Highest Certifying Builder in B.C. Recognized for Ambassadorship

Victoria B.C.’s Verity Construction recognized in national sustainability awards

Built Green Canada’s Maverick Awards reward and profile leadership in sustainable building, across three exclusive categories—these saw entries from British Columbia through to Ontario. The most popular of these is the Ambassador Award, for which a finalist was Verity Construction—a residential builder out of Victoria, B.C. This award recognizes those on the ground, promoting and encouraging sustainable building: those ambassadors driving industry progress. Verity is a production builder who has shown unwavering commitment to sustainable building and third-party certification for over 20 years; they’ve set a standard, influencing both industry adoption and consumer expectation in their region.

Verity Construction and Built Green Canada were established around the same time, 2004 and 2003, respectively. Owner, Chad Bryden, was quick to see the benefits of the organization’s sustainable building programs and began certifying in 2006—making Verity one of the earliest adopters. As the team grew from six to over 260 employees, Verity has consistently focused on producing homes that are more than code compliant, and more than energy efficient, for a more holistic approach to sustainability that also addresses water and waste management, more responsible building materials, indoor air quality, and more.

Verity Construction’s driving force is rooted in the belief that this fulsome approach is not only responsible but results in homes that offer a superior living experience, while making a positive impact on our planet, and contributing to transforming industry practices. Their commitment to sustainability has been reinforced by Built Green programs, serving as both a guiding influence and a tangible validation of their eco-friendly ethos, while enabling Verity to stay at the forefront of industry trends and embrace emerging technologies.

As the first British Columbia-based production builder to certify through Built Green, who has remained committed since, they have built nearly 1,800 BUILT GREEN® homes—more certifications than any other in the B.C. market. It’s an achievement that underscores their dedication to crafting homes for quality and environmental responsibility, achieving up to the highest certification level: BUILT GREEN® Net Zero Energy+.

This certification resonates with clients and industry stakeholders. In their walkthroughs with homebuyers, Verity makes a point to highlight their homes’ certification—which they see as validation of their efforts to adhere to rigorous environmental standards. While guiding customers through the green features incorporated into their homes, they discuss BUILT GREEN® certification and the associated benefits, including cost savings on operating the home, access to mortgage rebates and a healthier living environment.

This produces a cyclical causality of creating market demand and then motivating Verity to continue building better through the feedback they receive from homeowners, realtors and potential buyers who actively seek out Built Green homes. Knowing that their efforts resonate serves as a catalyst to maintain their commitment to more responsible home building.

Being a veteran builder with a large market share and high visibility, over the years, they’ve heard comments from peers who have watched Verity building more sustainably, with a label to prove it, and realized they needed to step up to remain competitive: organically helping to grow support for the program and more environmentally conscious homes.

They’ve also been active within industry—contributing to the City of Langford’s Construction Impact Management focus group and being part of construction organizations such as the Sooke Builders Association, West Shore Developers, the Victoria Residential Builders Association, and the Vancouver Island Construction Association, which help shape best practices and drive positive change, alongside giving them the opportunity for peer-to-peer conversations about third-party certification and the value of sustainable building practices.

Meanwhile, with their trades and suppliers, Verity has ongoing discussions about products and building practices that help them meet BUILT GREEN® certification—bringing their partners along in the process, impacting industry practices beyond their own projects. These conversations encourage trades and suppliers to conduct their own research into sustainable building and to better understand how their products and workmanship contribute to building better, high-performing homes.

When talking to industry, they’ve been confronted with concerns about costs, logistics and resistance to change. But Verity says sustainability doesn’t have to be about added costs, rather more responsible choices, and they're working to address these concerns through educating, collaborating and showing the benefits of sustainable building.

Looking ahead, Verity believes it's important that industry works more closely together. By embracing new technologies, supporting rules that promote sustainability, and sharing knowledge, collectively, we can speed up the shift toward a greener construction industry and pave the way for a brighter, more resilient future.

As one of Built Green Canada’s original builders and a proud ambassador for sustainable building, they take pride in going beyond industry standards. Their dedication to making a difference in the industry and leaving a positive legacy for future generations will continue to serve as a source of motivation, driving them to continually raise the bar for sustainable construction practices.

Verity Construction specialises in land development, community master-planning, residential construction, multi-family developments and commercial construction. Founded on timeless values of excellence, collaboration and partnership, they are a trusted construction partner on Vancouver Island.

The Maverick Awards are another step forward in Built Green Canada's mission to progress sustainability practices and recognize leadership. Four winners have been announced: the Ambassador Award had a two-way tie between Effect Home Builders and Excel Homes, while the Innovation Award went to Carbon Wise, and Best Builders received the Transformational Award for their Phoenix House. The 2026 Mavericks are sponsored by title co-sponsors, Jayman BUILT and SkyFire Energy, alongside Alberta Ecotrust Foundation, Excel Homes and Alberta Real Estate Foundation.