Vancouver’s New Greenhouse Gas Bylaw: 5 Key Actions Building Owners Need to Take

The RBC Sustainable Finance Expert Panel Series brings together business and industry leaders to exchange ideas and drive progress toward a low-carbon and resilient economy. A event in Vancouver focused on the Greenhouse Gas and Energy Limits Bylaw, exploring its implications for the commercial real estate sector and how businesses can prepare for the changes ahead.

In Vancouver, as in many cities around the world, families, communities, businesses and the economy are impacted by the effects of severe weather events. In 2022, following record-setting floods, wildfires and heat domes experienced by the Greater Vancouver Area, the city approved the Greenhouse Gas and Energy Limits Bylaw as part of its Climate Energy Action Plan. The main objective of the bylaw is to reduce emissions from the largest sources (heating and hot water) while transitioning to low-carbon and renewable energy sources.

At the recent panel event, experts from the climate, finance and municipal sectors came together to explore how businesses can navigate the bylaw, take meaningful beneficial action and access support along the way.  

Moderated by Colin Guldimann, Director Sustainable Finance, Commercial Banking at RBC, the panel featured insights from Eric Chisholm,Co-founder and Principal at Purpose Building, which specializes in real estate decarbonization, and Micah Lang, wholeads carbon reduction initiatives for multi-family and commercial buildings with the City of Vancouver.

Understanding the Greenhouse Gas and Energy Limits Bylaw

The bylaw has a goal of reducing big building emissions to 50% by 2030 and 100% by 2050. It has two main components: emissions reporting and emissions intensity limits.

Emissions reporting

The bylaw’s emissions reporting requirements are being introduced in phases, with some buildings already required to comply.

• June 1, 2024, owners of commercial buildings over 100,000 square feet were required to submit an energy and carbon report to the City of Vancouver for the 2023 calendar year and must submit for all subsequent years.

• June 1, 2025, reporting expanded to commercial buildings above 50,000 square feet and multi-family buildings over 100,000 square feet.

• June 1, 2026, owners of multi-family buildings over 50,000 square feet will have to file their first report.

Lang revealed that compliance in the first reporting year was notably high. “We had 90-91% compliance of the buildings covered by the first year of the bylaw. It was a great start,” he shared, adding that most of the buildings had already begun tracking their energy use. Compliance hasn’t been as high for the second cohort of buildings, but Lang offered that there are more challenges, particularly for multi-family building owners. As a result, the city is offering a timeline extension and extra supports.

Emissions intensity limits

The bylaw also sets limits on the intensity of greenhouse gas (GHG) emission and heat energy. Set to take effect in 2026 through a phased approach, these limits apply only to office and retail buildings over 100,000 square feet. “These limits were designed to impact the worst-performing quartile of the building stock — and they’re meant to be an easy first step for buildings that haven’t yet taken action,” said Lang.

The second set of limits come into effect in 2040. While it may seem like a long way off, Lang noted that the limits are a significant step down and “represent the end state we’re hoping existing buildings can achieve.” The extended lead time allows owners to align major equipment replacements with their capital planning cycles.

The approved limits for large commercial buildings and phase-in dates are as follows:

• 2026 – GHGI limit of 25 kg of CO₂e per square metre per year for office space

• 2026 – GHGI limit of 14 kg of CO₂e per square metre per year for retail space

• 2040 – GHGI limit of 0 kg of CO₂e per square metre and heat energy intensity limit of 0.09 GJ per square metre per year for both office and retail space

What the bylaw means for the commercial real estate sector

For building owners, the bylaw reinforces the value of acting now. Early reporting and planning not only support future compliance but also strengthen the long-term sustainability of their business.

“Regulation is useful in clarifying what’s going on in the market,” said Lang. “But the regulation is not the fundamental that you’re reacting to. The fundamental is the impact climate change is having on your business, on our economy and on ourselves. A regulation is a way to help that happen as smoothly as possible and to make it clear for everyone what the terms of engagement are.”

Key actions for building and business owners

1. Plan retrofits around equipment life cycles

With a long lead time to 2040, building owners can plan upgrades as systems age out. “If you’re replacing fans, choose a more efficient model,” suggests Guldimann. “If you have windows or insulation that need to be replaced, try to find the most efficient or the next most efficient improvements you can make so that in 2040, you’re in a position to make the switch to electric heating.”

