Canada's commercial building sector is being told that it's really not that hard being green.

A new report says that by the year 2030, commercial buildings - offices, institutional and public service facilities, hospitality, entertainment, retail and wholesale trade spaces - can achieve a 50-per-cent energy reduction over their lifecycles.

The report was released by Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC), a not-for-profit Ottawa-based foundation that finances and supports clean technology use and development.

It includes a large number of recommendations, ranging from improving existing building codes and a centralized information exchange to building sustainability into buildings and the use of high-efficiency mechanical and electrical equipment.

"The audience for this report is very wide ranging. It's everybody who is a stakeholder in the commercial building sector," says Vicky Sharpe, SDTC's president and CEO.

"To think that we can reduce the energy usage in buildings by 50 per cent by 2030 - versus it going up, which is the trend that it is showing now - it's very exciting because it allows not just the builders, but the users of the buildings, to cut those costs," she adds. "It means our businesses can be more competitive with other international businesses and at the same time they've helped the environment. What a wonderful thing to be able to do."

Created by the federal government, SDTC operates at arm's length in working to bridge the gap between research and commercialization. It is holding a series of meetings with interested businesses and other stakeholders across the country between now and mid-January.

"These SDTC papers are also used to focus SDTC investment and we have a new round of funding in February 2008," she says. "We're hoping to see a lot more applications related to (technology for) commercial buildings.

"We explicitly use the papers to decide where we're going to make investments. It's a way of having a national strategy to develop the right technology that the market needs."

Sharpe is also optimistic that any recommended green or energy-efficient advances will be realized, since industry representatives had input into the report.

She notes it was an industry consensus that the 50-per-cent energy reduction could be met by 2030.

But work still needs to be done.

The report says that between 1990 and 2004, commercial energy consumption increased by 35 per cent from 867 petajoules (PJ) to 1,171 PJ. One PJ is equivalent to the amount of energy a small town of 4,000 people would use in one year.

But while part of the increase was driven by an increase in total floor space, the amount of greenhouse gas emissions actually rose per square metre, despite current energy-conservation efforts.

In addition, the SDTC report points out that high-quality water - or drinkable water - is being used when it should not.

"We're actually using high-quality water in low-quality applications," says Sharpe. "It's not necessarily that the system will run better on a higher quality of water. There are other technologies that allow you to use poorer-quality water and treat it at the site. We have better alternatives."

The report also calls for a price to be set on carbon usage. The SDTC says that if an emissions-trading system is put in place, it would reduce the amount of carbon used.

"If you create credits, people will no longer ignore the fact that they're polluting the environment," says Sharpe. "There will be a way of understanding that cost, and by creating that price understanding, you're creating a market for it."

In addition to beefed up building codes to increase energy efficiency standards, builders, developers, investors and others involved in building commercial structure need to change their thinking, the SDTC says.

This can be as simple as not keeping building lights on 24 hours a day, even if they are energy-efficient bulbs, and looking at building practices in a different light.

"There is a tendency in Canada to make a decision on the cost of the building based on what they call a first-cost basis - how much it costs to build it. What people don't look at is how much it costs them to operate this building for the next 50 years to 60 years, which is how long it will be around," says Sharpe.

"They might save money on first cost, but if you look at the life cost they might not have gone the cheaper route."

Sharpe adds developers should not maximize profits and burden end-users with higher rents because energy costs rise and the building is not as energy efficient as it could have been.

But some industry experts believe the negatives are far from insurmountable.

Ian Jarvis, immediate past chair of the Canada Green Building Council and president of Toronto-based Enerlife Consulting, says the report is timely.

"It's absolutely on the right track," says Jarvis, who as an industry member had the chance to review the entire version of the SDTC's draft report.

"It's profoundly important in providing focus and framework to developments. There are so many possibilities that they need to be pulled together so you can assess priorities."

Jarvis also says the progression toward sustainability and green buildings is really just in its infancy, with immense opportunities for new technologies and best practices. He sees Canada as having a chance to be a leader.

"The whole world is at the early stages and Canada is jostling for one of the top positions. What's turning this all around? It's the awareness of climate change," says Jarvis.

"With the level of interest of the last 12 months, that awareness has gone past the tipping point. The timing could not be better for what the SDTC is doing."

(Laura Severs can be reached at laura@businessedge.ca)