Greenhouse gas intensity limits

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  Types of office and retail buildings

  Review definitions building types in ENERGY STAR® Portfolio Manager® External website, opens in new tab

  Commercial building type	Related building type in ENERGY STAR® Portfolio Manager®
  Office (Group D occupancy under Vancouver Building By-law)	Office (Office refers to buildings used to conduct commercial or governmental business activities. This includes administrative and professional offices.):  Medical office  Office  Veterinary office  Radio station (benchmark as office in ESPM)  Banking/financial services: Bank branch  Financial office  Personal services:  Barber and hairdressing shops   Beauty parlours Note Dry cleaning, laundromats, and other process loads are excluded from GHGI calculations. Refer the GHGI reference manual for more information.
  Retail Group E occupancy under Vancouver Building By-law)	Retail (Retail refers to stores used to conduct the retail sale of non-food consumer goods.):  Automobile dealership  Convenience store without gas station  Enclosed mall Lifestyle centre Retail store Strip mall Wholesale club/supercentre  Note Supermarket/grocery store building use type is excluded from buildings covered by GHGI limits.

Future greenhouse gas and heat energy intensity limits

Note Initially, our GHGi limits will only impact Vancouver’s largest office and retail buildings.

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  2026 and 2040 greenhouse gas intensity limits

  Starting in 2027, if you own an existing large commercial building greater than or equal to 9,290 square metres (100,000 square feet), you'll need to get a yearly operating permit for each building. The permit will be based on how much greenhouse gas your building emitted in 2026.

  Note In 2040, the GHGi limits for existing large office and retail buildings will be 0. Your building will need to fully decarbonize their operational energy use.

  Reporting period and greenhouse gas intensity limits for commercial buildings 

  Building type	Size of commercial building	Required GHGi limit	Year	First reporting deadline
  Office	Greater than or equal to: 9,290 square metres 100,000 square feet	25 kilograms Co2e/square metre/year	2026	June 1, 2027
  Retail	Greater than or equal to: 9,290 square metres 100,000 square feet	14 kilograms Co2e/square metre/year	2026	June 1, 2027
  Office and retail	Greater than or equal to: 9,290 square metres 100,000 square feet	0 kilograms Co2e/square metre/year	2040	June 1, 2040

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  2040 heat energy intensity limits

  In 2040, we’ll begin regulating the amount of gas and district energy (excluding the electricity portion) that Vancouver’s largest office and retail properties use.  

  Note You should update your capital plans now to identify the ideal timing to make upgrades and replace equipment to comply with the 2040 heat energy intensity limit. Most buildings will need to invest in heat pump and/or heat-recovery mechanical systems to comply with the 2040 heat energy intensity limits.  

  Reporting period and heat energy intensity limits for commercial buildings

  Type of building	Size of commercial building	HEI limit	First reporting deadline
  Office and retail	Greater than or equal to: 9290 square metres 100,000 square feet	0.09 gigajoules/square metre/year	June 1, 2041

  Note The GHGi Limits How-to-Guide will be available soon with detailed steps on how to complete your submission for 2027. Check back and sign-up for updates on this page.

What you will be required to report in 2027

Starting January 2027, building owners and managers subject to the 2026 GHGi requirement will have until:

• June 1, 2027, to submit a complete energy and carbon report
• August 1, 2027, to get a carbon emissions operating permit (CEOP)

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  Data verification

  We’re requiring verification in the 2026 reporting year and every 4 years after.  

  We’ll require most building owners and managers to:

  • Periodically retain a third-party professional to confirm the accuracy and completeness of their energy and GHGi data 
  • Verify any year after 2026 if you report shows a significant change in your building’s GHGi or reported floor area

  Note We will publish a list of professionals who can verify your data. The professional cannot be the same person who completes the reporting on your behalf. 

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  Annual carbon emissions operating permit

  Starting August 1, 2027, we’ll require all building owners and managers subject to the GHGi limits requirement to apply for an annual carbon emissions operating permit for each of their buildings. 

  Fees

  • Permit fee: $500
  • Additional fee for each tonne of equivalent carbon dioxide to buildings that exceed the allowed annual GHGi limits: $350

  For example, if a building owner subject to the requirement exceeds their GHGi limit by 10 tonnes, they will pay $500 for the baseline permit, plus an additional $3,500 in penalties, for a total of $4,000.