Season 5, Episode 5 Recorded on Apr 23, 2025OverviewWith their ability to provide highly efficient electric heating and cooling, heat pumps are our most promising and important building decarbonization technology. Installing a heat pump in a commercial building can be complex and requires careful engineering and attention to detail.As the first generation of air source heat pumps in BC are coming to the end of their service life, projects to replace them offer valuable opportunities to take advantage of improved technology and optimize these systems. This ZEBx webinar shared real world experiences and lessons learned from retrofitting the HVAC system of the Atrium, an iconic office and retail building in downtown Victoria.The session covered all aspects of the Atrium project, from planning and procurement to design, construction, and commissioning. This discussion provides valuable insights into how to make heat pumps work for those who own, design, work on, and live/work/play in these buildings.Thanks to the generous support of BC Hydro, NRCan, and the City of Vancouver, this event was free.ResourcesSlides hereSpeakersBrad White, President, SES ConsultingJason Finster, Energy Manager, Jawl PropertiesPodcast Production Gordon Patrick Newell, Communications at ZEIC
Season 5, Episode 4 Recorded on Apr 3, 2025OverviewAt this webinar, the City of Vancouver staff shared insights from the first year of the City’s mandatory energy and carbon reporting program and previewed what industry can expect in the current reporting cycle and beyond.Co-host BOMA BC kicked off this event by highlighting industry engagement, challenges, and opportunities—before handing things over to the City of Vancouver’s Gurmeet Gherra and Micah Lang. They gave a recap on the city’s GHG bylaw, outlined its phased requirements, and shared key takeaways from this past year’s first reporting cycle. They also outlined how building managers can prepare for 2025.In 2024, more than 200 of Vancouver’s largest commercial properties—spanning more than 47 million square feet—submitted their energy and carbon data to the City. With the requirements now expanding as scheduled to include nearly 900 commercial, residential, and hotel buildings, the City is working to ensure building owners and operators are aware of both the regulation and the available compliance support tools and resources.The session concluded with a Q&A.Thanks to the generous support of BC Hydro, NRCan, and the City of Vancouver, this event was free.ResourcesSlides hereSpeakersZosia BrownKevin Hatch, Co-Owner/President, Twin Lions ContractingHosts Natalie Douglas, ZEBx Program Manager, ZEICShaun St-Amour, ETRO ConstructionPodcast Production Gordon Patrick Newell, Communications at ZEIC
Season 5, Episode 3 Recorded on Mar 4, 2025OverviewAchieving Net Zero Energy in existing homes comes with unique challenges—but also major opportunities. High-performance building envelopes, low-carbon materials, and integrated renewable energy are key to reducing emissions while improving comfort and resilience.In this ZEBx webinar (co-hosted with HAVAN), we take a deep dive into North Shore’s first NZE retrofit, a project that pushed the boundaries of sustainable homebuilding. The homeowner and builder (Twin Lions Contracting) shared real-world insights from navigating design and permitting hurdles, optimizing air tightness, selecting efficient heating and ventilation systems, and integrating solar power and energy monitoring. With 80% of construction waste diverted from landfill and a fully electrified system performing in below-zero temperatures, this project sets a new standard for deep retrofits.The session covers both technical takeaways and key policy challenges, from foundation reuse complexities to wildfire resilience requirements and the need for more streamlined permitting and incentive structures. Whether you’re a homeowner, builder, or industry professional, this discussion provides valuable lessons to help accelerate the transition to net zero retrofits.Thanks to the generous support of BC Hydro, Vancity, and the City of Vancouver, this event was free.ResourcesSlides hereSpeakersZosia BrownKevin Hatch, Co-Owner/President, Twin Lions ContractingHosts Natalie Douglas, ZEBx Program Manager, ZEICShaun St-Amour, ETRO ConstructionPodcast Production Gordon Patrick Newell, Communications at ZEIC
