Program Overview

Environmentally Sustainable Buildings

Program Overview

The Environmentally Sustainable Buildings Postgraduate Diploma Program introduces students to working knowledge of the core concepts and strategies to achieve environmentally sustainable buildings. Students learn how to lower energy consumption in buildings, improve air quality, implement green building practices, and comply with applicable legislation.

This program also includes core concepts and strategies used in the LEED rating systems and supports students who wish to take the LEED Green Associate Exam. All courses are taught by practicing environmental professionals, ensuring that the program content is both practical and current.

The program consists of 200 hours of instruction and includes in-depth classroom lectures, demonstrations, and case studies. The program also includes site visits to develop practical understanding of real-life scenarios, problems, and solutions.

Career Opportunities

Graduates of this program are well-suited for positions such as sustainable building consultants, building managers, project managers, property/facility managers, energy management professionals, maintenance managers, building engineers, and green building specialists, as well as many others in industry sectors such as construction, consulting engineers, building operations, and facility management, as well as government and public organizations.

Courses in this Program

• Sustainable Development
• Ontario Building Code
• Energy Management
• Environmental Regulations and Standards
• Indoor Air Quality
• Engineering Project Management
• Canadian Industrial Practices and Workplace Culture

Program Outcomes

Knowledge

• Gain proficiency in the area of sustainable design, construction, and operation of buildings.
• Understand contemporary practices of designing, constructing, and operating environmentally sustainable buildings.
• Understand concepts, strategies, and benefits of saving energy, minimizing waste, and using the LEED rating system for assessment of buildings.
• Understand requirements of Canadian and international environmental regulations and standards.
• Understand project management practices for increased efficiency of operations and meeting deadlines.
• Understand best practices for energy management.

Skills

• Implement sustainable building strategies, reduce energy and natural resource consumption in buildings, and use the LEED rating system for assessment and analysis.
• Apply sustainable development principles and practices in defining, analyzing, and selecting solutions for design, construction, and operation of environmentally friendly buildings.
• Perform building energy audits and LEED rating assessments.
• Suggest solutions for reducing consumption of resources, including energy, water, and other resources, and analyze efficiency of conservation measures.
• Assess indoor air quality in buildings, investigate, and suggest solutions to related problems.
• Identify applicable legislation and ensure compliance of buildings with laws and regulations.
• Evaluate and synthesize data with sound engineering principles for finding economical engineering solutions for sustainable operation of buildings.

Course Details

1. Canadian Industrial Practices and Workplace Culture

• Lesson 1.1: Good industrial practices
• Lesson 1.2: Workplace safety
• Lesson 1.3: Canadian workplace culture and cultural intelligence
• Lesson 1.4: Getting job ready and keeping the job
• Lesson 1.5: Entrepreneurship and small business skills
• Lesson 1.6: Course overview, exam preparation, and final exam

2. Energy Management

• Lesson 2.1: The need for energy management
• Lesson 2.2: Building energy use and performance
• Lesson 2.3: Building energy use and performance (continued)
• Lesson 2.4: Monitoring and targeting
• Lesson 2.5: Measurements, instrumentation, and building automation system
• Lesson 2.6: Conducting an energy audit
• Lesson 2.7: Energy accounting in buildings and facilities
• Lesson 2.8: Energy rate structure
• Lesson 2.9: Electric rate structure
• Lesson 2.10: HVAC in building systems
• Lesson 2.11: Economics analysis and financing for energy management projects
• Lesson 2.12: Heating systems—steam and hot water generation and distribution
• Lesson 2.13: Waste heat recovery
• Lesson 2.14: Electrical energy management
• Lesson 2.15: Cogeneration (CHP)
• Lesson 2.16: Lighting
• Lesson 2.17: Energy codes and standards
• Lesson 2.18: Creating awareness in an organization
• Lesson 2.19: Course overview, exam preparation, and final exam

3. Engineering Project Management

• Lesson 3.1: Introduction, project life cycle, and management processes
• Lesson 3.2: Initiating a project
• Lesson 3.3: Project scope planning
• Lesson 3.4: Project scheduling and budgeting
• Lesson 3.5: Planning project integration
• Lesson 3.6: Executing a project
• Lesson 3.7: Monitoring and controlling a project
• Lesson 3.8: Closing a project
• Lesson 3.9: Life cycle cost (LCC) analysis
• Lesson 3.10: Tendering process
• Lesson 3.11: Contracting process
• Lesson 3.12: Course overview, exam preparation, and final exam

4. Environmental Regulations and Standards

• Lesson 4.1: Environmental legislation and regulations—background
• Lesson 4.2: Environmental regulation and hazards
• Lesson 4.3: Environmental laws and regulations—federal
• Lesson 4.4: Environmental laws and regulations—provincial
• Lesson 4.5: Climate change and renewable energy—provincial
• Lesson 4.6: Toxics reduction and air quality—provincial
• Lesson 4.7: Water pollution and spills
• Lesson 4.8: Toxic and other waste and land remediation—provincial
• Lesson 4.9: Municipal environmental protocols and aboriginal issues
• Lesson 4.10: Enforcement of environmental and liability
• Lesson 4.11: Environmental impact assessment
• Lesson 4.12: Risk assessment and environmental audits
• Lesson 4.13: Course overview, exam preparation, and final exam

5. Indoor Air Quality

• Lesson 5.1: Overview of indoor air quality requirement
• Lesson 5.2: New ASHARE standards and 52.2-1999
• Lesson 5.3: New ASHARE standards and 52.2-1999 (continued)
• Lesson 5.4: CSA standards Z- and IICRC S-
• Lesson 5.5: CSA standards Z- and IICRC S- (continued)
• Lesson 5.6: Micro-organism in buildings—new assessment guidelines
• Lesson 5.7: Sampling strategy based on the microbial volatile organic compounds
• Lesson 5.8: Decontamination and control
• Lesson 5.9: Maintenance of HVAC systems
• Lesson 5.10: Course overview, exam preparation, and final exam

6. Ontario Building Code

• Lesson 6.1: Introduction to building code
• Lesson 6.2: Design requirements
• Lesson 6.3: Compliance
• Lesson 6.4: Course overview, exam preparation, and final exam

7. Sustainable Development

• Lesson 7.1: Renewable energy technology
• Lesson 7.2: Green buildings defined
• Lesson 7.3: Ecological design
• Lesson 7.4: Economic feasibility of green buildings
• Lesson 7.5: Sustainable sites and landscapes
• Lesson 7.6: The green building design process and construction
• Lesson 7.7: Building automation systems
• Lesson 7.8: Building commission
• Lesson 7.9: Developing a measurement and verification plan
• Lesson 7.10: Green building assessment
• Lesson 7.11: The future of green buildings
• Lesson 7.12: Course overview, exam preparation, and final exam