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J U N E 2 0 2 2 | 27 Sustainable Design Strategies When it comes to regulatory changes, in March the Canada Green Building Council (CAGBC) and Green Business Certification Inc. (GBCI), announced that CAGBC will provide direct over- sight of LEED green building certification for projects in Canada. This move enables project teams and profession- als using LEED, Investor Ready Energy Efficiency (IREE), and TRUE standards for certification to work directly with CAGBC. The change is part of CAGBC efforts to aid the Canadian building sector's tran- sition to zero carbon green buildings. CAGBC will continue collaborating with GBCI and the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) to support the suc- cess of green building projects and professionals in Canada and across North America. By integrating GBCI Canada's certification, CAGBC is consolidating green building services and support for the benefit of Canada's building sec- tor," says Thomas Mueller, president and CEO of CAGBC. "The market asked us to simplify access to certification and focus on customer service. This move ensures the building sector can continue to use GBCI's world-leading green building rating sys- tems and services like LEED and TRUE, as well as CAGBC's Zero Carbon Building Standards, all under one roof." GIVING YOU THE POWER BC Hydro continues to drive sustainability forward by administering programs though the Provincial Governments CleanBC Better Buildings portfolio. The programs provide Energy Study and Capital incentive funding and are intended to help build- ing owners and operators reduce GHG emissions in their existing commercial buildings by implement- ing efficient electrified equipment. Vancouver Community College (VCC) was one of the institutions who participated in the CleanBC Custom Lite program, which is intended to help building owners and operators reduce GHG emis- sions in their existing commercial buildings. Under the program, VCC converted its gas-fired heating equipment to a domestic hot water CO2 heat pump. The program provided Energy Study fund- ing to examine fuel switching equipment to move away from natural gas to clean electricity. With this study, VCC was able to make an informed business case decision. "In terms of quantitative benefits, we have seen that using electricity-driven equipment for heat- ing buildings or domestic hot water, reduces GHG emissions significantly. For heating purposes, heat pumps also require less input energy compared to gas-fired equipment. Participation in the project allowed our educational institution to maximize our specific contributions, expand our carbon neu- trality, and reduce GHG emissions at our own pace. Thus, the greatest project benefit lies in its scal- ability, which naturally results in a greater amount of flexibility for the potential participant," says Sladjana Borov čanin, director, facilities manage- ment at VCC. Over recent years, increasing emphasis has been placed on renewable natural gas (RNG) as a carbon-neutral fuel to help fight climate change – and FortisBC is doubling down on its efforts in this regard. A study commissioned by the B.C. government, FortisBC, and BC Bioenergy Network (BCBN) found that by 2050, renewable and low-carbon gases could provide as much as 440 petajoules (PJ) per year – roughly double what currently flows through FortisBC's gas system to homes and businesses in the province. Progress is indeed happening: FortisBC's recently put in an application to the British Columbia Utilities Commission that plans to have all new res- idential hookups to the gas system be 100 percent RNG. "While this is still in the regulatory pro- cess, this is the first application of its kind in North America that would see all new builds to 100 percent renewable and low carbon gas for the lifetime of the property," says Sean Beardow, manager, corporate communications at FortisBC. If the application is approved, this change would provide home builders, real estate developers, and new home owners with another path to meet provincial GHG emission reduction targets. The application also proposes that existing residential natural gas customers would automatically receive a small percentage of renewable gas as part of their gas supply by 2024. In other news, FortisBC is involved in some Deep Retrofit projects that would see dramatic energy efficiency improvements in both residential and commercial projects. While still in the early stages, the outcome is expected to take sustainable design leaps ahead. A

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