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Improving the environmental performance of built environments has received wider interest in the recent past. Asset management is an under-utilized strategy to enhance and maintain desired environmental performance of a building at low life cycle costs (LCC). Current asset management decision-making methods are not fully capable of incorporating future technological changes and complex time sensitive environmental demands. There is a knowledge gap in incorporating factors such as environmental performance, risk and time sensitivity to foster dynamic asset management decision making. This paper presents a multi-period asset management method for public buildings to minimize LCC and attain climate action goals. A scenario planning approach is used to incorporate future changes in technologies, costs and organizational policies. Risk based prioritization is used to compare and select maintenance alternatives in a given period. Value at risk is used to identify the lowest risk capital planning strategy for an organization. The proposed approach was demonstrated using an operating aquatic centre building in British Columbia, Canada. Three possible future scenario were considered. Proposed method was used to develop multi-period maintenance plans for future scenarios. Based on the analysis, Great Transitions scenario is expected to achieve the least financial risk. The proposed approach enable capital asset planning by complying with changing climate action targets in a stochastic environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate-conscious development is a topic which has received widespread attention. One consequence of this is the prominence of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction targets set at various administrative levels (i.e. global, national, provincial and local governments). Despite the global interest, current models are incapable of integrating GHG emission reduction into the urban planning. This study presents lessons learned from a climate conscious growth study conducted for a fast-growing municipality in Okanagan, British Columbia, Canada, offering a model for local government target-setting generalizable across networks of communities, leading to significant cumulative GHG reductions at global scale. The study uses the results of engineering-based research to evaluate multiple planning scenarios developed to explore options for the subject municipality’s future urban form and the associated GHG emissions for the target year 2040. Overall municipal GHG emissions for each scenario were simulated in the study considering the residential and transportation emissions projections. The findings indicated that the lowest emissions scenario was the ultra-compact growth model without area structure plan (ASP) allocations. Accordingly, it was concluded that a densified growth strategy with a higher share of multi-unit residential development is technically the best path forward in municipal growth planning to meet climate action targets. Negative public perception of increased densification in urban areas remains an obstacle to the technically best solution. Moreover, per capita basis could be a more feasible approach for GHG emissions target setting. This study’s outcomes are expected to inform public sector institutions and decision makers in setting GHG targets and climate action planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Procurement is a key process in construction project management. The current construction procurement practices have been widely criticized for disregarding sustainability in the project life cycle. At present, there is a gap of knowledge on status-quo of sustainable procurement in Canada. Therefore, the objective of this study is to review sustainable procurement practices in the Canadian construction industry. A multi method research design was used in this study by combining both qualitative and quantitative research methods. Three research tools were used in the study; namely questionnaire surveys, review of documents, and semi-structured interviews. Data triangulation was used to combine the results of all three research tools. The study showed that sustainable procurement initiatives have rarely been used in the Canadian construction industry. Limited sustainability initiatives are used in the project procurement, while environmental sustainability criteria are given the prominence. Furthermore a significant deficiency is observed in bid evaluation involving triple bottom line of sustainability. A majority of construction industry respondents agreed that sustainable procurement is a long due necessity and highlighted government regulations as the main driver for sustainable procurement. This study may be the first step to promote the use of sustainable procurement in the Canadian construction sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the recent past, the individual responsibility of climate change mitigation has been acknowledged by the society at large. Energy planning is pivotal in mitigating GHG emissions and adopting climate resilient strategies. However, community level energy planning has been overlooked in the urban development planning and the approval process. Many energy and emission reduction approaches are still voluntary for the developers and been pursued on ad-hoc basis. The objective of this study is to propose a systematic framework for renewable energy integration in community development. A scenario-based study was conducted for an upcoming neighbourhood in Okanagan, British Columbia (BC), Canada. Scenarios were assessed based on the life cycle cost (LCC) and GHG emission reduction. The scenarios were then compared based on costs and benefits to key stakeholders. Results of this study revealed that a higher share of renewable sources in the energy mix does not necessarily reduce LCC or GHG emissions. The benefits which can be achieved via incorporating renewables to the regional energy mix varies, depending on the existing energy sources in the mix. Therefore, regional power grid mix influences the feasibility and acceptability of RE integration at a given location. Developers should be aware of the optimal investment level which could be fully or partially recovered by premium home prices. The government should promote this practice via various incentives such as tax credits, grants etc. Findings of this research would mainly inform urban developers in renewable energy planning and local government in formulating climate action policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Occupant behavior in residential buildings has a direct impact on the effectiveness of energy-saving measures. In order to realize a buildings' carbon mitigation targets, the impact of individual occupancy profiles needs to be integrated with building simulation models. This paper introduces a decision support framework as a potential solution to make energy performance upgrade choices based on different occupancy profiles. This framework has been demonstrated through a case study of two single-family detached homes in Canada, which were highly instrumented with sensors for monitoring energy input and output. The case studies represented two common occupancy profiles-(1) a family of four (consisting of 2 working adults and 2 teenagers); and (2) a retired couple. Firstly, calibrated energy models were developed by using one-year energy use data collected through an intrusive load monitoring technique. Secondly, energy upgrade combinations were considered for each profile and tested for additional investment, payback period and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Lastly, the most suitable combination of energy upgrade for each profile was ranked using a multi-criteria decision-making method (e.g., TOPSIS). Results indicated that the retired couple used more energy than the family of four and required energy upgrades with usually higher payback periods to achieve the same level of GHG emission reduction. The results of this research are timely for energy policymaking and developing best management practices, which need to be implemented along with the deployment of more stringent building standards and codes. • A scenario-based framework was developed for residential homes energy upgrades. • It considers occupant behavior and preference in selecting energy upgrades. • Field data is used to represent energy use of a family of four and a stay-at-home retired couple. • Energy upgrades are same under pro-economic choices for two profiles. • Energy upgrades vary under pro-environmental scenarios for two profiles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]