By Ben Jardine, P.Eng., Founder and President of The BestLife Group
The Shift from Optional to Essential
For a long time, sustainable building was viewed as a nice-to-have. You added it when the budget allowed or when a client asked for it specifically. Today, that framing is outdated. Sustainable building isn’t an upgrade—it’s the new baseline.
Three key forces are propelling that shift:
- Rapid changes to government regulation
- A new era of energy costs
- Buyers who care more about what their home stands for—and how it performs
If you’re still building to the old minimums, you’re not just behind the times. You’re building liabilities in a market that’s evolving fast.
Regulation Is Raising the Floor
Canada’s building codes are no longer just about structure and safety—they’re about performance. A few key targets are already changing how we build:
- Net-Zero Ready by 2030: New homes must be built so efficiently that they could meet their energy needs through renewable sources.
- Carbon Neutral by 2050: All new and existing buildings must address both operational and embodied emissions.
- Tiered Energy Codes: Introduced in the 2020 National Model Building Code, this system encourages incremental adoption of higher-efficiency standards. Provinces like Ontario are beginning to align with it, pushing builders toward energy performance year over year.
These aren’t hypothetical deadlines. They’re already influencing municipal planning, permitting, and financing, especially on multi-unit projects.
That urgency is backed by national policy. In 2024, the federal government launched the Canada Green Buildings Strategy, committing to reduce emissions across the building sector, improve energy performance, and help Canadians lower their utility costs, further cementing sustainable design as the new standard.
Economic Realities and Energy Costs
When I speak with clients, many start the conversation with environmental concerns, but it’s the financial case that often seals the deal. With energy prices where they are and where they’re heading, efficiency is becoming a form of economic resilience.
The Energy Picture
- Electricity: As of late 2024, Ontario’s on-peak electricity rates reached 15.8¢ per kWh—a 10% rise year-over-year (Ontario Energy Board).
- Natural Gas: While still generally cheaper, gas rates have become increasingly volatile, with global supply chains, carbon taxes, and infrastructure aging all playing a role.
Try proposing electric baseboards to a buyer in 2025. You won’t get far. Today’s homeowners are aware of energy bills, and they want systems that keep them comfortable and costs in check. That means better insulation, better HVAC, and smarter home tech.
The Financial Case for Building Better
We still hear the myth that green building is cost-prohibitive. That’s just not true. Yes, there’s a capital cost premium—but it’s modest, and the returns are meaningful.
Consider this:
- 5–10% more in build costs can result in:
- 30–50% reduction in energy use
- Greater material durability
- Better appraisals and resale outcomes
- Fewer long-term repair costs
These savings aren’t theoretical. Through the Canada Greener Homes Initiative, more than 500,000 Canadians have already retrofitted their homes to reduce energy use, with participants reporting an average annual energy savings of $386. That’s real money back in homeowners’ pockets every year.
And most importantly: stability. When utility prices spike, efficient homes are less exposed.
Nobody builds a house for three years. Over the lifespan of a home, smart decisions today can save hundreds of thousands of dollars. That’s not philosophy. That’s just math.
Consumer Expectations and Market Demand
Ten years ago, most buyers didn’t ask about R-values or HVAC specs. Today, they do—and not just on custom builds. These conversations are now showing up across the board: starter homes, rentals, even smaller-scale developments.
A 2024 report from the Canadian Home Builders’ Association found that 71% of buyers list energy efficiency as a top feature when shopping for homes. What used to be a niche interest is now mainstream.
What Buyers Are Looking For
- Lower utility bills and control: Smart thermostats, zoned heating, and LED lighting are now table stakes.
- Health and comfort: Good air quality, even temperature distribution, and materials that don’t off-gas.
- Environmental alignment: People want their homes to reflect their values and are willing to walk away if they don’t.
- Resale confidence: Buyers know sustainability sells, and they’re thinking long-term.
This isn’t a fad. It’s a generational shift in what people expect from the places they live.
The Long-Term Perspective
If we zoom out beyond the next quarter or fiscal year, the case for building sustainably only gets stronger.
Yes, you may spend a bit more up front, but the payoff shows up year after year.
The Long View in Practice
Here’s what we see with our own builds:
- Energy use is dramatically lower
- Appraisals come in higher
- Homes show less wear over time
- Tenants and homeowners stay longer
- Reputation and trust in our product grows
One of our multi-unit buildings—built over five years ago—still looks and performs like new. That’s not luck. That’s the result of choosing better systems and materials at the outset.
We build to avoid the hidden costs that come from cutting corners: poor drainage, inefficient heating, and substandard finishes. Those things don’t show up in the brochure—but they show up in your bills, your maintenance cycles, and your stress levels.
And at a national level, we’re seeing acknowledgment that small upgrades aren’t enough. In 2024, Green Communities Canada reported that while retrofit energy savings improved from 17% in 2020 to 24% in 2024, achieving Canada’s net-zero goals will require a tenfold increase in deep retrofits each year. It’s a clear signal that deeper, more durable building practices aren’t just preferable—they’re essential.
Built for What’s Next
This shift in building isn’t just a trend. It’s a recalibration, one we’re proud to be leading at BestLife.
For us, sustainable thinking isn’t a separate line item. It’s embedded in everything: from site orientation to envelope design, from the truck I drive to the job site to how our teams show up.
We don’t build to the minimums. We build to what’s coming next—because that’s what our clients, our planet, and our industry demand.
The future of housing is more efficient, more intentional, and more resilient. It’s already taking shape.
We’re proud to be building it.
Coming up next in this series:
In the next article, we’ll go beneath the surface—literally.
From insulation and air sealing to the unsung design decisions that make a building truly perform, we’ll unpack the features that don’t make the brochure but matter most in the real world. Because the difference between green intentions and demonstrated sustainability is often found behind the walls.