Season 5, Episode 2Recorded on Feb 13, 2025OverviewReducing embodied carbon and advancing the circular economy are increasingly important efforts in the sustainability realm - but how do they relate to each other in practice? For example, directly reusing structure and envelope components to serve new functions is the most carbon-efficient end-of-life scenario for a building. However, if this isn’t an available option to owners, builders, and designers – the next best thing is to reuse materials and design flexible and adaptable structures that can be deconstructed at the end of a building’s use. By holding onto materials at the end of life and optimizing their reuse potential, not only will this disrupt industry with a flow of low-carbon materials, but this will also increase diversion of construction and demolition waste from landfills and reduce extraction and use of virgin materials. In this Decarb Lunch we learn more about the relationship between embodied carbon and circular design principles and how embodied carbon reductions can be achieved through deconstruction, reuse, and designing for disassembly. Thanks to the generous support of BC Hydro and the City of Vancouver, this event was free. ResourcesSlides hereSpeakersStephanie Dalo, Carbon Leadership Forum BC Program Manager, ZEICHostsNatalie Douglas, ZEBx Program Manager, ZEICPodcast ProductionGordon Patrick Newell, Communications at ZEIC
Season 5, Episode 1 Recorded on Jan 24, 2025 Overview Decarbonizing buildings in colder climates presents unique challenges and opportunities. Ground-source heat pumps (i.e., geo-exchange) and cold-climate air-source heat pumps are emerging as critical solutions to reduce emissions, while maintaining performance in cold climates. In the first ZEBx Decarb Lunch of 2025, we dive into real-world examples of these systems in action in British Columbia’s northern and interior regions. Jeff Quibell of Falcon Engineering shares insights from implementing geo-exchange systems in some BC school districts, while Keith Bate of Creative Energy discusses the use of air-source and water-source heat pumps on a groundbreaking project at Thompson Rivers University (TRU). Both speakers highlight the role these technologies play in reducing peak energy demand, improving efficiency, and overcoming the challenges of cold-weather applications. The session covers both the details of the mechanical systems and the need to build trust with end-users as these technologies are introduced to regions they haven’t been used before. Learn how their experiences can inform your approach to adopting and integrating innovative systems for decarbonizing buildings in colder climates. Thanks to the generous support of BC Hydro and the City of Vancouver, this event is free of charge. Resources Slides here Speakers Jeff Quibell, Energy Principal, Falcon Engineering Keith Bate, Director of Engineering, Creative Energy Hosts Mariko Michasiw, B2E Program Manager, ZEIC Natalie Douglas, ZEBx Program Manager, ZEIC Podcast Production Gordon Patrick Newell, Communications at ZEIC
Season 4, Episode 13 Recorded on Dec 12, 2024 Overview Deep energy retrofits are a critical piece of achieving our carbon pollution reduction targets and improving the comfort of homes and workplaces. Programs offered as part of the BC Retrofit Accelerator provide guidance to building owners to identify and plan for retrofit projects to significantly reduce building emissions, including commercial and multi-unit residential strata, rental, non-market, and off-reserve Indigenous housing. At the last ZEBx Decarb Lunch of 2024 we heard about the gap that the BC Retrofit Accelerator and its numerous partners – like BC Non-Profit Housing Association (BCNPHA) and Aboriginal Housing Management Association (AHMA) – seeks to fill, the benefit they provide to organizations like housing societies, and the crucial role they play in the ideation phase of project development before engaging professional consultants. Representatives from BCNPHA and AHMA presented on how they can assist with early-stage project development and financial planning, and talked through an example of a roadmap to achieving zero emissions, as well as the benefits and potential challenges. If you’re a retrofit development consultant, a local government looking to support building retrofits, housing provider looking to embark on some retrofits, or just someone interested in how we can accelerate and scale building retrofits, this is a webinar for you. Thanks to the financial support of BC Hydro, NRCan, and the City of Vancouver, this event was free of charge. Resources Slides here Speakers Edward Beckett, Building Energy Manager, BC Non-Profit Housing Association Atoine Archie, Capital Projects Manager, Aboriginal Housing Management Association Shahed Shafazand, Energy Project Advisor, Aboriginal Housing Management Association Hosts Natalie Douglas, ZEBx Program Manager, ZEIC Darla Simpson, BCRA Program Manager, ZEIC Podcast Production Gordon Patrick Newell, Communications at ZEIC