2. Overhaul inefficient heating systems:

In BC, 90% of building emissions are related to gas or district steam powered heating systems. Effectively reducing emissions, therefore, centres around new systems. “Upgrading boilers isn’t going to cut it,” says Lang, noting that such a replacement might yield a 10-20% improvement. Rather, replacing outdated systems with fully electrified or dual-fuel, efficient heating solutions, like heat pumps, will make a difference. “This is the one technology that combines efficiency with electrified heating in a way that allows us to shift away from a gas-based heating culture,” he says.

Tip: Heat pumps also work as air conditioners. During periods of extreme heat, a heat pump can help cool a warehouse, for instance, allowing you to continue operations when you might otherwise need to shut down due to health and safety concerns.

3. Get an energy study or asset transition strategy done:

An energy audit helps you understand your building systems and plan for retrofits, while an asset transition strategy “identifies opportunities, costs, benefits and ideal timelines to define – and preferably optimize – the economics of decarbonizing a building,” explains Chisholm.Together, these tools often lay the groundwork for accessing incentives and making smart capital decisions.

4. Start reporting (if you haven’t yet):

When it comes to reporting emissions, building owners can start by visiting the City of Vancouver website and setting up an account with ENERGY STAR^® Portfolio Manager. You’ll then share your profile with the City’s ESPM account (this step is necessary before you file your BPRS report) and claim your building in the Building Performance Reporting System (BPRS) External website.

5. Leverage resources and support:

The panel acknowledged that the economic benefits  of retrofitting – like extreme weather resilience and utility savings – come alongside challenges like retrofit construction cost and effort. Fortunately, a growing ecosystem of tools, programs and funding is available to help owners make the transition.  

Resources and support for building owners

Whether you’re just starting to report or actively planning a retrofit, support is available. The path to low-carbon operations isn’t one-size-fits-all, and building owners may need different kinds of help at different stages — from high-level strategy to hands-on funding applications. Here are some independent organizations and tools that can help.

Purpose Building

“Purpose Building helps accelerate real estate toward planet positive pathways — from master planning to new communities, developing new buildings, operating existing ones more efficiently, and renewing them when it’s time” explained Chisholm.

Purpose Building provides retrofit-specific and industry-wide support — partially funded by Natural Resources Canada’s Deep Retrofit Accelerator Initiative (DRAI) — to accelerate deep retrofits of commercial, institutional and mid- or high-rise multi-unit residential buildings across Canada, focusing on private sector assets.

City of Vancouver

The City is partnering with the utilities and industry associations to offer practical support. FortisBC and BC Hydro both offer incentives for energy studies. And starting next year, the City will roll out a free digital decarbonization planning tool for all buildings covered by the bylaw. This will help owners explore retrofit options and plan effectively.

Government of Canada

The Clean Technology Investment Tax Credit offers a 30% rebate on eligible equipment and engineering costs. “In addition to some grants and utility rebates, that’s probably the single most  valuable source of funding available to large building owners right now,” shares Chisholm.

RBC Sustainable Finance

RBC’s Sustainable Finance team works with clients across a wide range of industries, offering tools, resources and financing solutions to support their transition to a low-carbon and resilient economy. Events like this panel are one way RBC helps clients build sustainable, future-ready operations.

Also, through collaboration with GrantMatch and Carbonhound, RBC clients can access additional specialized expertise. These providers can help identify and secure incentive funding, as well as track and verify emissions data, making it easier for building owners to benefit from retrofits, manage compliance and project costs.

Choose the right path for your business

Regardless of how regulations evolve, it’s worthwhile to have a plan for transitioning your business toward a low-carbon, resilient future. A good starting point is to understand which buildings may be most at risk, where opportunities lie, and where work may be needed. “Once you have that identified, plan to retrofit as effectively as possible,” advised Chisholm.

While the bylaw provides a clear framework, this work also supports broader goals — from operational resilience to environmental responsibility. And with a growing network of tools and resources, you don’t have to navigate it alone.

The RBC Sustainable Finance team is here to help. Contact your RBC relationship manager to learn more about Sustainable Finance solutions.

Read more: RBC, Carbonhound Partner to Help Businesses Measure, Verify, and Manage Their Carbon Emissions

Read more: RBC aims to collaborate with building landlords to reduce its GHG emissions – RBC News & Stories

Industry leaders who spoke at the event: