Working towards our Climate Leadership Plan goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and support renewable energy sources, staff are once again looking at the BC Energy Step Code regulations for increasing energy efficiency in new construction.
Several local governments in the Capital Region are commencing engagement with the building industry on the upper steps of the BC Energy Step Code and Low Carbon Energy Systems (LCES) in new buildings.
Engagement Process & Timeline:
Join us for one of two virtual Industry Workshop/Information Sessions:
- Part 3 Industry Workshop – Wednesday, March 2, 1:30 pm to 3:30 pm Register here
- Part 9 Industry Workshop – Wednesday, March 9, 1:30 pm to 3:30 pm Register here
Currently, the District’s building bylaw requires compliance with the lower steps of the Step Code, which for residential construction like new homes, would be Step 3. Council supports the review of the upper steps, and that means that staff will be engaging with construction industry stakeholders through information sessions and (hopefully) in-person workshops over the next few months.
The purpose of the engagement process is to facilitate collaboration between local governments in the CRD and the building and development industry to determine how to best use the Step Code to meet government climate action targets while providing industry predictability and consistency.
There are three key objectives of the engagement:
- Establish a cohort of municipalities who intend to participate in the engagement, and who are interested in adopting additional Step Code requirements to accelerate GHG reduction from new construction
- Develop a fulsome understanding of the opportunities and challenges associated with a variety of Step Code adoption scenarios by providing varied opportunities for feedback from industry members
- Identify a preferred adoption scenario for Council's in the CRD to consider through a collaborative solutions-oriented process.
Learn more: LetsTalkCentralSaanich.ca