By "us" we mean "you". Greenbuildingontario.ca is a vibrant community of building professionals, policy makers, suppliers, NGO's, educators and consumers - like yourself - who are flexing their combined creativity and influence to reshape our built environment. An initiative of the CaGBC Greater Toronto Chapter (CaGBC-GTC), this site reflects the broad interests that are necessary to facilitate sustainable market transformation that benefits our environment, economy, and social well-being.

Established in 2003, the Canada Green Building Council (CaGBC) www.cagbc.org is a non-profit national organization dedicated to working with government and the private sector to accelerate the "mainstream adoption of green building principles, policies, practices, standards and tools." In collaboration with the national organization, the Greater Toronto Chapter acts as a catalyst for green building development across the Greater Golden Horseshoe region of Ontario.

Why green building? Did you know that buildings have a dramatic impact on our environment? Not only do they consume vast amounts of our natural resources, they also contribute to climate change. One estimate suggests that buildings in Canada account for:

• 1/3 of Canada's energy consumption
• 50% of our extracted natural resources
• 25% of our landfill waste
• 10% of our airborne particulates
• 35% of our greenhouse gas emissions