Recognizing achievements in sustainability through the Durham Greener Buildings program

On November 19, 2025, leaders, experts and climate champions gathered in Whitby for the second annual Durham Greener Buildings Evening of Recognition. The event celebrated achievements in sustainability and building decarbonization.

Launched in January 2024 with Windfall Ecology Centre, the Durham Greener Buildings program advances benchmarking, transparency and energy performance disclosure. It supports Durham Region’s Community Energy Plan, which focuses on realizing local economic opportunities associated with the transition to clean energy.

The 2025 award recipients were celebrated for exceptional achievement in energy use reduction, emission cuts and advancing sustainability excellence. Their initiatives ranged from HVAC and controls upgrades to LED lighting retrofits, enhanced data management and portfolio-wide performance improvements, reflecting a shared commitment to building decarbonization and continuous improvement. The noteworthy recipients included:

• City of Oshawa
• Durham Catholic District School Board
• Durham District School Board
• Durham Region Non-Profit Housing Corporation
• Lakeridge Health
• Municipality of Clarington
• Ontario Tech University
• The Regional Municipality of Durham
• Town of Ajax
• Town of Whitby
• Township of Brock
• Township of Scugog
• Township of Uxbridge

This event underscored how institutions within the commercial and broader public sectors are achieving meaningful progress toward a greener and more resilient region, setting a high standard for environmental excellence within Ontario.

For more information on the Durham Greener Buildings program and the award winners, please visit durhamgreenerbuildings.ca.

Quotes

“Durham Greener Buildings is helping our building sector lead the way on climate action and sustainability. Through this program, building owners across Durham Region can measure, report and take action to improve efficiency and conservation. A big congratulations to this year’s climate action champions. Your hard work is creating a greener, more sustainable future for everyone in Durham Region.”

- John Henry, Regional Chair and CEO, Region of Durham

“The 2025 Durham Greener Buildings Evening of Recognition embodies what leadership in action looks like. Across Durham, innovative collaboration in sustainability is accelerating real transformation and turning ambition into measurable climate outcomes. The achievements we celebrate this year prove that a low-carbon future is no longer a goal for tomorrow but a reality taking shape today.”

• Brent Kopperson, Founder and Executive Director, Windfall Ecology Centre

• Quick Facts

  • On January 29, 2020, Durham Regional Council voted to declare a climate emergency.
  • In April 2022 the Region launched Durham Greener Homes, a deep energy retrofit program focused on the residential sector and single-family homes.
  • The Region is taking steps to enable emissions reductions in other segments of the building sector including commercial, institutional and multi-unit residential buildings.
  • The Durham Greener Buildings Program was launched in January 2024 to support Institutional and Commercial building owners with benchmarking their energy performance against peers and publicly reporting their progress.