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RECOMMENDATIONS & BARRIERS

Decarbonizing Canada’s Commercial Buildings makes ten recommendations, outlined below along with their respective core barriers, for the industry, government, utilities, the appraisal community, and financial institutions to accelerate decarbonizing commercial buildings in Canada.

Technology

Recommendation

  • 01

    Increase incentives and knowledge sharing around decarbonization technologies.

Barrier

The technology needed to decarbonize the building sector may be delayed by existing equipment life cycles, which may make it wasteful to replace perfectly good equipment and may deliver insufficient payback/returns either through lower costs or higher rents.

Existing, unamortized natural gas boilers in buildings are almost never replaced before the end of their useful life (~15-20 years) due to the negative impact on financial returns.

High-demand, low carbon equipment, often built overseas, can have long lead times to acquire for new installations or replacements, with potential supply chain disruptions increasing uncertainty. Owners, designers, contractors, and other key stakeholders may be unaware of the equipment choices, availability, and cost-effectiveness of these decarbonization technologies, as well as the advance planning required.

Even when technologies are available and cost-effective, building owners may not be aware of their options or have doubts about the effectiveness and financial paybacks of key decarbonization technologies.

Capital

Recommendations

  • 02

    Provide long-term low fixed-rate debt financing options for low-carbon construction and retrofits.

  • 03

    Provide tax relief and incentives for low and net zero-carbon buildings.

Barrier

Debt and equity capital may be unavailable, or debt capital may only be available at prohibitively high interest rates, which does not “make the math work” on new investments.

Accessing reasonable interest rates for debt or market-demanded risk-adjusted equity investment returns can be difficult for owners and developers. With the current costs for consultants, equipment, and construction, it can be prohibitive to get “the math to work,” whether for retrofits or new investments in decarbonization. Owners may also have pending or recently passed mortgage renewals with a much higher interest carry on their property, short investment hold periods that discourage long-term investments, or be lowering their allocations to real estate, limiting their willingness to allocate capital to decarbonization.

These financial challenges and similar ones are further exacerbated by political uncertainty, including delays and unclear or frequently changing government policy direction, creating risks for investors, and leading them to avoid or delay capital investments.

Valuation

Recommendation

  • 04

    Recognize decarbonization investments in property valuations.

Barrier

Decarbonization investments are not clearly defined or understood and are not effectively incorporated into asset appraisals.

The global transition to a low carbon economy leads to carbon-related risks, from carbon taxes to more stringent energy/carbon standards, and opportunities from lower operating costs to revenue generation through on-site renewables and slower obsolescence. Although market research is beginning to demonstrate the existence of brown discounts and green premiums, these elements are not yet fully priced into traditional real estate valuation models, leading to asset mispricing risk.

Energy

Recommendations

  • 05

    Grow capacity and conservation across electricity systems and continue to decarbonize existing electricity generation infrastructure.

  • 06

    Provide electricity users with choice for electricity procurement.

Barrier

Low- or no-carbon sources of energy may be currently unavailable or prohibitively expensive.

Natural gas is a stable and well-established fuel source, and electricity grids in most provinces are highly regulated, favouring large, centralized generation. Electricity grids also have significant last-mile barriers associated with distribution, such as connection costs and competing demands for a finite amount of electricity. These challenges create a market environment that stifles choice, behind the meter innovation, and on-site renewable energy options for building owners and developers. The electrical infrastructure and capacity of buildings may also prevent electrification, particularly when there are competing demands for additional capacity, such as from electric vehicle charging stations.

People

Recommendations

  • 07

    Increase decarbonization leadership, knowledge and skills across the industry.

  • 08

    Create stronger incentives for decarbonization.

Barrier

Achieving decarbonization goals requires commitment and action from leaders and groups across the organization, but significant capacity gaps exist.

Building owners are often unclear on decarbonization strategies and technologies, and their performance incentives (e.g., bonus payments) may not include decarbonization targets. A lack of highly qualified decarbonization consultants may also lead to high costs or low confidence in the business cases they provide in support of decarbonization investments. There can also be a lack of skilled labour available. Architects, engineers, contractors, and trades tailor their services to project requirements, so if low carbon technologies or skills are not highlighted, there is less pressure for professional development in this area.

DATA, STANDARDS & DISCLOSURE

Recommendations

  • 09

    Ensure building owners and investors have access to whole building data.

  • 10

    Harmonize standards across Canada.

Barrier

Accurate utility data is often incomplete or inaccessible for building owners, which limits their ability to estimate their buildings’ carbon footprint.

Tenants that pay for their utilities directly, for example, in industrial, some retail or multi-residential buildings, may not be required to share that data with the building owner. Utilities cite privacy concerns or are not motivated to share tenant utility data with owners, and when they do, it is highly variable in its consistency and completeness. Building owners are also under pressure to disclose their (and often their tenants’) energy and emissions to investors and regulators and be subject to several new, divergent building performance standards across the country.