Richmond encourages participation in energy benchmarking program

08 March 2021

The City of Richmond is calling on property owners and managers to help make the city a low-carbon community and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by joining the provincial Building Benchmark BC initiative.

Richmond is one of a dozen municipalities participating in Building Benchmark BC, a program capturing data and insights on the role that larger buildings play in transitioning to a highly livable and prosperous low-carbon community.

“The City of Richmond has long been a leader in energy benchmarking and is a strong advocate for building energy benchmarking as a tool to reduce greenhouse gas emissions” said Mayor Malcolm Brodie. “As a proud municipal participant in Building Benchmark BC, we encourage building owners and property managers of larger residential, commercial and industrial buildings to register with the program in order to help build on the momentum that’s already underway, and to receive the benefits the program offers.”

Reducing Richmond’s greenhouse gas emissions is a priority. City Council approved a Community Energy & Emissions Plan with strategies aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 50 per cent by 2030 and full decarbonisation by 2050. Energy benchmarking of Richmond’s larger buildings is one of the key actions in this plan.

The City is working with Building Benchmark BC to better understand how our civic facilities such as libraries and community centres compare on energy use and emissions with similar buildings elsewhere in the province. Richmond has already submitted energy benchmark data on 22 civic buildings to this program, and will add more in 2021.

Owners of large private buildings such as offices, apartment towers and stores, are gaining a competitive edge by voluntarily choosing to participate in Building Benchmark BC as they can better understand their buildings’ energy performance which helps them plan for future investments and upgrades.

After only one year, the program already has 36 private sector buildings in Richmond participating including QuadReal Properties, Colliers International and Concert Properties.

The City would like to see more owners of larger commercial and multi-unit residential buildings join the Building Benchmark BC program as a demonstration of their commitment to environmental sustainability and building a healthier community.

To find out more about Building Benchmark BC and how to sign up, go to www.buildingbenchmarkbc.ca.