UBC Technical Guidelines

Sustainability

For all current information on sustainability, please visit the UBC Sustainability Office website.

Background

Buildings are not only one of the largest contributors to resource depletion and climate change, they are also the most visible and enduring elements of an organization's commitment to sustainability. UBC is a global leader in campus sustainability, due in large part to the wide range of measures it has applied to its building stock.

Visit the UBC Sustainability Office website to learn more about Green Building at UBC.

UBC's commitments to sustainability are informed by TREK 2010 and UBC Policy #5: Sustainable Development. In 2006, UBC released Inspirations & Aspirations: The Sustainability Strategy. This strategy includes targets for UBC's building stock which are to be achieved by 2010 – these targets are incorporated into Issues, Targets and Strategies below. UBC will be updating its Sustainability Strategy in 2010.

Sustainability in the Technical Guidelines

All construction projects at UBC lie on the ‘sustainability spectrum'. At minimum, sustainability measures incorporated into the Technical Guidelines ensure that all projects will meet UBC's expectations for performance and quality. The Provincial government has also mandated LEED Gold certification for new construction and major renovations (see ‘LEED Requirements' below.) Many projects exceed current requirements, a trend which will soon become the norm as UBC continues to ramp up its plans to achieve a model sustainable campus. The Technical Guidelines will continue to play a key role in the campus's evolution.

In 2002, the Technical Guidelines underwent a significant revision from prescriptive to performance requirements and, as part of this process, many of the requirements were updated to be nominally equivalent to LEED Silver performance.

As of June 2008, the guidelines incorporate the requirements for all seven LEED prerequisites in LEED for New Construction & Major Renovations (LEED Canada Version 1.0, 2004).

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LEED Requirements

Provincial Requirements

The Province of BC's Energy Efficient Buildings Strategy (2008) states that all new government buildings and facilities will meet the standards of LEED Gold or equivalent certification.

UBC Requirements

In anticipation of enhanced provincial requirements, and in keeping with its status as a leader in campus sustainability, UBC requires that all new construction and major renovation projects achieve the LEED Gold standard, or certified equivalent, including 5 points from Energy & Atmosphere Credit 1: Optimize Energy Efficiency:

  • new construction: 42% below MNECB or 35% below ASHRAE 90.1-1999
  • major renovation: 33% below MNECB or 25% below ASHRAE 90.1-1999

For projects that are not seeking LEED certification, equivalency reports should be prepared and submitted to the Sustainability Office.

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Issues, Targets & Strategies

This section introduces high-level sustainability issues and targets that inform early stages of the design process. The more detailed requirements are included within the Divisional Guidelines.

Design Process

Major capital projects at UBC begin with a Project Alignment Meeting that seeks to establish interdisciplinary integration and to set common targets.

Targets: Prescriptive and performance project targets should be set early in the project, and should align with the targets from Inspirations & Aspirations: The Sustainability Strategy (summarized below in Energy & Atmosphere, Waste and Water).

Design Evaluation: Designs and facilities should be evaluated for their long term viability and sustainability. Evaluation shall include review of the social, environmental and economic impacts these facilities will have in terms of planned uses and future flexibility if the building is repurposed. Detailed life cycle cost analysis is required to ensure that the full cost of ownership is reflected in decision making.

Energy & Atmosphere

Targets from Inspirations & Aspirations: The Sustainability Strategy:

  • reduce non-renewable energy consumption in institutional & ancillary buildings by 30% from 2000 levels (adjusted for growth)
  • make new institutional buildings 25% more efficient (on average) than the MNECB (Model National Energy Code for Buildings, 1997)
  • reduce CO2 and equivalent emissions from institutional and ancillary buildings by 25% from 2000 levels (adjusted for growth)

UBC seeks to achieve low energy buildings that are optimized for renewable energy sources:

  • first and foremost, reduce space heating demand by maximizing insulation and air tightness (See Passivhaus in ‘Resources' below)
  • design low temperature radiant systems to use lower grades of energy. The primary focus should be on planning for the buildings to operate with low-temperature systems and a heat exchange interface with the energy supply. (See Low Exergy Buildings in ‘Resources' below)
  • use heat recovery ventilators
  • for laboratories: use the Environmental Performance Criteria from Labs 21, which leverages and builds on the US Green Building Council's LEED for New Construction rating system (See Labs 21 below)

Waste

Target from Inspirations & Aspirations: The Sustainability Strategy:

  • divert 50% of campus waste from construction of new institutional buildings from the landfill

Water

Target from Inspirations & Aspirations: The Sustainability Strategy:

  • reduce water consumption in institutional buildings by 40% from 2000 levels (adjusted for growth)

Materials

UBC seeks to conserve material resources by optimizing material use, reducing waste, and selecting materials that minimize environmental impacts:

  • reuse materials and equipment where possible as the first consideration
  • when existing materials or parts are not reused in the project, turn over to UBC for future re-use
  • select materials with recycled and recyclable content
  • select green / sustainable materials that are certified by a third party

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Resources

UBC Documents

Energy & Atmosphere

Waste

See the following sections in the Metro Vancouver Build Smart guide:

  • Job Site Recycling Guide
  • Project Waste Management Master Specification
  • Job Site Recycling Fact Sheet
  • Job Site Recycling Directories

Materials

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