Coordination among governments for building performance standards

On this page

• Introduction
• Benefits of governments coordinating BPS policy design and implementation
  • Benefits to provincial and territorial governments from working with municipal governments
  • Benefits to municipalities from working with provincial or territorial governments
  • Cross-municipal or cross-provincial coordination

Introduction

While provincial, territorial, and municipal governments may have different priorities for enacting policies for existing buildings, aligning planning and implementation can reinforce and support policy design and compliance efforts. Coordination can occur throughout the policy development phase including stakeholder engagement, policy design, data access, and program administration. Provincial and territorial governments looking to initiate policies for existing buildings could benefit from working with municipal governments that know their building community. Municipal governments that are considering implementing policies could benefit from accessing the resources or authority of their provincial, territorial, or federal government, especially when the province or territory has an interest in developing its own policy or has similar goals.

Municipal governments that enact policies can share information and help troubleshoot issues that arise for other municipal governments, especially when they are geographically close to one another or are similar. Further, as provincial, territorial, and municipal governments seek to establish benchmarking requirements and BPS policies, they could benefit from connecting with governments that have already gone through or are going through the process. Provincial, territorial, or municipal government experts can participate in NRCan’s BLD Community of Practice to network, share information, and collaborate with other jurisdiction experts leading on the adoption or implementation of BPS policies. For more information or to join the Community of Practice, email buildings-batiments@nrcan-rncan.gc.ca.

The text below describes the ways that provincial, territorial, and municipal governments can benefit from coordinating throughout policy design and implementation.

Benefits of governments coordinating BPS policy design and implementation

• Benefits to provincial and territorial governments from working with municipal governments
• Benefits to municipalities from working with provincial or territorial governments
• Cross-municipal or cross-provincial coordination

Benefits to provincial and territorial governments from working with municipal governments

• Allows for improved compliance and results in increased energy savings and emission reductions
• Expands access to building owners through the municipal government’s relationships. This can lead to a better understanding of stakeholder needs during policy development and help gain municipal support with compliance
• Improves lists of buildings included in the policy through help from a municipality’s knowledge and records
• Helps building owners benchmark data through the help of the municipal government’s list of services and product providers

Benefits to municipalities from working with provincial or territorial governments

• Improves data access as provincial and territorial governments can regulate utilities which can be crucial for data access, particularly for multi-unit residential buildings, and for their ability to influence grid emissions that affect municipal policies
• Creates uniformity in data collection and processes that could help building owners with properties in multiple jurisdictions
• Allows for the potential access to financial or technical support to help advance an aligned policy
• Helps ensure existing or planned municipal initiatives do not get overwritten by new provincial or territorial mandates

Cross-municipal or cross-provincial coordination

• Allows for sharing of information to help with policy design and implementation
• Allows for consistency in tools and metrics used for reporting mechanisms, and improves national building stock data in ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager
• Helps with troubleshooting potential issues that may arise and with sharing of best practices
• Helps with data access issues when working with utilities that may span multiple jurisdictions
• Allows for the sharing of resources and tools that can make administration more cost-effective
• Creates consistency in requirements across governments, which can make compliance easier for building owners, especially within the same region
• Allows for joint procurements for coordinated data management strategies and technical support, and shared reporting frameworks

Stakeholder engagement is a critical element of designing any benchmarking or BPS policy. Engaging with stakeholders at the start of the policy design and throughout implementation can help provincial, territorial, and municipal governments align policy objectives with community priorities, build trust, ensure transparency, gather input, and understand the needs of underserved groups. Providing an opportunity for the community to contribute to key decisions can help create an equitable process and outcomes.^{Footnote 1}

Provincial, territorial, and municipal governments can also benefit from coordinating with utilities in their jurisdictions. This is especially important given the role utilities play in providing data needed for benchmarking policies and subsequent BPS.