Season 4, Episode 12 Recorded on Nov 20, 2024 Overview There is currently a growing trend in the construction industry to specify materials with low embodied carbon emissions to help decarbonize the building sector and achieve net zero emissions by 2050. In the second ZEBx Decarb Lunch of November 2024, Tom Place of EQUILIBRIUM describes how to minimize carbon emissions of steel, concrete and mass timber in North America by understanding the key influence of project location, transportation, and regional availability of materials. Listeners can expect to gain knowledge to benefit their own projects in terms of time, cost and carbon and help drive industrywide improvement through smarter selection of materials. This session highlighted the pitfalls and unintended consequences from green material specification and explain how to avoid creating increased carbon emissions and supply chain issues from inefficient materials sourcing both today and with new future technologies. Thanks to the financial support of the City of Vancouver, and North Family Foundation, this event is free of charge. Resources Slides here Speakers Tom Place, EQUILIBRIUM Hosts Natalie Douglas, ZEBx Program Manager, ZEIC Stephanie Dalo, CLF BC Program Manager, ZEIC Podcast Production Gordon Patrick Newell, Communications at ZEIC
Season 4, Episode 11 Recorded on Nov 14, 2024 Overview Buildings, and the energy they use, account for 18% of Canada’s GHG emissions. Electrification is currently the most viable pathway to significantly reduce GHG emissions from existing buildings in BC. But the process of electrifying existing buildings is anything but straightforward, and the supply of consultants that can undertake such projects is already lagging behind demand. To help build the capacity needed to decarbonize BC’s existing building stock, the Building to Electrification coalition (B2E), in partnership with the City of Vancouver, BC Hydro, and Metro Vancouver, has developed a brand-new guide. The Commercial Building Electrification Guide offers transferable methodologies and insights from early adopters to help consultants and building owners effectively implement electrification projects. Come and hear from the authors of the guide, who developed it in consultation with industry experts. Thanks to the financial support of BC Hydro, NRCan and the City of Vancouver, this event was free of charge. Resources Guide and slides are here Speakers Stephanie Poole, Principal, SES Consulting Mike Reimer, Principal, FirstLight Energy Hosts Natalie Douglas, ZEBx Program Manager, ZEIC Mariko Michasiw, B2E Program Manager, ZEIC Bryan Flannigan, Building Decarbonization Alliance (BDA) Podcast Production Gordon Patrick Newell, Communications at ZEIC
Season 4, Episode 10 Recorded on Oct 10, 2024 Overview Are you interested in projects that demonstrate feasible ways to reduce embodied carbon? This Decarb Lunch features the Passive House certified Marpole Community Centre, which served as a pilot project to test the City of Vancouver Embodied Carbon Guidelines. Forest Borch from reLoad Sustainable Design and Caroline Inglis from Diamond Schmitt Architects outlined how the project team worked together to meet their ambitious embodied carbon reduction goal and shared five key lessons learned that demonstrate that achieving the City of Vancouver’s target of a 40% reduction of embodied carbon in new buildings by 2030 can be achieved today! Thanks to the financial support of BC Hydro and the City of Vancouver, this event was free of charge. Resources Slides here Speakers Caroline Inglis, Architect, Diamond Schmitt Forest Borch, Project Manager, Reload Sustainable Design Host Natalie Douglas, ZEBx Program Manager, ZEIC Stephanie Dalo, CLF BC Program Manager, ZEIC Susan MacDougall, Focal Engineering Podcast Production: Gordon Patrick Newell, Communications at ZEIC
