Know your territory

Awareness of the need for more ecologically sound practices in every industry is spreading. Leadership figures in industry, politics, academia, and the arts all express concern about this priority, and what was once a relatively marginal concern has taken centre stage in the world's awareness. With all this awareness and concern comes a perceived pressure to take action in order to green one's business practices, spurred on by a real urgency fueled by the potentially high stakes of environmental degradation. With this in mind, it's still important to note that while time is of the essence, actions hastily undertaken can sometimes act against themselves, and care should be taken to maximize efficiency and effectiveness when reevaluating one's practices. The real estate professional has a crucial choice to make in deciding where to get information about conducting business in a more ecologically sensitive manner. Canada's unique geography, governance, resources, and history have distinct effects on how the real estate market in this country operates, and on the factors that homeowners and homebuyers should be aware of with respect to the environmental soundness and energy efficiency of their homes.

            In Canada, the march toward greener practices has been unevenly distributed. Overall, the country has signed on to its obligations to reduce greenhouse gases as per the Kyoto Protocol, but has yet to implement a nationwide policy aimed at reducing overall GHG emissions. British Columbia was the first jurisdiction in North America to implement a consumer carbon tax. The Alberta tar sands remain a large source of greenhouse gas emissions. As each province has its own differing resource base and corresponding attitude toward addressing climate change, so too have approaches differed across the country. Still, a network of programs and coordination between the municipal, provincial and federal levels offer rebates and incentives for homeowners to upgrade their houses with more efficient and environmentally sound fixtures and appliances. Specific detailed information about these programs is especially invaluable to real estate professionals, as it allows them to inform prospective buyers about potential savings when evaluating whether to buy a house, and sellers on methods they can use to make their houses more appealing to prospective buyers by providing information about projected utility costs that will both be lower and more detailed than one might typically find.

            Ecological best practices are a moving target, as well, and tapping into a knowledge base that has a memory of interacting with government agencies and the pattern of previous regulation and legislation will provide agents and brokers with a better understanding of where the market will be headed. Canada has made a commitment to discuss a cap-and-trade approach to GHG emissions with the United States, and the domestic effects of any such program's implementation will be unique to this country. Possible clues of what the market may look like can be gleaned by examining current regulations in the United Kingdom, where houses are rated using the same standard as appliances according to their energy consumption and efficiency, and given a corresponding letter grade. As well, public buildings are required to display their energy consumption for visitors to peruse.

            Across the ocean and on both sides of the border, specific cultural differences accrue. In fact, in provinces like Ontario, British Columbia and Quebec, the electrical bill is more colloquially called the hydro bill, due to the prevalence of renewable hydroelectric dams in the generation of power for those areas. The specific energy mix of hydro, wind, solar, natural gas, nuclear, and coal specific to each region is different, which alters the impact of certain changes in government policy, and of changes to the home.

            Real estate professionals have an opportunity to learn about these changes, and to maximize their ability to generate value from them for their clients. To learn more, contact the National Association of Green Agents and Brokers, Canada's leading Green Real Estate source, online at www.nagab.org.

CLOSE