The City of Vancouver has opened the Energize Vancouver resource hub to guide owners and managers of large existing buildings through incoming regulations on greenhouse gas emissions and energy.

Energize Vancouver provides information on how to comply with regulations and obtain support from programs by partner organizations such as utility companies and various levels of government, and get connected to best practices through case studies, videos and how-to guides provided on its website.

Deadlines for carbon and energy reporting for commercial and multifamily buildings are looming, and greenhouse gas emissions limits will follow. The pending rules implementations induced the city to offer a helping hand to building owners and managers.

“We wanted an umbrella initiative that was recognizable by a wide range of different owner types in industry groups that would represent the work the city is doing in this space,” Micah Lang, the team lead of large existing buildings in Vancouver’s Planning, Urban Design and Sustainability Department, told Sustainable Biz Canada.

Energize Vancouver’s educational role

Energize Vancouver was founded by the Sustainability Group of the Planning, Urban Design and Sustainability Department. The Sustainability Group of approximately 40 staff works on sustainability initiatives, Lang explained, such as electric vehicle charging and construction standards.

He said the program is inspired by other North American cities developing similar initiatives, and is a first for Vancouver to address building types around a specific goal.

The resource hub is a website in its soft launch, focused on helping large existing buildings adjust to annual energy and carbon reporting requirements. For example, one incoming regulation is for commercial buildings greater than 100,000 square feet to annually report energy and carbon emissions as of June 1, 2024.

To achieve this, the site hosts information and tools to aid in planning for greenhouse gas emission reductions and understand the benefits; where to search for incentives from utilities and governments; and offers case studies from other buildings that are decarbonizing.

“We’re also trying to develop novel tools that are emerging best practices right now. One of those is a decarbonization planning tool that’s going to be a combination of digital analysis of a building’s information and energy use combined with an on-the-ground energy audit,” Lang said.

Awareness about Energize Vancouver’s launch is being raised by working closely with organizations such as BOMA BC, REALPAC, the Condominium Home Owners Association of BC, LandlordBC and the BC Non Profit Housing Association to get the message out via newsletters and webinars. Other methods, Lang said, include a direct mailing campaign to buildings covered by the regulations and bi-weekly webinars hosted by the city.

Initially, there are no specific targets for the reach of the website, nor the type of organizations with which Energize Vancouver hopes to connect. Lang said once Energize Vancouver is more established, then targets can be set.

The Sustainability Group is now accepting stakeholder feedback and expects to build out Energize Vancouver’s features over time.

Vancouver’s upcoming building requirements

As part of Vancouver’s climate plan, the city passed a bylaw mandating energy and carbon reporting in 2022 for certain building types and greenhouse gas emissions intensity limits.

The first deadline is required annual energy and carbon reporting for commercial buildings bigger than 100,000 square feet as of June 1, 2024. That will be followed by commercial buildings greater than 50,000 square feet and multifamily buildings bigger than 100,000 square feet starting June 1, 2025.

Multifamily buildings exceeding 50,000 square feet must report carbon and energy use as of June 1, 2026.

Then the greenhouse gas emission intensity regulations begin to come into force.

As of June 1, 2027, commercial office and retail buildings greater than 100,000 square feet must emit no more than 25 kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalent per square metre per year for office buildings, and 14 kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalent per square metre per year for retail buildings.

By 2040, office and retail buildings over 100,000 square feet must emit no carbon dioxide.

Also in 2040 will be a heat energy limit for commercial buildings more than 100,000 square feet. Office and retail buildings must not exceed 0.09 gigajoules per square metre per year. Lang said the heat energy limit encourages investment into heating efficiency and decarbonization.

Failure to comply with greenhouse gas emission intensity regulations will result in increases in operating permitting for the buildings, he said.