OTTAWA — The Canada Green Building Council (CaGBC) has launched a building performance data “Disclosure Challenge” initiative to promote the importance of data transparency in the Canadian real estate market and encourage broader uptake of benchmarking programs across the country.
QuadReal Property Group, Triovest Realty Advisors Inc. and Concert Properties Ltd. volunteered to participate in the program and committed to publicly disclosing building energy, water and carbon emissions data from over 12 million square feet of building space, a recent release explained.
“Using a visual data tool developed by the CaGBC, they are uncovering interesting insights into their portfolios and their competitors,” said Catherine Henry. CaGBC marketing and communications specialist.
Currently in Canada only the Province of Ontario has a mandatory energy benchmarking and disclosure requirement.
A leading proponent of benchmarking initiatives that is based in the United States, the Institute for Market Transformation (IMT), indicated in a recent report there are three main components to benchmarking programs: managing what is measured through collecting building data; sharing the information collected to effectively utilize results; and sharing the data on a large scale to allow cooperation and building performance improvements, the CaGBC stated.
The IMT report noted that market benefits that energy-efficient buildings can attain as compared to less efficient buildings include 10 per cent higher occupancy rates, 10 per cent higher premiums on rents and 25 per cent higher sales prices.
Recent Comments
comments for this post are closed