Sustainable or Green Design can be defined as development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
                                                             Ontario Architects Association

In construction, E’Terra used sustainable building practices that included taking into account climatic and geographic conditions of the Bruce Peninsula to ensure the most energy efficient systems within this eclectic design. We tried our best and feel confident that we have used the most balanced technologies especially at the time. We continuously look for new products and services as we all evolve on this ever changing planet.

Awards & Accolades

• E’Terra is built in accordance with the stringent guidelines of the US and Canadian Green Building Council’s LEED program (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) and is accredited certification at the Gold level - CaGBC-NC – V1.0  2005
• E’Terra received The Green by Design Award presented at the 2005 Wood Works! Awards gala in Collingwood, Ontario, Canada. This award is given to businesses demonstrating excellence in wood based construction such as reducing energy and resource use, minimizing pollution and reducing overall environmental impact.
• CBIP (Canadian Building Incentive Program) Natural Resources Canada incentive and recognition of energy efficient building and construction.
• LEEDS Point Sheet
  

Sustainable Attributes:

Dedication to protecting an ancient ecosystem begins with finding the balance between ecology, economics and ethics, so by combining these three E’s with Terra (the earth) seemed to best reflect the philosophy for E’Terra.

LEED in and of itself was a challenge as E’Terra was built as a residence to address issues over urban sprawl as well as the impacts of hospitality tourism in a rural setting. LEED did not have guidelines for the rural setting, and it was mandatory that we meet the guidelines as set out by the Niagara Escarpment Commission.

In building E'Terra the great challenges were:

• The preservations of the trees on the site, and education of the equipment operators.
• Sewage management... 100% treatment to MOE tertiary standards with Waterloo Biofilter system
• For EVERY product used - how was it made, by whom, from where and the environmental impact (life cycle) were taken into consideration – the 3 E’s philosophy was applied before consideration of using it in the building. Corporations had to produce a working environmental policy and we focused on North American products first... E’Terra is at least 95% North American made!
• Secondly, in understanding the life cycle was the consideration of off gassing of the building into the environment as the result of a fire.  The main components are wood, glass, stone and copper.
• Wherever possible, local labour and products were used, benefiting communities and economies in the immediate vicinity.
• Rainwater collection for use in toilets, refrigeration cooling, humidification & cooling by indoor water garden over a piece of attached Niagara Escarpment rock.
• Diverting as much as possible construction waste, over 75% from landfill to recycling and reuse, all site rubble was used in the building of parking lots and the road
• Extensive use of salvaged, recycled, and locally harvested and manufactured materials
• No mechanical air conditioning, all forms of natural cooling design features including a ground duct system for makeup air.   Eliminating use of any ozone depleting HCFC’s and halons.
• Purchasing equivalent of 100% electrical consumption through Green Tags by local Wind Turbines that power the grid and over 1000 homes in the area, internal systems design so that propane can transfer to an alternative gas fuel when available.  Solar Hot water panels work well, and systems are presently being put in place so that photo voltaic systems can be used for back up and grid tie-in, once their output capacity is more than 30%.
• Energy savings of over half of other similar facilities; use of more residential style lighting systems for aesthetics along with limited use of compact fluorescents.(installing filters for minimizing electromagnetic fields and stray electricity).  Great care was give to minimizing radio wave and electrical pollution in the building.  Sorry no wireless technologies!!
• All interior and exterior finishing, including furnishings met appropriate VOC guidelines.
• All cleaning supplies exceed the green program.  All Body care products are chemical free and organic.
• Creative use of Fire tank, (building code requirement).  Instead of burying a concrete tank into the ground full of water, it doubles as a saltwater pool with a filtration system that requires no daily water elimination.
• A few other areas studied and applied at E’Terra... were bromated fire retardants BPDE’s, Multiple Chemical Sensitivities CMS,   Radon,  geopathic stress lines, geo magnetic energy, Natural ion generators, Chronobiology, Ecopsychology,  colour vibration,  sound frequencies (Otolaryngology), and the use of natural fibres in all textiles see Holistic section.

For more information on sustainable building design and practices visit:
U.S. Green Building Council or Canada Green Building Council (CaGBC).

E'Terra suppliers were chosen for their ecological policies. Below are links to some of these suppliers where you can learn more about their efforts to preserve the environment.