From compliance to convening: the transformation of the Canada Green Building Council

Green Building Movement Organizations often advance their social change agenda through market transformation initiatives. Over the past 25 years, many such organizations have used Sustainability Rating Tools–for example green building certifications that guide and recognize the inclusion of sustainable elements–to pursue this objective. But the industrial adoption of these tools has become saturated within market niches and ignored in others, leaving many of these organizations struggling for a renewed remit. This paper presents a case study of the recent transformation of the Canada Green Building Council (CaGBC)–an organization defined by its role in LEED® (a globally significant Sustainability Rating Tool) certification–asking how it remained influential when such disruption hit. The CaGBC succeeded, our analysis suggests, by placing itself at what Michel Callon calls the obligatory passage point for market transformation: re-enrolling its stakeholders through processes he calls problemization, interessement, enrolment, and mobilization. In this, we also indicate how they shifted from a purely ‘strong-ties’ approach to a ‘hybrid’ approach. Evidence for these claims is drawn from 21 interviews with nine key staff over a two-year period, as well as from over 250 working and archival documents. Our findings demonstrate how Green Building Movement Organizations can transform from stewards of compliance to conveners.