Sustainability

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 this website to learn more about green buildings at UBC Vancouver and at UBC Okanagan .

UBC’s commitments to sustainability are informed by UBC UP12 : the policy that outlines the rules of land use, permitting and sustainability. UBC’s key sustainability plans and guidelines for building design and construction are:  the Green Building Action Plan (Vancouver) , the  Whole Systems Infrastructure Plan (Okanagan) , the Vancouver Campus Plan Design Guidelines , the Okanagan Campus Design Guidelines and the UBC Technical Guidelines by division (Vancouver and Okanagan).

UBC’s Green Building Action Plan (GBAP) is a policy framework and implementation action plan that will drive incremental improvements for buildings toward a vision of net positive ecological and human health in pursuit of an exceptional built environment that supports the academic mission of teaching, learning and research.  See GBAP goals, targets and indicators for buildings in eight component areas of design and construction:  Energy & Emissions, Water, Quality, Materials & Resources, Climate Adaptation, Health & Wellbeing, Biodiversity and Place & Experience. On the Okanagan Campus, the Whole Systems Infrastructure Plan (WSIP)  provides a high-level plan for sustainable campus development to 2030 and beyond.  See the WSIP goals  for the future campus development in the areas of: energy, carbon, water, rainwater, landscape, ecology and biodiversity.

UBC’s declaration of a Climate Emergency is accelerating the university’s efforts to reach the goals of the UBC Vancouver Climate Action Plan 2030  and UBC Okanagan Climate Action Plan 2030  and reduce operational and embodied GHG emissions associated with buildings.

Green Building Requirements

UBC’s green building requirements are based on project type and apply to projects classified as new construction (large and small buildings), major project renovations, partial fit outs and system upgrades.  Visit the UBC’s Planning Websites for direction on UBC’s green building requirements and UBC Okanagan’s green building requirements . All new building projects and major project renewals must follow the UBC Integrated Sustainability Process which supplements the Development Process and ensures the integration of sustainability and resiliency goals. Project specific green building requirements are summarized in the Project Design Brief.

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