Toronto proposes to collect data on large buildings’ energy use
City councillors say reporting a ‘proven’ tool for conserving, saving money for owners
Some Toronto councillors want big commercial and residential buildings to start reporting how much energy and water they use.
And they’ve told city staff to draft a bylaw that would make it a legal requirement.
Councillor Sarah Doucette, one of the instigators of the proposal, said in an interview that she hopes the move will prod building owners to adopt greener practices.
“We’re doing it to protect the environment, but a lot of people will only do it if they see a dollar figure connected to it,” said Doucette (Ward 13, Parkdale-High Park) in an interview.
A spokesman for commercial landlords says the move is no surprise — but that it will have to be done right, to be effective.
“We’re frankly expecting it,” said Chris Conway, who heads the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA).
“We’ve seen it in other jurisdictions; we’ve been talking about it internally. The actual reporting of energy, we see it as more or less inevitable.”
Daryl Chong of the Greater Toronto Apartment Association said the policy is so vague for now that it’s hard to know what to think.
“The devil is in the detail,” he said. “And there is none.”
The city’s parks and environment committee asked for the draft bylaw after receiving a letter from Doucette and four other councillors.
The letter said that energy reporting is a “powerful, proven tool for reducing energy and water use in large buildings.”
A reporting program could save money for building owners, protect prospective tenants and investors “by providing access to energy performance information that can inform real estate buying or leasing decisions.”
“We’re doing it to protect the environment, but a lot of people will only do it if they see a dollar figure connected to it.” SARAH DOUCETTE WARD 13 CITY COUNCILLOR
Conway of BOMA said the details matter.
“The million-dollar question is how it’s going to be done,” he said. “We don’t know what process they’re designing around it.”
Different tenants in different businesses can use different amounts of energy in the same or similar buildings, Conway said, so a building’s energy rating has to take that into account.
Sophisticated landlords and tenants already have a good idea of what buildings use energy efficiently, he said.
“If I go on a brokerage website, I can get the operating costs for a property. The information’s not out there in the same format, but you can figure it out.” Information on energy use can help both landlords and tenants who have corporate standards for sustainable business practices, he said. Conway said he presumes city buildings will have to meet the reporting rules: “I hope they include themselves. If we’re all doing this, they should too.” Chong at the apartment association said he finds it curious that staff are being asked to draft a bylaw without being given a policy document outlining clear objectives. The information so far is “pretty scant,” he said. “It’s difficult to comment on a bylaw that’s just three or four paragraphs of preamble.” The committee has instructed staff to consult with stakeholders and report back next March with the draft bylaw.