Michael Quast, the new CEO of Victoria-based non-profit Passive House Canada, is setting out to make the sustainable building standard a household name.

“Taking the good work that the Passive House community has been doing over the last few years and really trying to amplify it and make awareness for the importance of the standard,” is how he described his mission in an interview with Sustainable Biz Canada.

Quast started his career in television production and became CEO of The Holmes Group, a media company centred around construction and renovation, before moving into the real estate sector. He was the vice president of communications at Tarion, general manager of building solutions at Hexagon Geosystems and COO of Multivista before taking the helm of Passive House Canada in April.

Though never involved with Passive House Canada prior to the appointment, Quast said he is deeply passionate about sustainable construction and that his background in construction, brand development and stakeholder engagement will assist him in carrying out his duties.

‘Building is in my DNA’

Quast’s professional history covers approximately two decades of leadership in real estate, plus the experience in branding, marketing, communications and stakeholder engagement.

He noted “building is in my DNA,” as his father and grandfather worked in the construction industry. Quast continued that family tradition when he built Oakville’s first straw bale home over 20 years ago. By using straw, such homes trap carbon.

When Passive House Canada was searching for a new CEO, his leadership experience, background and personal interest in sustainable buildings stood out to the organization.

“This role right now is like a dream opportunity for me,” Quast said. “I’ve called it a unicorn job because it’s one of those rare times in life where you get to connect your personal passions with your professional expertise.”

Broadening awareness of Passive House

A priority as CEO is to engage more Canadians with Passive House, a standard for building envelopes designed to promote energy efficiency by being tightly sealed, well-insulated and including a high-efficiency heat recovery ventilation system. It applies to single-family and multifamily housing, commercial and institutional buildings.

Another goal is to broaden the tent on sustainable construction. While he sees Passive House as the North Star for green building standards, “it doesn’t mean it’s the only star,” Quast said. “There’s a lot of people who are passionate about different building standards for different reasons.”

It will be his job to connect these people, including building professionals, politicians, manufacturers and suppliers, to their like-minded peers.

Another priority is to extract more value for Passive House Canada members.

He aims to achieve these goals “one conversation at a time.” This is where his background in television is relevant, as he looks to participate in Passive House events, newsletters, white papers, conferences and media outreach.

One of his first duties as CEO of Passive House Canada was attending the Passive House Canada Conference in Ottawa in May.

“I loved it,” Quast said. He was energized by the event, attending presentations and walking the exhibit floor where he talked to manufacturers, Passive House Canada members and people with no professional background in construction who were simply curious about sustainable buildings.

Following Passive House makes sense, Quast says

An increasing number of development projects are basing their designs on Passive House principles, Quast said, particularly in British Columbia and Ontario.

“Professionals, architects, engineers and builders are recognizing that it makes sense to build to a higher standard. Customers, developers are asking for that higher standard.”

While some may perceive following the Passive House standard as inflating the cost of a project beyond what is affordable, he argues that is a mistake. “That is because they haven’t spent enough time talking to the right people to work out the design,” he retorts.

With the right design team and construction schedule, the project can be built cost effectively. The resulting building will also have reduced operational costs. By adding large amounts of insulation, it offsets the need for a full-sized furnace, and a stringent airtightness requirement cuts energy needs.

So far, Quast is enjoying his executive role at Passive House Canada.

“I get up in the morning and I feel really energized and encouraged by the fact that there’s a lot of really smart people who want to build better homes and better structures.”

An upcoming Passive House Canada event, Passive House Pulse Hamilton, takes place on June 19.