Take the guesswork out of decarbonizing buildings

Welcome to Transition Planning Now, a new resource developed by the Canada Green Building Council (CAGBC) to guide building owners as they begin to transition their assets toward decarbonization and to meet the highest performance tiers of the National Energy Code for Buildings (NECB). Here you’ll find industry-driven resources and training to help you confidently create a transition plan to transform your buildings or portfolio for decarbonization and improved energy performance.

What is a Transition Plan?

A zero-carbon transition plan is a costed plan that outlines how a building will adapt over time to remove combustion from building operations, decreasing the need for carbon offsets to mitigate annual emissions. Creating a transition plan helps building owners and asset managers advance decarbonization and improve the climate resiliency of their real estate assets, at an individual property and portfolio level.

Transition plans take into consideration all aspects of the building’s energy and climate performance, as well as life cycles of existing building systems and infrastructure, cost-benefit assessments, regional regulations and access to appropriate financing.

Preserving investment value and minimizing risks

A successful transition plan will result in a cost-effective pathway to improve building performance and comfort, as well as reducing carbon emissions and maximizing financial returns.

Investments in decarbonization and energy performance can also help mitigate risks facing real estate owners – including physical risk from climate-related impacts and transition risk such as compliance with evolving regulations, and performance requirements. Real world projects show clear returns on sustainability investments and energy system upgrades, including higher premiums, tenant comfort and satisfaction, and improved asset value for investors.

Is transition planning hard to do?

Successful transition planning is not about making one big move. It requires a series of planned interventions at specific moments over time. However, financing challenges, energy cost uncertainties, new and evolving low-carbon technologies, and the unique demands of each asset type, makes transition planning a complicated puzzle to solve. Paired with increasingly challenging regulatory differences across the country, evolving codes and performance benchmarks, building owners need a clear and consistent approach to transition plans.

Take the guesswork out of your decision making

That’s why CAGBC developed Transition Planning Now — to provide building owners and commercial real estate professionals and consultants with standardized tools and roadmaps to help ensure investments for building retrofits that can comply with high-performance building codes and regulations, and meet demand for decarbonized assets. These resources are intended to accelerate retrofit adoption and drive emissions reductions across existing buildings: