Drawing of large high rise buildings with 63, 75, and 54 energy scores displayed on different buildings

Report your building and energy data

Paused enforcement of by-law

On May 21, 2026, Council directed staff to pause enforcement of Annual Greenhouse Gas and Energy Limits By-law.

There are no penalties if you do not submit a report.
Staff will review the by-law and are expected to report back to Council in the first half of 2027.
The Help Desk is available if you have any questions.

What you need to know

The following buildings are covered under the Annual Greenhouse Gas and Energy Limits By-law:

Commercial or multi-family residential building
Size requirements: 4,645 square metres (50,000 square feet) or larger

Use the building lookup tool to find your building ID

Learn how your building type aligns with the by-law and ESPM in the Building Type Reference Guide (411 KB).

Review:

Steps to submitting your energy and carbon report
Reporting resources (guides, FAQ, webinars)

Getting started

Review the Annual Energy and Carbon Reporting How-to Guide (2 MB)

Software you will use

To submit a report, building owners must use 2 connected tools.

ENERGY STAR® Portfolio Manager® (ESPM) : A free online tool from the US Environmental Protection Agency, managed by Natural Resources Canada in Canada. ESPM tracks and benchmarks your building’s energy use and greenhouse gas emissions.
Building Performance Reporting System (BPRS): Our compliance platform receives data from ESPM. For large office and retail buildings 100,000 ft² and larger, BPRS verifies performance standards and manages operating permits and fees.

How the software works together

ESPM collects and organizes building data. BPRS uses that data to verify compliance, calculate emissions, track year-over-year performance, and file reports.

Both systems are required for reporting.

Steps to submitting your energy and carbon report

A building owner, property management company, staff member, volunteer owner (for strata buildings), or hired third-party service provider can submit and energy carbon report.

Step 1: Login and upload your building and energy data in ENERGY STAR® Portfolio Manager®
How to upload energy use data
1. Select December 31, 2025, from the dropdown menu.
2. Review and resolve any errors before proceeding.
Water and waste data are not required for this report.

A. Create an ENERGY STAR® Portfolio Manager® account (if you don’t already have one)

Log in to ENERGY STAR® Portfolio Manager®

B. Upload building data
1. Use the Building Lookup Tool to find your building’s unique ID and add it to your property in ESPM.
2. Confirm your building’s gross floor area and other details using blueprints or other documents.
  - For multi-family buildings: if documents are not available, you may use gross leasable area or floor area from our database.
3. Add building information, including:
  - Use type
  - Year built
  - Percentage occupancy
  - Weekly operating hours
For values not marked with an asterisk, provide either your best estimate or use default values.

C. Upload energy use data 

Upload 12 months of energy use data from the previous calendar year. Include both common areas and tenant spaces.

Data can be submitted by:
- Utility auto-upload (preferred)
- Manual entry
- Spreadsheet
Multi-tenanted commercial buildings

If tenants have their own utility accounts, you may need tenant consent to collect data from BC Hydro and FortisBC. Visit BC Hydro for details on their data aggregation policy.

FortisBC doesn’t provide data aggregation. Contact FortisBC for more information.

What to upload

Upload all energy sources:
- Electricity
- Natural gas
- District energy
Any other energy sources, run the data quality checker.
Step 2: Connect and share your building's ESPM profile with us
Log in to ENERGY STAR® Portfolio Manager®
1. Share your building in ESPM with the username CityofVancouver to make sure data access works properly and avoid submission issues.
2. