Canada's First 'Green' Supermarket Wins LEED Certification
MONTREAL -- Sobeys Quebec said last week that the IGA supermarket in Saint-Pascal de Kamouraska has received LEED certification, making it the first LEED-certified supermarket in Canada.
LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification, in Canada awarded by the Canadian Green Building Council, is based on a thorough evaluation of a building's environmental performance. Areas assessed include sustainable site design, efficient water management, energy efficiency and air quality measures, optimal management of materials and resources, and measures for a healthier environment inside the building.
One of the features at the Saint-Pascal de Kamouraska IGA store is a solar wall to reduce energy consumption for heating. Heat given off by the refrigeration system is also recovered and used to heat the store. These measures help reduce store energy consumption by 43 percent compared to Canadian standards for similar buildings. The supermarket is self-sufficient for heating, while water consumption has been reduced by 47 percent. All construction materials were carefully chosen to reduce volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions into the surrounding air, Sobeys Quebec said.
"Today all new Sobeys QuÈbec supermarkets are constructed according to the principles of sustainable building," said engineer Simon BÈrubÈ, senior director, store engineering at Sobeys QuÈbec, in a statement.
Sobeys QuÈbec is currently building a distribution centre in Trois-RiviËres, which will also be submitted for LEED certification. A second supermarket in RiviËre-des-Prairies is currently in the process of obtaining LEED certification.
Saint-Pascal de Kamouraska's green supermarket is the second building in Quebec to receive LEED certification from the Canadian Green Building Council, after the TOHU pavilion. It is also the second LEED-certified commercial building in Canada.
LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification, in Canada awarded by the Canadian Green Building Council, is based on a thorough evaluation of a building's environmental performance. Areas assessed include sustainable site design, efficient water management, energy efficiency and air quality measures, optimal management of materials and resources, and measures for a healthier environment inside the building.
One of the features at the Saint-Pascal de Kamouraska IGA store is a solar wall to reduce energy consumption for heating. Heat given off by the refrigeration system is also recovered and used to heat the store. These measures help reduce store energy consumption by 43 percent compared to Canadian standards for similar buildings. The supermarket is self-sufficient for heating, while water consumption has been reduced by 47 percent. All construction materials were carefully chosen to reduce volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions into the surrounding air, Sobeys Quebec said.
"Today all new Sobeys QuÈbec supermarkets are constructed according to the principles of sustainable building," said engineer Simon BÈrubÈ, senior director, store engineering at Sobeys QuÈbec, in a statement.
Sobeys QuÈbec is currently building a distribution centre in Trois-RiviËres, which will also be submitted for LEED certification. A second supermarket in RiviËre-des-Prairies is currently in the process of obtaining LEED certification.
Saint-Pascal de Kamouraska's green supermarket is the second building in Quebec to receive LEED certification from the Canadian Green Building Council, after the TOHU pavilion. It is also the second LEED-certified commercial building in Canada.