Corporate Training By Zack Academy - Introduction to the Canadian Alternative Compliance Paths

Why Should You Take This Introduction to the Canadian Alternative Compliance Paths?

This Introduction to the Canadian Alternative Compliance Paths course will provide an introduction to the ACPs, what they mean to Canadian projects, which ones have currently been developed, and how they will continue to grow. It will also provide information on additional tools, such as regional priority credits and the Substitution Table to allow earlier versions of LEED Canada to take advantage of adoption of select LEED v4 credits. LEED v4 allows Canadians to take advantage of the full breadth of rating systems provided by the USGBC and the electronic resources of LEED Online. The USGBC recognizes the special circumstances that can be found in various countries, which has resulted in the development of Canadian-specific Alternative Compliance Paths (ACPs) for various credits. 

In order to ensure greater ease of use, the CaGBC has developed Alternative Compliance Paths (ACPs) for various sets of requirements and continues to actively work on additional ACPs for the future. These ACPs provide equivalent means of meeting credit and prerequisite requirements, such as by referencing standards that are more familiar to Canadians and which are available in both official languages.

LEED v4 in Canada:

In an effort to increase the range of LEED resources for Canadians and follow an internationally consistent approach to how LEED is tailored to different regions of the world, the CaGBC will not be developing stand-alone Canadian rating systems. Instead, the CaGBC will streamline development work by providing Canadian options for demonstrating compliance – termed Alternative Compliance Paths – within the international rating systems.

Alternative Compliance Paths, or ACPs, will allow the CaGBC to identify equivalent means of demonstrating compliance to the credit requirements. For example, where an equivalent Canadian reference standard exists, an ACP can allow for the use of that standard. This model for tailoring LEED to the Canadian market will simplify the development process and allow ALL the LEED rating systems to be made available to Canadians. Applying ACPs will help further improve the user’s experience of LEED, allowing project teams to benefit from more regular errata and upgrades to rating systems and tools while leveraging LEED Online, an online platform that helps coordinate the submission process as well as certification review.

CaGBC will continue to provide certification reviews to ensure an appreciation and understanding of the unique Canadian context. We will continue to provide local support for any questions and issues that may arise during the design, construction, and certification of projects. The CaGBC is committed to offering Canadian clients LEED certification services in both official languages and is working with the USGBC to determine the appropriate model for offering French language services.