Resource Library

This project aims to support the development of the City of Surrey's existing buildings strategy by providing an analysis of the policies and programs of nearby local governments using the Market Transformation Framework. Key takeaways from the analysis include adopting building-specific targets, expanding incentive programs, advocating for a provincial energy labelling program, collaborating with local governments and stakeholders, and exploring targeted marketing options.

Partner: City of Surrey
Keywords: green buildings

This project explores policy options on how Metro Vancouver and member municipalities can lead the implementation of building energy benchmarking, an ongoing measurement of a building's energy performance. The research report includes lessons learned from leading jurisdictions, an overview of existing benchmarking requirements in the region and findings from stakeholder interviews, and presents four policy alternatives for consideration by Metro Vancouver and member jurisdictions. 

Partner: UBC Campus & Community Planning
Keywords: green buildings, building energy benchmarking, policy solutions for existing buildings

This project was conducted for TransLink on how remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS), or drones, could be a future option for freight and passenger transportation. Includes an overview of RPAS technology, Canadian and American regulation frameworks and the challenges facing the RPAS industry. Includes policy and technological considerations for TransLink to consider once RPAS passenger and freight travel has been approved by Transport Canada. 

Partner: TransLink
Keywords: transportation, drones, RPAS

Interest in transitioning from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources has encouraged the development and refinement of new technologies. This report researches the alternative technologies available for off-grid microgeneration applications for Metro Vancouver sites. A high-level feasibility study was conducted to determine which technologies might replace current solar, thermoelectric, and battery energy-based systems, and to recommend next steps for exploring promising technologies.

Partner: Metro Vancouver
Keywords: sustainable development, green economy, water infrastructure

This project looks at the costs and benefits of transitioning full-service restaurant kitchens from gas-powered ranges and griddles to induction ranges and griddles in order to reduce the carbon footprint of Vancouver’s restaurant industry. The research draws on low carbon best practices examples found in California and Ecuador to make recommendations on policies and strategies that the City of Vancouver can employ.

Partner: City of Vancouver
Keywords: climate and renewables, green buildings, green economy

The Brock Commons Tallwood Building is unique in the use of mass hybrid timber structure: 16 storeys of mass timber over a concrete podium with concrete stair cores. Learn more about the building services, structural systems, and construction and design process.

The biomass cogeneration system of the Bioenergy Research and Demonstration Facility (BRDF) consists of fuelling the cogeneration engine with conditioned syngas in place of natural gas.

The Bioenergy Research and Demonstration Facility (BRDF), located at the UBC Vancouver campus, is an energy generation facility that processes renewable biomass sourced from urban wood waste to generate thermal energy for heating campus buildings. BRDF is a signature Campus as a Living Lab project, integrating UBC’s core academic mandate of research and teaching with a campus energy supply system.

As part of a tall wood building research program with the UBC Sustainability Initiative and Dept. of Civil Engineering, a comprehensive life cycle assessment (LCA) and life cycle costing (LCC) study was done of two student high-rise residential buildings, based on the result of whole building LCA done by Athena Sustainable Materials Institute and whole building LCC done by Sensible Building Science.