Skip to main content

About Us

About Us

Sustainable Buildings Canada (SBC) is a not-for-profit founded in 2003 by Canada’s pioneering champions of sustainable buildings.  Our Mission, Vision, and Values acknowledge the depth of our experience and knowledge, as well as our hopes and aspirations for the future of the built environment.

For 20 years we’ve been a leader in the ‘next level’ of sustainability — helping developers / builders / operators achieve high performance outcomes in the built environment, encompassing a range of positive results including healthy spaces, lower energy and water use, clean and renewable energy and positive impact for humans and the environment. 

In all we do, we are deeply committed to providing a realistic, independent, and collaborative approach, demonstrating how it is possible to make a positive impact on the sustainable Canadian built environment.

Vision

Vision

SBC is a catalyst for the positive transformation to a sustainable Canadian built environment.

Mission

Mission

SBC creates and connects communities of learners, practitioners, and leaders, providing platforms to collaborate and share real-world sustainable solutions.

Values

Values

Integrity: We conduct our business with the highest professional and ethical standards, independently and objectively.

Inclusivity: We engage a broad community and encourage open collaboration and dialogue.

Excellence: We continuously strive to advance best practices in the built environment.

How we work:

We create and deliver programs and activities that connect our extensive network of leading sustainable building experts together with teams that influence buildings all in pursuit of positive change to our built environment. Our independent and practical programs include:

  • day-long integrated design workshops
  • hands-on training sessions
  • podcasts and webinars
  • boot camps
  • forums and
  • conferences

We are deeply committed to the next generation of professionals in our industry. Our support includes:

We support other sustainable building initiatives with expertise and/ or funding such as:

  • Toronto2030
  • City of Toronto’s Deep Energy Retrofit Challenge
  • Ontario Stakeholder Council
  • Green Drinks Toronto 

We value and support research into sustainable buildings through our Technical Papers as well as providing letters of support for related research endeavours by Canadian universities.

Discover more about our journey and milestones on our 20th Anniversary page, featuring a detailed company timeline and fascinating facts.


SBC Land Acknowledgement

The shared gathering space of SBC is located in Tkaronto, which translates from Mohawk as “The place where there are trees standing in the water.” Tkaronto is a part of the Treaty Lands and Territories of the Mississaugas of the Credit, and is the traditional Territory of the Anishinaabeg, the Chippewa, the Wendat, and the Haudenosaunee. Tkaronto is within the Territory Lands protected by the Dish with One Spoon Wampum Belt Covenant, an agreement between the Haudenosaunee, the Anishinaabeg, and allied Nations to peaceably share and care for the resources around the Great Lakes. Today, Tkaronto is home to many Indigenous People from across Turtle Island. SBC is committed to Truth and Reconciliation and to honoring the Dish with One Spoon Wampum Belt Covenant. SBC gratefully acknowledges and expresses gratitude to be able to live and work on this land.

Natalia Ortiz Moreno

3. Natalia Ortiz_Photo

Natalia Ortiz, student of Project Management Environmental (PME) program in Seneca Polytechnic, has an Environmental Engineering background completed at Universidad El Bosque in Colombia. She has always been involved in sustainability roles and projects that included Environmental Management Systems implementation, Water Treatment Systems’ design and operation, Hazardous and Conventional Waste management and minimization practices, as well as Ecosystem’s Conservation and Energy
Efficiency programs.

For the PME – Applied Project Management Course, Natalia developed a Green Roof Assessment Tool for Seneca Polytechnic’s Office of Sustainability, with the aim to provide green roof technology recommendations best suited to a particular scenario, taking into consideration multiple aspects of green roofs and buildings; infrastructure, design, materials, environmental factors, and costs, as well as the Toronto Municipal Code – Green Roof bylaw. Natalia also has a scientific journal publication as the main author of the project “Selection and sizing of industrial wastewater treatment units required at the
new maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) aircraft facility owned by Avianca S.A. in Rionegro Antioquia” in the El Bosque University Journal of Technology.

Natalia strongly believes there are several research topics left to be developed, and the importance of
working towards Sustainability from different backgrounds, knowledge, and cultures to build strong, productive, and resilient communities.
With the vision of growing cities and infrastructure along with nature, always preserving and respecting the ecosystems’ attributes and services, Natalia would like to keep researching and acquiring more experience in Sustainability roles.



Emily Smit

Emily Smit photo

Emily is a second-year PhD student in Geography at the University of Toronto, and a co-operator of a small home renovation company, Magnus Home Improvements. Her research seeks to determine how single-family homes can quickly and best be retrofit to achieve Toronto’s emissions reductions targets – including net-zero by 2040 – as part of the TransformTO climate action plan. Specifically, she will assess the impact of municipal home energy reporting and disclosure programs, as well as produce recommendations for growing the retrofit labour force in ways that attend to the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Further, her research seeks to understand how home retrofit activities can be regenerative and produce net-positive impacts for humans and the environment towards transformative, place-based sustainability. When not at her computer, Emily can be found cycling with her kids to and from school or making funky sounds on her analog synthesizer.

Bofa Udisi

Headshot_Bofa Udisi (2)

Bofa is a sustainability professional with over seven years in the energy and environment industry. He has a Bachelor of Science in Energy and Petroleum Studies from Novena University in Nigeria and graduate certificates in Energy Management and Environmental Project Management from Seneca College in Toronto. In 2020, he graduated from the University of Waterloo with a Master of Environment and Business degree. He is currently a Ph.D. Candidate in the Building Science program at Toronto Metropolitan University, researching whole-life carbon reduction in new construction and building renovations.

Bofa‘s work experience is primarily in the built environment, working in the private and public sectors in roles that involve structural and environmental assessment of building structures, HVAC engineering design and sales, and facilities management. Bofa is a member of several industry associations, such as the Association of Energy Engineers (AEE), the American Society for Heating Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), and the Project Management Institute (PMI). SBC’s bursary will go a long way in supporting Bofa‘s research and his desire to learn.

Guides
Technical Resources