Century Initiative’s Post

Mandatory building performance standards. That’s a policy that will get large buildings on path to net-zero, while creating better indoor environments Sharane Simon, PhD, EMIT walks through the different things the federal government can do. Great reading in anticipation of release of federal Green Building Strategy for net-zero buildings

Earlier this year, we provided a glimpse into four federal strategies poised to drive the adoption of Mandatory Building Performance Standards across Canada. Today, we are thrilled to unveil a comprehensive report that delves into the intricacies of these strategies. To achieve our climate goals, we must embrace a holistic approach! This entails fostering action at all levels while igniting momentum from the top down. Drawing inspiration from the multifaceted approach of the US federal government, we are not just advocating for new strategies but also emphasizing the importance of harnessing our existing infrastructure and resources more effectively through better coordination. Sometimes, the right solution combines something old, something borrowed, and something new!

Britain as a whole and London specifically is losing the race to Climate Change Resilience: Two important reports on the state of the UK's Infrastructure and how climate change will affect London have been released recently by the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) and MayorofLondon The London Climate Resilience Review states that 'The world is on track for a 2.5–2.9°C temperature rise above pre-industrial levels this century. Preparing for anything less than 2.9°C would be an unacceptable gamble with people’s lives and taxpayers’ money.' Nearly 3C's of warming by 2100 will cause a cascade of disastrous consequences, including billions of displaced people, devastating weather events, ice cap collapse and a greater degree of sea level rise. The report is a first step in organising London's resources to set in motion the adaptations that will be required. This will be a life's work for this generation and those to come. https://lnkd.in/dvVTnJSE The ICE State of the Nation report has been 'published in the wake of a damning 2023 SDG progress report by the UN and reflects the challenges laid down in the UK’s second National Infrastructure Assessment, published in October 2023 by the UK’s National Infrastructure Commission'. None of these documents are happy reading: https://lnkd.in/d-UDHJ7M Architects, Engineers, the construction industry at large has a huge amount of work to do in getting this country in the best shape it can as we adapt our infrastructure, homes and cities to be more resilient and maintain the framework for the quality of life we have all become used to. Now we need the political support to get on with it. #resilience #climatechange #UK #infrastructure

Have you had a chance to check out the new Climate Toolkit for Housing and Infrastructure? 👀 As communities feel the impacts of more frequent extreme weather, buildings and infrastructure must be designed to withstand the climate of our future, not the past. This resource will help communities to build climate-resilient housing and infrastructure with our changed and changing climate in mind. Looking for examples of climate-resilient buildings and public spaces? Check out this article for examples in #Edmonton, #Toronto, and #Montreal. 👇 https://lnkd.in/g9FNNHMu #ClimateResilience #Infrastructure #UrbanPlanning

Proud to be part of the Climate Toolkit initiative launching today! 🎉 The toolkit offers a suite of resources and support services to help communities integrate climate considerations into their infrastructure projects. Check out how these tools can support your projects in building a more resilient, sustainable future. #ClimateAction #ResilientCommunities #SustainableInfrastructure

[New Report] After decades of investments, Canada has made limited progress toward decarbonizing its building sector. As a result, there is growing consensus that mandatory policies are necessary to meet our climate commitments. A new report by our research associate, Sharane Simon, PhD, EMIT, considers the role of the federal government in advancing commercial building decarbonization at scale using Mandatory Building Performance Standards. Read the report: https://lnkd.in/e_rRgNhh #climatechange #energyefficiency #netzero

Building performance standards have a lot of potential, not least of which because it takes an issue that building owners should care about but generally don't and makes it an issue that they must care about. When it comes to building efficiency, it is too easy to just assume that if there haven't been any problems, then everything is working just fine.

"Regardless of the chosen approach, the central message is clear – achieving net zero necessitates a transformative approach in the commercial building sector." Either through design, investment, implementation and/or regulation, mandatory building performance standards are an opportunity for the federal government to build the market for commercial building decarbonization.

The Climate Toolkit for Housing and Infrastructure is live!

Today, the federal government released the first Canada Green Building Strategy: https://lnkd.in/e3AHWzTZ It is great to see that the Strategy used a lot of CAGBC research and concepts, provided a holistic view of the buildings, and focused not only on operational emissions but also on embodied carbon. It did a great work listing ✅ the opportunities (clean technology, jobs, etc.), ✅ challenges (grid, etc.) ✅ federal leadership in public procurement through Buy Clean measures and decarbonizing their portfolio of buildings. However, there are significant misses: ❌ The Strategy doesn’t provide a roadmap of actions over the short or medium term to ensure milestones or objectives are defined and met contrary to the actions of trading partners such as the USA or the EU. ❌It doesn’t address support for industry to scale up low-carbon materials, nor does it provide specific actions for large buildings ❌While it does address a need for benchmarking, disclosure and reporting, the CGBS doesn’t provide solutions for building owners to access building data or transition planning, key requirements to crowd in private capital in the Canadian real estate sector. ❌no mention of commitment that all new buildings should be near zero emissions by 2030, commitment at the center of international initiatives like the Buildings Breakthrough and the Declaration de Chaillot that Canada endorsed You can read CAGBC's take on the Strategy here: https://lnkd.in/eQEmBHru #GreenBuilding #Retrofit #ZeroCarbonBuilding