Industry and government are coming together to create a focal point for emission reduction in Vancouver.
The Vancouver Regional Construction Association (VRCA), Passive House Canada and the Open Green Building Society have partnered with the City of Vancouver to create the Vancouver Zero Emissions Building Centre of Excellence (ZEBCoE), a central platform to encourage the delivery of zero emissions buildings by both industry and public stakeholders.
All four entities will co-operatively manage the centre, which will be located at The Hive, a co-working space near Vancouver’s Gastown neighbourhood, for the length of a three-year contract with the city, VRCA president Fiona Famulak said.
“The centre’s mission is to rapidly accelerate the capacity and enthusiasm of local developers, designers and builders to deliver cost-effective, attractive, zero emissions new residential and commercial buildings in Vancouver,” she said.
“We’re going to leverage our network of 40 or so partners in the industry and their venues for education and networking.”
In addition to Passive House Canada and the Open Green Building Society, the centre will also work with the British Columbia Institute of Technology, the Canada Green Building Council, the Greater Vancouver Home Builders’ Association, the Roofing Contractors Association of BC, Simon Fraser University, the Stuart Olson Centre for Building Performance, the University of British Columbia, Vancity, Wood WORKS! BC and other non-governmental organizations, companies and government agencies.
“Developers, architects, builders and engineers all have a role to play. We want them to be excited and engaged, so zero emissions buildings become the norm,” Famulak said.
The centre will also engage with national and international leaders in emission reduction, “to find out what they’ve learned,” she said, and create a curated library of best practices.
A website is in the works, Famulak added, which will show available courses as well as offer peer to peer discussions. Interested parties will also be able to call the centre directly for information, and it will also drive traffic to Passive House and other organizations.
“There’s a good amount of foundational work to be done, with a view to opening the centre in June,” she said.
The City of Vancouver has already introduced initiatives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) and has identified 50 per cent of GHG in the city as coming from buildings.
“This is why the city created the Zero Emissions Building Plan in 2016, which requires the majority of new buildings to be zero emissions by 2025. We wanted to ensure capacity within industry to build this way,” Famulak added.
The centre was described in the building plan as “as the ‘living room’ for the local green building community, where relationships can be built.“
The ZEBCoE also coincides with the Renewable City Strategy, which pledges the City of Vancouver will only use energy from renewable sources by 2050.
“Vancouver is fortunate to have an innovative and courageous building industry. I am excited that the city could help to establish this centre where zero emissions industry leaders from across British Columbia and from around the world will share information and lessons learned in developing cost effective, attractive, zero emissions buildings,” said City of Vancouver planning, urban design and sustainability general manager Gill Kelley in a statement.
“Our aim is to create healthier, more comfortable and sustainable homes while creating opportunities for local workers and industry to thrive.”
“The development and launch of ZEBCoE aligns perfectly with our association’s strategic direction to foster an environment that encourages collaboration, innovation and continuous learning across the industry,” Famulak added.
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