect, CHBA - Alberta's free online procurement tool has hit another milestone. The three year old website now has over 10,000 job seekers registered on the site. To learn more about this member only service, click here.

Radon Gas

Radon is a colourless, odourless and tasteless radioactive gas that is formed by the breakdown of uranium, a natural radioactive material found in soil, rock and groundwater. Radon escapes from the ground into the air and if entering an enclosed space such as a home can sometimes accumulate to high levels. It has the potential to cause serious illness, and even lung cancer amongst those people exposed to it.

Health Canada, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) and other agencies are starting to provide more information on how to test for radon, how to remediate houses that have high radon levels and what areas of the country are most at risk. For more information, see the publication Radon: A Guide for Canadian Homeowners.

Recently, a small research project funded by Health Canada and managed by CMHC, demonstrates remediation techniques using sub-slab depressurization that can effectively lower radon to concentrations below the guideline. For more information, see the publication Fixing Houses with High Radon.

WCB "Occupational Injury Service" Program

WCB's Occupational Injury Service (OIS) program can decrease the number of time loss claims, reduce claims costs and deliver a high level of service to companies and their employees.

The OIS program consists of local medical clinics that provide timely and appropriate medical care and disability management services specifically for occupational injuries, and are staffed by physicians who are experienced in the assessment, treatment and rehabilitation of injured workers. They can coordinate assessment and treatment communication between the employer, the WCB and the injured worker's family physician. The clinics can also provide diagnostic and treatment services by directly referring injured workers to WCB-authorized health care providers, and can provide education to employers and employees on injury prevention, injury management and return-to-work planning. Click here for more information on the OIS program.

Standata on Occupancy of Buildings Under Construction

Alberta Municipal Affairs recently released a new standata in regards to occupancy of buildings under construction. Sentence 2.2.10.2.(1) of Division C allows for an authority having jurisdiction to issue an occupancy permit for a building before construction is actually finished. This can occur in a number of situations:
• a multi-unit residential building built in phases; first phase sells out and is used to finance the next phase of construction,
• the office area of an industrial building is completed before the exterior finish and roofing materials are installed in the shop area,
• a wing of a hospital is built while the rest of the facility is still in use.
Sentence 8.1.1.1.(3) specifies that the fire safety at construction and demolition sites shall conform to the requirements in Section 5.6. of Division B of the Alberta Fire Code 2006, which in turn requires the development of a fire safety plan. This fire safety plan should be developed in consultation with and will be the responsibility of the local fire department and/or fire prevention personnel. For more information and to download a copy of this standata, click here.

CHBA National SAMs

All of the materials related to the 2008 CHBA National SAM Awards has now been posted to the website at www.chba.ca/sams. The deadline for entries is November 7. For those interested, we have added one new category this year: The Green Home Award.

Eco-Industrial Development

Member companies looking at relocating or expanding their facilities may be interested in the Innovista Industrial Park (www.eip.hinton.ca/), an eco-industrial development. The Town of Hinton is offering new, fully serviced, uncleared, industrial lots for sale at market value (view the property listing at (http://www.eip.hinton.ca/images/stories/pdf/innovistalotsforsale_rl_reduced.pdf). If you have any questions about the development, contact Renée Laboucane, Economic Development Manager, Town of Hinton at 780-865-6004 or rlaboucane@hinton.ca.