BC Energy Step Code
Introba provided community planning and consulting services for the BC Energy Step Code in Vancouver, BC, Canada.
BC Energy Step Code represents a partnership with BC Hydro and the City of Vancouver in which Introba (formerly Integral Group) produced the Advanced Energy Efficiency Requirements for Buildings in BC report for the Provincial Advisory Committee on Energy Efficiency.
The paper addresses the need to provide a new approach to regulating building energy efficiency in light of the province’s and several local governments’ aggressive greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction targets. It identifies the critical components necessary in a new approach designed to improve alignment across jurisdictions and clarify future requirements for the building industry while allowing local governments to require higher levels of energy efficiency in new construction.
The report makes recommendations for developing a gradual, tiered approach to requiring “better-than-building-code” levels of energy efficiency, known as “step” or “stretch” codes. As part of the BC Energy Step Code development process, Introba also designed a stakeholder consultation process and provided workshop support. These workshops aimed to build consensus and alignment among diverse stakeholders with divergent interests on the core concept of what a stretch code could include for British Columbia. These stakeholders included six local governments, two provincial ministries, representatives from the development industry, two utilities, and the Pembina Institute.
The BC Energy Step Code goal topics were technical and included the establishment of energy use intensity targets, alternative compliance methodologies, and possible regulatory reform. Introba was responsible for designing the overall process, developing agendas and workshop materials, including supportive research, and summarizing and reporting outcomes to the Province of British Columbia and the larger committee.
Project Highlights
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Represents a partnership with BC Hydro and the City of Vancouver to produce the Advanced Energy Efficiency Requirements for Buildings in BC report
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New approach aligns jurisdictions and clarifies future building requirements allowing local governments to require higher levels of energy efficiency in new construction
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Project stakeholders include six local governments, two provincial ministries, representatives from the development industry, two utilities, and the Pembina Institute