About
Greenstone Building Products has been providing energy efficient building solutions to the residential and commercial sectors since its inception in 2015. Locally owned and operated in the heart of the Canadian prairies, Greenstone operations and manufacturing are based in Brandon, MB with sales reps and authorized partners spanning across western Canada. But how did Greenstone and the ICE Panel come to be?
Our story began back in 2014 when our CEO and President, Ed Dornn was given a sample of a building product that piqued his interest almost immediately. This structural panel addressed many major building envelope efficiency concerns currently facing the construction industry.
Ed began to investigate the product further by travelling south to the United States where he met the inventor, learning that the panel had already begun making its way into buildings in the United States, Mexico, China, Guam, and Russia. It became evident that this product held huge potential and opportunities for the construction industry. He learned that the product has been on the market for over 30 years, however, it was not up to par when it came to building standards in Canada. It was evident that a builder’s perspective was needed to further develop this product. Since the panels are a combination of EPS insulation and steel stud framing that does not penetrate though the eps, the panels are thermally broken, eliminating thermal bridging, which is the biggest cause of energy loss in conventional construction.
With efficiency standards on the rise, Ed understood that a shift was on the immediate horizon and it was time to introduce a new way of building.
In 2015 Ed and his wife Rita founded Greenstone Structural Solutions (now known as Greenstone Building Products). Over the next year Greenstone’s state-of-the-art production facility was constructed in Brandon, Manitoba. The team got to work reviewing and testing the initial panel to Canadian building standards with the help of engineers and a dedicated research and development team. Over time, the panel has undergone many modifications and improvements that continue to make the panel stronger and more energy efficient.
Fast forward to 2023 and the ICE Panels have been used in construction projects in almost every major city in Western Canada, across Northern Canada, all three Canadian coasts, the United States, and the Caribbean.
We believe Greenstone is positioned to change the perspective in which people see sustainable building and we are excited as we continue to grow.
Environmental mission and strategy (ESG)
A carbon-neutral future requires advancement in technology. By focusing on the performance of our buildings, we can make an impact on overall energy consumption. The ICE Panel is a building envelope technology that bridges the gap between sustainability and economics.
ZERO WASTE FACILITY: ICE Panels are manufactured in a zerowaste facility. All post processing waste is recycled into other products, and nothing gets hauled to the landfill. Because the post processing happens in the factory, nearly zero waste is delivered to the job site, lowering your carbon footprint and creating a more sustainable future for us all.
ACHIEVE NET ZERO STANDARDS: With the entire world moving towards Net-Zero, material selection has become critical in the process to achieving performance targets. You can spend an infinite amount of money trying to offset an inefficient building, but its not a very sustainable solution. ICE Panels significantly reduce your energy input requirements making it easier and more economical to build to Net-Zero standards.
CARBON OFFSET PERIOD: ICE Panels reduce heating and cooling loads significantly. In some cases, by more than 70%. In extreme climate zones like Canada, this can mean a carbon offset period of less than 2-3 months, depending on the project. ICE Panels not only reduce the energy requirement for heating your building, they can also reduce the size of utility equipment needed.
MAKING A DIFFERENCE: Not every path to sustainability is inclusive. Consumers today will choose a sustainable option where available, provided it’s also economical to do so. ICE Panels offer sustainability for everyone by making it a simple and economical choice.
RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT: Greenstone has a strong research and development team that is continuously exploring new ways to make ICE Panels more efficient.
ENERGY EFFICIENCY: ICE Panels are used to help achieve high performance building targets. They have been used to achieve Net-Zero and Net-Zero ready. In places like BC where step codes are already in place, many clients report that ICE Panels achieve a higher building envelope efficiency for a lower cost than any other methods available to date.