News
BOMA Canada launches new BOMA BESt Energy and Environmental Report

The Building Owners and Managers Association of Canada (BOMA Canada) announced this morning the launch of its new BOMA BESt Energy and Environmental Report (BBEER). The report is based on the extraordinary success of BOMA’s Building Environmental Standards (BESt) program, with 1,300 buildings across Canada having achieved certification since 2005. The BBEER summarizes the energy and environmental data for 450 office buildings at BOMA BESt Levels 2, 3 and 4 (70%, 80% and 90% scores overall).
 
As a result of this widespread adoption of this environmental certification for existing buildings, BOMA Canada has compiled more energy and environmental third-party verified data — representing more than 132 million square feet of space — than any other program in North America for the 2005 to 2009 time period.
 
The purpose of the BBEER is to examine the data gathered from February 2005 to June 2009 to provide a snapshot for the Canadian commercial real estate industry and its stakeholders regarding the energy and environmental performance of existing office buildings; the energy and environmental trends in office buildings as well as targets for energy performance as well as any areas or trends that warrant further investigation by BOMA Canada or other similarly interested organizations.
 
The report’s key findings indicate a steady increase in BOMA BESt scores each year showing that the program plays a significant role in improving the performance of Canada’s commercial building stock. BOMA BESt levels provide a meaningful representation of annual energy consumption intensity, where buildings at the highest level of certification — BOMA BESt Level 4 — have the lowest average annual energy intensity of 19 equivalent kilowatt hours per square foot (ekWh/sqft). The overall average for BOMA BESt certified buildings is 31.5ekWh/sqft, which is 11-25 per cent lower than other reported averages.  The BBEER report also provides values by building size, age and region. In addition, the report identifies the percentage of buildings that have implemented retrofits, energy or water efficient features and have strong environmental management practices and policies in place.
 
The new BOMA BESt Energy and Environmental Report can be ordered online at www.bomabest.com. In keeping with its commitment to environmental responsibility, BOMA has made arrangements for each copy ordered to be printed on-demand by local printers to reduce waste and carbon emissions.
 
BOMA BESt is a national program launched by BOMA Canada in 2005 to address an industry need for realistic standards for energy and environmental performance of existing buildings based on accurate and independently verified information. BOMA BESt has evolved from simply identifying best practices to providing common standards, online educational and assessment tools, independent data audits and a four-level certification program. More than 1,200 buildings in Canada have current BOMA BESt certifications. Visit www.bomabest.com to learn more.

October 20, 2009  By Newswire