Draft Details

1.1 Aim

This Standard describes the steps and components of a mandatory energy, water, and GHG emissions reporting requirement for large existing buildings to help standardize their design and implementation, reducing burden and complexity for both AHJs and building owners subject to such requirements.  

1.2 Application

This Standard supports the consistent design and implementation of mandatory building energy, water, and GHG emissions reporting requirements for existing buildings.

While enacting a reporting requirement can be a starting point for the development of other policies and programs (e.g., building performance standards, labelling), this Standard focuses exclusively on building energy, water, and GHG emissions reporting.

1.3 Inclusions

This Standard applies to all buildings with the following major occupancies as classified in the National Building Code:

Group A — assembly occupancies;

Group B — care, treatment, and detention occupancies;

Group C — residential occupancies;

Group D — business and personal services occupancies;

Group E — mercantile occupancies;

Group F — industrial occupancies; and

any mixed-use building in which the sum of the gross floor area (GFA) of these occupancies is 50% or greater of the property’s total GFA.

All properties that fall into one of these groups are referred to in this Standard as “covered buildings”Note: Annex A provides an overview of these major occupancies and specific property types.

1.4 Exclusions

This Standard does not apply to buildings classified as

Group G — agriculture occupancies;

those having a GFA of less than 929 m2 (10 000 ft2); or

ground-oriented homes.

1.5 Users

This Standard is intended to assist municipal and regional governments in their capacity as AHJs over the regulation of buildings across their communities. Its broad intent is to standardize and simplify the process of complying with such requirements, especially for owners of portfolios that span multiple jurisdictions.

Other public sector organizations might also find this Standard of interest but should consider that not all aspects of the Standard might apply to their particular needs or authorities.

1.6 Terminology

In this Standard, “shall” is used to express a requirement, i.e., a provision that the user is obliged to satisfy in order to comply with the Standard; “should” is used to express a recommendation or that which is advised but not required; and “may” is used to express an option or that which is permissible within the limits of the Standard.

Notes accompanying clauses do not include requirements or alternative requirements; the purpose of a note accompanying a clause is to separate from the text explanatory or informative material.

Notes to tables and figures are considered part of the table or figure and may be written as requirements.

Annexes are designated normative (mandatory) or informative (non-mandatory) to define their application.

1.7 Units of measurement

The values given in SI units are the units of record for the purposes of this Standard. The values given in parentheses are for information and comparison only.