On May 10, Tridel President Leo DelZotto was joined by Mayor David Miller and Ontario's Chief Energy Conservation Officer, Peter Love, at the unveiling of Tridel's newest environmental initiative, the exquisitely designed and sustainable Eco-Suite.

Located on the 21st floor of Element, Tridel's first completed "Naturally Better" Green community, at 20 Blue Jays Way and Front Street in Toronto, the Eco-Suite showcases detailed Green design options for every day living. This 1,900-sq-ft. suite has been designed by Andrea Kantelberg, one of Canada's foremost interior designers of sustainable living. She has completely finished the suite with environmentally friendly materials, décor and appliances each with its own unique story about how it has been repurposed, recycled or made energy efficient. Some examples include the gorgeous dining room table, which was built from walnut slabs originally recovered from a Tridel development site in Scarborough, and the ensuite bathroom's countertop, which is made from recycled glass.

Welcoming the capacity crowd of guests including elected officials, leaders in the environmental and real estate communities and sponsors, said DelZotto, "We are pleased to be able to unveil our Eco-Suite where we are demonstrating that reducing our impact on the natural environment can be achieved without compromising aesthetics, functionality and quality."

"Tridel's leadership in the area of sustainable development is to be applauded," said Mayor David Miller. "Torontonians have shown they want to make this city the cleanest and Greenest in North America and projects like Element are going to help us get there."

In addition to the innovative features and finishes of the Eco-Suite, Element is the first residential building using the Enwave deep lake water cooling system. Element has been recognized by Natural Resources Canada's elite building energy performance rating system, the Commercial Building Incentive Program (CBIP), being the largest residential building in Ontario to achieve this recognition. Thanks to additional energy-efficient measures, Element has achieved a 25 per cent reduction in overall energy use over a conventional building of its comparable size. In recognition of this milestone, Ontario's First Chief Energy Conservation Officer presented Tridel with a Certificate of Recognition for its significant contribution to the area of energy savings.

At the presentation, said Love, "I congratulate Tridel for its commitment to building a culture of conservation in Ontario. When builders offer choice," he continued, "not only in suite design, but also in energy-efficient appliances and environmentally friendly materials, we all win. Less electricity is used, fewer greenhouse gases are released and the customer saves money."

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If you were only to consider scale, Tridel and Live Lightly Developments appear to be polar opposites.

One's a corporate condo-building giant in the GTA, the other is a tiny independent outfit run by a bearded environmentalist named Greg Bonser.

But put Bonser in a room with Tridel's Rambod Nasrin, like the Star did this week, and you'll find two men who share at least one part of the home-building spectrum - the green band.

Talk with both for a while - which you'll get a chance to do next weekend when their latest projects go on display during the eighth-annual Doors Open Toronto - and you'll find two men who are convinced their initiatives are about to spark major changes in the industry.

"I was impressed by Greg Bonser's development, which is an old heritage building with three energy-efficient suites," says Nasrin, manager of research and development at Tridel, recently honoured as the GTA's greenest highrise builder.

"Ultimately, this kind of struck me as the point where change is happening in Toronto - when you get a big developer like Tridel and a small developer like Greg pushing the envelope."

Bonser, 29, has been involved in the building business since 1999, but the Residences at Regal Hand Laundry on Queen St. E. is the first project for his company, Live Lightly Developments. Unlike small-time independents in fields such as the arts and brewing, Bonser has praise for the corporate giant's Eco-Suite at its Element condo on Blue Jays Way.

"Tridel has really stepped up to the plate," he says. "The rest of the industry will feel pressure. Eco-Suite will educate or expose a lot of people about what's possible in a beautiful space."

Bonser, who is living in one of his own suites and sold the other two before construction, might also have reason to be a little green with envy.

He saw things in Tridel's eco-suite he wanted but was unable to find - proof that being big has advantages when it comes to green technology and economies of scale.

"Tridel has such clout and power with suppliers and tradespeople," he says.

"The Eco-Suite had really attractive LED light fixtures. I looked far and wide for something like this but couldn't find it. Tridel has really pushed the boundaries with lighting."

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If The Wizard Of Oz were rejigged for today's audience, Dorothy would be wearing emerald green slippers - and that home she clicks them for? Well, honey, it would have reclaimed flooring (taken from an old barn, of course) and straw-bale insulation.

I'd get you to invest in a pair of emerald slippers if I thought it would help you track down some eco-conscious housing in Toronto. Unfortunately, it ain't that easy.

T.O. does have a sprinkling of homes decked out with solar panels (like that cool complex on Sparkhall Avenue in Riverdale that's off the grid), but the people who live there probably aren't planning to put their homes up for sale any time soon. Same goes for the four-unit Live Lightly Developments on Queen East, with bamboo flooring, strawboard cabinetry and geothermal heating. But, hey, who knows? Ask a realtor.

For the majority of us who don't have the funds to completely overhaul our own houses (or even to buy houses of our own to dream of ecofying), there are, of course, alternatives.

For one, if you're seriously cash-restricted, look into Toronto Community Housing Corporation's impressive green plans. Not only are they retrofitting old housing with new windows, bulbs and Energy Star appliances, but they're also building sustainable units from the ground up as part of Regent Park's redevelopment (think green roofs, a 27-hectare park, and a 75 per cent boost in energy efficiency). Don Mount Court (to be called Rivertowne) will also sport green stripes. All three will be designed as mixed-income neighbourhoods, so there should be something for every budget.

If you have enough saved for a down payment, keep in mind that condo developers are clamouring for green brownie points these days. Several in the downtown core are applying for LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification through the Canada Green Building Council.

Minto is one of them. Its Radiance @ Minto Gardens residence was the first condo in the city to receive such certification. The building is 33 per cent more energy-efficient than code, and units use at least 50 per cent less water than your typical condo. There's a green-bin chute, and on top of ultra-low-emission paints and sealants, more than 40 per cent of materials used in construction were made locally. Did I mention that the building is a member of Autoshare, with onsite Prius rentals? Pretty nifty.

MintoSkyy, the company's next LEED-certified luxury condo project, is slated for construction at Broadview and Mortimer. Another developer, Tridel, is using LEED standards to build its water- and energy-conscious Verve building at Jarvis and Wellesley.

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