The first Building Benchmark BC annual report has been released, offering insights from energy and emissions data on hundreds of properties according to building type, use, and location.
Building benchmarking is the process of collecting and monitoring energy and greenhouse gas data from a large number of buildings over time, allowing owners, managers, occupants, and governments to compare the performance of similar properties. It helps governments and building owners direct resources into the best interventions, in the right buildings, to achieve the highest climate benefit.
In this first report, building owners and managers pledged to submit building performance data on 765 individual properties. As a result of pandemic-related delays and reprioritization, ultimately data was received for 534 properties, or 70 per cent of pledged buildings.
Collectively, the submitted properties to date represent 1.9 million square metres of conditioned floor space.
“This first year far exceeded our expectations,” said Donovan Woollard, the Managing director of the OPEN Green Building Society, which is hosting the project. “Building owners and operators who collectively oversee close to two million square metres of space have recognized the value of voluntarily measuring and disclosing their properties’ energy use and emissions.”
The data allows building owners and managers are gaining a deeper understanding of their energy use while getting out front of upcoming carbon requirements. The City of Vancouver, a Building Benchmark BC participating jurisdiction, has already committed to requiring annual energy reporting starting in 2023 and regulate emissions from existing large commercial buildings starting in 2025.
“It’s an open secret that the policy landscape is changing, and we’re convinced that benchmarking gives us a competitive edge, to make sure we stay on top and out front,” said Oskar Kwieton, director of facilities, operations & maintenance, for Shape Management, a Building Benchmark BC participant.
Building Benchmark BC launched on January 21, 2020 as a pilot initiative of local governments organized by the OPEN Green Building Society.
The online tool that can be used to interact with the data is available here: buildingbenchmarkbc.ca/data
