Leading companies in sustainable housing recognized for their contributions and advancements in Ontario’s Green Building category
TORONTO, Feb. 22, 2018 /CNW/ – Ontario’s best Green Builders were celebrated tonight at the EnerQuality Awards Gala (EQ Awards), taking place at the Universal Eventspace in Vaughan, Ontario. Hosted by Breakfast Television’s Kevin Frankish, more than 200 industry peers gathered to share concepts and accolades as together they help to move towards a more energy conscious future.
“Advancing energy-efficient techniques and tools are huge priorities in the building sector to continue to improve healthy living conditions, fight climate change and minimize unnecessary spending,” says Corey McBurney, President of EnerQuality. “The EnerQuality Housing Innovation Forum & Awards help to connect builders with the innovation they need to meet their design goals as well as spotlight the change-makers who are effecting policies and driving standards towards a shared goal of Net Zero housing.”
Among the biggest attractions of the Innovation Forum, which took place during the day was the keynote from MaRS Senior Adviser and CBC guest, Tom Rand, where guests heard tangible solutions to combat climate change including his stance on pricing carbon and how sharing a new story of clean energy abundance has the power to engage the public and inspire action. The highly competitive Innovation Gauntlet rounded out the day before the official Award ceremony began, with IBC Technologies Inc being named the winner for their newest innovation – IBC DC Series Dual Condensing Appliance. “The IBC Better Boiler product is a forward thinking, adaptable technology with integration to smart homes. This is a truly unique product and was a clear leader in this year’s submissions,” says Shaun Joffe, Executive Director of Sustainability & Building Sciences at Great Gulf and judge of the Innovation Gauntlet participants.
The EQ Awards were enjoyed by all and featured special designations to highlight the outstanding contributions of industry leaders including:
2017 Hall of Fame Nominee – Larry Brydon, VP Business Development with Cricket Energy
Larry has been in the HVAC distribution and energy services market for more than 25 years. A past chair of Sustainable Buildings Canada and the Toronto Chapter of the Canada Green Building Council, he currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Canadian Efficiency Alliance, the International Initiative for a Sustainable Built Environment (iiSBE), Sustainable Buildings Canada (SBC), and EnerQuality. Among his many achievements, Larry led the Enbridge and Union Gas’s Savings by Design program. This initiative has participated in over two hundred low-rise, and fifty high rise developer design charrettes where they shared energy-efficient design alternatives resulting in 15-25% energy improvement over the Ontario Building Code.
2017 Leader of the Year – Doug Tarry, Doug Tarry Custom Homes Ltd.
2017 was a banner year for Doug Tarry, of Doug Tarry Custom Homes. Fresh off winning the inaugural Net Zero Builder Award from the Canadian Home Builders’ Association, his Project Hope, a fundraising event that was the first time a Net Zero home was built in just three days, raised funds for the family of the late Johnny Nooren, a building inspector from St. Thomas. The project won the 2017 Prestige Award from the Ontario Home Builders’ Association for project of the year – low rise, and the trailer for the accompanying documentary was seen by more than 10,000 in movie theatres in Ontario. Doug Tarry led his team of builders to receive the 2016 EQ Builder Achievement Award and now holds the 2017 title of Leader of the Year for propelling the company’s holistic Net Zero housing concepts with simple controls designed to allow homeowners to save money while living in a healthy environment.
Impact Award – Arista Homes Ltd.
Arista Homes Ltd was awarded the honor of the 2017 Impact Award – an award introduced in 2016 to recognize a builder’s significant voluntary progress in reducing carbon emission and outstanding achievements through energy efficient and sustainability practices. “Green initiatives and ENERGY STAR participation have become staples of our building practices and we remain committed to continuing to improve our building practices and to lead by example,” says Franco Crispino, V.P. of Sales and Marketing. Arista Homes has proudly enrolled more than 1,200 ENERGY STAR® homes since the construction of its first multi-phase ENERGY STAR community in 2009.
About EnerQuality
EnerQuality (www.enerquality.ca) is Canada’s #1 certifier of energy efficient homes and the market leader in delivering award-winning residential green building programs. Founded in 1998 by the Ontario Home Builders’ Association (OHBA) and the Canadian Energy Efficiency Alliance (CEEA), EnerQuality’s mission is to accelerate housing innovation to improve building performance.
SOURCE EnerQuality Corporation
