On January 1, Burnaby introduced new standards for emissions reductions which will keep the construction industry on track to meet the city’s long-term climate action goals.
Burnaby is getting a head start on B.C.’s Zero Carbon Step Code by voluntarily implementing higher requirements of this code ahead of the provincially-mandated timeline. These new changes apply to both small and large new construction, with residential home construction on an incremental schedule that will not require zero-carbon performance until 2025.
These changes are a significant milestone in the city’s climate action roadmap. Buildings and construction are one of the largest sources of carbon emissions, accounting for nearly half of Burnaby’s total emissions.
Like Energy Step Code, Zero Carbon Step Code is part of the BC Building Code and both apply to the most common types of new buildings. The Energy Step Code lays out the requirements for energy-efficiency in newly constructed buildings, while the new Zero Carbon Step Code focuses on emissions reductions from those same buildings. While the province has signaled that the highest step of the Zero Carbon Step Code will be a requirement of the BC Building Code in 2030, Burnaby is accelerating the adoption timeline as a part of the city’s commitment to climate leadership.
Step Code Changes
Large (Part 3) buildings like new offices, residential towers and retail stores in Burnaby must now achieve the highest level of performance under the Zero Carbon Step Code—Emission Level 4, Zero-Carbon Performance. Part 3 rezoning applications which have progressed to second reading by December 31, 2023 are not subject to the new requirements and will follow the previous regulations.
New single/two-family home constructions (Part 9 buildings) will be required to meet Emission Level 3, Strong Carbon Performance in 2024, with Emission Level 4, Zero Carbon Performance to be implemented in 2025.
To meet these new standards, new construction will undergo either an energy-modeling exercise to confirm the building’s systems will achieve the required performance, or sign off on a declaration that the various building systems (like space heating, water heating and cooking) will use electric power. Details of these compliance pathways can be found in the Green Buildings & Land Development section.
These timelines put the city ahead of the schedule for zero-carbon performance in their Climate Action Framework, which set the target dates as 2025 for Part 3 buildings and 2027 for Part 9.