Season 4, Episode 9 Recorded on Sep 25, 2024 Overview We all know that deep retrofits of detached homes are rare. They are also essential in decarbonizing the built environment. This is why we’re excited to showcase this West Vancouver home in our second Decarb Lunch of September 2024. The building, originally constructed in 1929, has been transformed to such a degree that if it were newly built today, it would nearly meet the highest standards of the Zero Carbon and Energy Step Codes. It has achieved this by disconnecting from the gas grid, adding a high-performance building envelope and installing an electric heat pump for both heating and cooling. Listen in to hear more about the challenges and successes of this unique project. Thanks to the financial support of BC Hydro and the City of Vancouver, this event was free of charge. Resources Slides here Speakers Erica Wolowidnyk, EW Architecture Bradley Jones, Alchemy Construction Host Natalie Douglas, Program Manager, ZEBx Barb Silverthorn, Capture Energy Podcast Production: Gordon Patrick Newell, Communications at ZEIC
Season 4, Episode 8 Recorded on Sep 16, 2024 Overview Building a strong business case for decarbonizing a commercial property requires a solid grasp of project costs, decarbonization strategies and cost recovery opportunities. In BC, where we have a very low-carbon electrical supply, a strong business case for serious emissions reductions depends on the right balance between electrification and energy conservation measures. In the first Decarb Lunch after the 2024 summer break, SES Consulting and KingSett Capital dive into the basics of building a strong business case for decarbonization and how it’s being applied to a commercial building retrofit in Vancouver. Thanks to the financial support of BC Hydro and the City of Vancouver, this event was free of charge. Resources Slides here Speakers Stephanie Poole, Principal, SES Consulting Kit Milnes, Vice President Sustainability & Resilience, KingSett Capital Hosts Natalie Douglas, Program Manager, ZEBx Damian Stathonikos, Director, BOMA Jennifer Davis, Director, Decarb Accelerator Program, BOMA Podcast Production: Gordon Patrick Newell, Communications at ZEIC
Season 4, Episode 7 Recorded on Jun 28, 2024 Overview ZEBx’s second June 2024 Decarb Lunch finds us talking with the founder of Vernon-based non-profit HomeZero Collective and their Clean Energy Neighbourhoods pilot project. This initiative aims to make home retrofits faster, easier, and more affordable for neighbourhoods across the City of Vernon, BC and share lessons from their experience far beyond its borders. If you’re interested in home retrofits, air source heat pumps, and ground source heat pumps (i.e., geo-exchange), check this one out. We hear from the program administrator and one of the homeowners participating in the retrofit, while also having one of the program’s mechanical consultants on hand for the question period. Thanks to the financial support of BC Hydro and the City of Vancouver, this event was free of charge. Resources Slides here Speakers Amandeep Singh, Founder, HomeZero Collective Home Zero home owner Host Natalie Douglas, ZEBx Program Manager, ZEIC Mariko Michasiw, B2E Program Manager, ZEIC Podcast Production: Gordon Patrick Newell, Communications at ZEIC
Season 4, Episode 6 Recorded on Jun 18, 2024 Overview The 2024 Passive House Canada conference was held at the University of Victoria’s new, Passive House-certified student housing and dining complex consisting of the Cheko’nien House and Sngequ House. For a few days, attendees experienced what it’s like to live and learn in two all-electric Passive House buildings. This complex is one of the winners of the CleanBC Net Zero Energy-Ready Challenge, and like all the other winning projects, ZEBx has produced a case study on this landmark development. This Decarb Lunch was cohosted with Passive House Canada CEO Chris Ballard and had presentations by Introba and RDH. Thanks to the financial support of BC Hydro and the City of Vancouver, this event was free of charge. Resources Slides here Speakers Chris Doel, Senior Vice President at Introba Torsten Ely, Senior Energy and Sustainability Analyst at RDH Building Science Inc. Host Roberto Pecora, Building Decarbonization Director, ZEIC Chris Ballard, President and CEO, Passive House Canada Podcast Production: Gordon Patrick Newell, Communications at ZEIC
