Dufferin County is excited to announce it will be launching a Green Development Program later this year.

At its meeting last week, Dufferin County Council approved the implementation of a voluntary Green Development Program in partnership with Grey and Wellington Counties, with an anticipated launch in Summer 2026.

The Program will support reduced long-term housing costs, improved resilience to climate risks, and economic development in the green building sector. It establishes a consistent regional framework to support higher-performing residential development while reducing duplication for municipalities and the development industry

The Green Development Program has been designed as a voluntary, points-based system with three core components:

• Metrics – Recognizing the diversity of projects, the framework consists of a flexible menu of 18 possible development features that applicants may choose to incorporate into their project. These metrics were developed based on best practices, existing building credential programs, and local input from industry, municipal staff, and residents.
• Recognition – For each metric incorporated into the project, the project achieves a certain number of points. Based on their total number of points, the project would be recognized as bronze, silver, or gold achievement.
• Capacity Building – To support program implementation, staff will work with the construction and development industry, as well as County and municipal planning and building staff, to share knowledge, best practices, case studies, resources, and training opportunities to overcome local barriers to advancing higher performance construction.

Administration of the Program will be coordinated at the County level, with opportunities for lower-tier municipalities to participate based on their capacity and interest.

Georgian College and Sustainable Waterloo Region are currently undertaking an industry readiness assessment to identify opportunities to strengthen local capacity within the construction sector to ensure industry adoption.

To learn more about The Green Development Program, visit www.dufferincounty.ca/gdp

“As Dufferin County continues to see sustained population and housing growth, the Green Development Program will support local development that reduces long-term demand on energy, water and stormwater systems, help manage lifecycle infrastructure costs, and improve system resilience. It will support long-term affordability for residents and promote more complete and connected communities while helping us reach our climate and economic goals. We thank NRCan for their funding of this joint County initiative and will provide our community and developers with more information closer to Program launch!”

-Lisa Post, Warden, Dufferin County

“The Green Development Program is helping the County advances key actions in both its Climate Action Plan and Climate Adaptation Strategy, which prioritize improving building performance and increasing resilience to climate impacts through new development. It also supports the County’s Economic Development Strategic Plan by strengthening local capacity in the construction sector and positioning Dufferin to respond to growing demand for higher performance building practices. We’re excited to announce the launch of this plan with our partners Grey and Bruce Counties and look forward to celebrating developers who are doing their part to advance sustainable development in Dufferin and beyond.”

– Sara MacRae, Manager of Climate and Energy, Dufferin County

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MEDIA CONTACT:
Megan Ball, Manager of Communications
mball@dufferincounty.ca