Sustainability Scholars Program

The District of West Vancouver has recently adopted a set of mandatory requirements for new construction to comply with the BC Energy Step Code. Aligned with this and other local policies, the District is studying the possibility of implementing a community-wide energy budget to limit the energy demand of single-family homes. This report includes a summary of existing housing stock, provincial policies, and green building rating systems to consider in the implementation of an energy budget. The report also includes an analysis of the interaction of these three components and how they can affect future construction.

Partner: District of West Vancouver
Keywords: green buildings

The BC Energy Step Code is a series of amendments to the Building Act and the Local Government Act that have been adopted by the Province of British Columbia. This research was conducted for the City of Abbotsford to investigate how local municipalities are implementing or referencing the BC Energy Step Code, and to see how the City might move forward with implementation.

Partner: City of Abbotsford
Keywords: green buildings, leadership & behaviour change

Manufacturing businesses have traditionally operated in a linear fashion. Raw materials go in; products and waste go out. In recent years, there has been a global movement to change how we see ‘waste’. By finding value in all business outputs, materials circulate back through the economy, creating the circular economy. This project describes a pilot test of the National Industrial Symbiosis Program (NISP®) to create a circular economy in New Westminster.

Partner: City of New West
Keywords: sustainable development & green economy

The purpose of this study is to conduct quantitative analyses to determine the energy conservation measures (ECMs) that tend to drive the most cost-effective approaches to minimizing GHG emissions from new buildings. This study will enable the City of Surrey to provide builders and other stakeholders a clear picture of what they should focus on (that is, which ECM options to prioritize) in order to achieve greater GHG emissions reductions.

Partner: City of Surrey
Keywords: green buildings

The Township of Langley plans to develop a corporate building energy policy for new and major renovations for city-owned and operated buildings. The intent of this project is to mainly focus on creating a corporate building policy that is centered on BC Energy Step Code adoption for Part 3 buildings. Research was conducted to identify the corporate building policies of other local governments in British Columbia, and understand which type of facilities these policies apply to, what are the capital cost related implications of adopting these policies, and what are their associated benefits.

Partner: Township of Langley
Keywords: green buildings

To achieve the Upper Steps of the BC Energy Step Code, builders will need to adopt techniques and incorporate substantial changes in building design, layout, framing techniques, airtightness, system selection, and materials. The objective of this research project was to identify and formulate market segmentation approaches that would support more strategic outreach, education and training opportunities for different builder segments on high performance new construction, including sessions related to the BC Energy Step Code.

Partner: BC Hydro
Keywords: green buildings

Despite recent progress made toward greater self-sufficiency, healthy community design, and economic development, Indigenous communities in Canada experience ongoing challenges including high energy costs and inadequate housing. This research is intended to 1) identify current practices in Indigenous community energy planning and implementation and determine where additional support for such efforts is needed, and 2) provide recommendations on how BC Hydro can assist Indigenous communities in advancing conservation and energy management. 

Partner: BC Hydro
Keywords: green buildings, social sustainability

In an effort to promote energy efficiency in the real estate sector, the Vancouver Island Real Estate Board initiated the Real Estate Energy Efficiency Program (REEP) in 2014. The program is designed to teach energy literacy to REALTORS® so they can incorporate energy efficiency seamlessly into the sales process. Approximately 80 home energy assessments were completed in select Vancouver Island communities as part of this program. This project looked into these energy assessments to understand better whether rebates and incentives provide additional benefit to the homeowners.

Partner: Vancouver Island Real Estate Board Nanaimo
Keywords: green buildings, sustainable development & green economy

This project estimates the quantity of fat, oil, and grease (FOG) from household food waste entering the regional wastewater system of Metro Vancouver. The FOG loadings were calculated using data from food diaries where the residents of the region registered the food they disposed of ‘down the drain’ (i.e., through sinks, food grinders, and toilets), and the fat content of the food, using nutritional information databases. 

Partner: Metro Van
Keywords: food systems, waste management & recycling, water