Season 4, Episode 5 Recorded on May 27, 2024 Overview To help bring the findings from the “Navigating Development with the Zero Carbon Step Code” case study to life, we hosted this Decarb Lunch webinar. The presentation covered the following topics: Suitable combinations of mechanical and enclosure systems to meet energy and emissions requirements. Impact of changing codes on project capital costs. Effects of varying design scenarios on operational costs. How to quickly assess potential design changes and cost implications for reworking ongoing projects to meet different requirements Key considerations for developers in approaching net-zero energy and carbon developments. The intention was to provide information which will better prepare developers to meet current and future policy requirements, reduce financial risks, minimize future retrofit burdens, and accelerate market transformation towards fully net-zero carbon construction. Thanks to the financial support of BC Hydro and the City of Vancouver, this event was free of charge. Resources Slides here Speakers Heather Reid, Senior Director of Technical and Commercial Relations, Chard Development Ltd. Anthony Quin, Director of Development, Chard Development Ltd. Maddy Kennedy-Parrott, Building Science Engineer, RDH Building Science Inc. Neil Norris, Building Science Specialist, RDH Building Science Inc. Host Natalie Douglas, Program Manager, ZEBx Vincent Delfaud, Bosa (as part of his role as a ULI BC member/part of 3rd cohort of ULI’s Net Zero Imperative) Podcast Recording, Editing and Production: Gordon Patrick Newell, Communications at ZEIC
Season 4, Episode 4 Recorded on May 15, 2024 Overview The 2021 western heat dome highlighted the absence of measures in BC’s building safety standards to reduce the risk of overheating. With the latest code update, things are changing. For new Part 9 buildings, “an indoor air temperature of not more than 26°C in at least one living space in each dwelling unit” is now required by the BC Building Code. But what does this mean in practice? ZEBx and the Building and Safety Standards Branch (BSSB) talked through and discussed the intentions of the regulation, its limitations, how to calculate/prove the 26C refuge room interior temperature. There were presentations and Q&A, as well as the shared resource of BSSB’s recent Information Bulletin. Thanks to the financial support of BC Hydro and the City of Vancouver, this event was free of charge. Resources Slides here Speakers Scott Williams, Senior Codes Engineer, Building and Safety Standards Branch, Province of BC Kevin Ramlu, Building Energy Manager, Township of Langley Host Natalie Douglas, Program Manager, ZEBx Podcast Recording, Editing and Production: Gordon Patrick Newell, Communications at ZEIC
Season 4, Episode 3 Recorded on Apr 26, 2024 Overview We were joined by leaders from the City of Vancouver’s green and resilient buildings team as they introduce Energize Vancouver—the city's new online hub for information and resources on current and upcoming energy and carbon requirements for existing large commercial and multi-family buildings. The City now requires the owners and managers of Vancouver's largest commercial buildings to report their properties’ energy and greenhouse gas intensity data. The deadline for the first round of reporting is June 1, 2024. The city's benchmarking requirements expand in 2024, then, starting in 2026, the City will require certain buildings to meet defined greenhouse gas intensity limits. This webinar introduced the Energize Vancouver initiative and resource hub, and outlined the current reporting requirement. Bonus: We also welcome special guests from the City of Toronto and City of Montreal, both of which are similarly rolling out mandatory building performance benchmarking programs. Thanks to the financial support of BC Hydro and the City of Vancouver, this event was free of charge. Resources Slides here Speakers Gurmeet Ghera, Senior Green Building Planner, City of Vancouver Devon Stopps, Senior Engineer – Public Energy Initiatives, Environment & Energy Division, City of Toronto Valerie Anne Brouillard, Environmental and Climate Change Senior Engineer, Office of Ecological Transition and Resilience, City of Montréal Host Natalie Douglas, Program Manager, ZEBx Podcast Recording, Editing and Production: Gordon Patrick Newell, Communications at ZEIC - ZEBx is a program of the Zero Emissions Innovation Centre (ZEIC) -
Season 4, Episode 2 Recorded on Mar 8, 2024 It’s widely recognized that addressing new buildings alone will not be enough to get us to our emissions reduction targets. Deep building retrofits are a crucial component of the decarbonization transition. At our March 2024 Decarb Lunch we heard about two ongoing deep retrofit projects from the perspectives of a designer and an owner. Speakers were from Pembina, LHRA, Pacifica Housing, and Metro Vancouver Housing, and they gave key takeaways relating to process, procurement, retrofit bundling, and more. The core intentions and high-level learnings from the Reframed Initiative were discussed with an emphasis on those relevant to the industry at large. This webinar is also offered as part of the Passive House Accelerator’s Reimagine Buildings ‘24 online conference of which ZEBx is a community partner. Please check out the conference agenda here Thanks to the financial support of BC Hydro and the City of Vancouver, this January Decarb Lunch was free of charge. View the slide deck here to accompany this podcast Speakers: Christopher Rowe, Principal at Low Hammond Rowe Architects Inc Ian Scott, Director of Community Real Estate and Asset Strategies at Pacifica Housing Ross Arbo, Housing Technician at Metro Vancouver Housing Hosts: Natalie Douglas, Program Manager, ZEBx Betsy Agar, Director of the Buildings Program at Pembina Institute Podcast Recording, Editing and Production: Gordon Patrick Newell, Communications at ZEIC - ZEBx is a program area of the Zero Emissions Innovation Centre (ZEIC) -
Season 3, Episode 8 Recorded on Nov 24, 2023 When it comes to retrofitting a home, replacing a gas furnace or water heater with a heat pump will result in additional electrical load requirements. If adding electrified equipment to an existing electrical panel results in exceeding the existing panel capacity, these retrofits could result in additional costs to a homeowner. But, what if these costs could be avoided/reduced? A B2E article from March 2022 summarized research findings on this very topic. The November Decarb Lunch featured presentations from two speakers on several pilot projects that are optimizing electrical capacity within homes. Thanks to the financial support of BC Hydro and the City of Vancouver, this event was free of charge. View the slide deck here to accompany this podcast Speakers: Frank Crawford, Energy Efficiency Consultant Tim Mosley, Sr Program Manager, Innovation and Delivery, BC Hydro Hosts: Melissa Williams, Climate Action Advisor, Technical Safety BC Gord Durocher, Electrical Senior Safety Officer, Technical Safety BC Mariko Michasiw, B2E Program Manager, ZEIC Podcast Recording, Editing and Production: Gordon Patrick Newell, Communications at ZEIC - ZEBx is part of the Zero Emissions Innovation Centre (ZEIC) -
Season 3, Episode 7 Recorded on Oct 17, 2023 BC’s green building community has been targeting operational emissions reductions for many years now – in both new and existing buildings. And we’re getting the swing of it, slowly but surely. But did you know that embodied emissions reductions are just as important? A key strategy to reduce embodied emissions is ensuring that we keep building materials out of landfills. To achieve this circular built environment, we can relocate buildings or we can disassemble them, reusing as many components as possible in a new building. At this Decarb Lunch event, ZEBx and CLF BC were joined by Light House, author of A Blueprint for Change: Preventing Demolition Waste Through Home Relocation and Deconstruction, and the reigning champion of building deconstruction, Unbuilders. View the slide deck here to accompany this podcast Speakers: Gil Yaron, Managing Director, Circular Innovation, Light HouseAdam Corneil, CEO & Founder, Unbuilders Hosts: Natalie Douglas, Program Manager, ZEBx Caroline Butchart, Program Manager CLF BC Podcast Recording, Editing and Production: Gordon Patrick Newell, Communications at ZEIC - ZEBx is part of the Zero Emissions Innovation Centre (ZEIC) -
Season 3, Episode 6 Recorded on Sep 21, 2023 As governments begin focusing their emissions-reduction plans, policies and regulations on existing buildings, the market is responding. The demand for retrofit-related services and products is growing, but so is the supply. Efficiency Capital, Canada’s first Energy-as-a-Service company, provides up to 100% of the capital required by building owners to facilitate their energy efficiency upgrades, and does so through an innovative turnkey approach that is vendor and service agnostic, internationally certified, and meets the demands of small to mid-market asset owners as well as those of large commercial real estate investors, not-for-profits/affordable housing providers, and industry. ZEBx was joined by Efficiency Capital and Woodgreen Community Services for this event. Thanks to the financial support of BC Hydro and the City of Vancouver, this event is free of charge! View the slide deck here to accompany this podcast Speakers: Erin Ellis, Director, Development, Efficiency Capital Mwarigha, Vice President of Housing, Homelessness, Asset Sustainability & New Development, WoodGreen Hosts: Roberto Pecora, Director, ZEBx Darla Simpson, Program Manager Retrofits, ZEBx Podcast Recording, Editing and Production: Gordon Patrick Newell, Communications at ZEIC - ZEBx is part of the Zero Emissions Innovation Centre (ZEIC) -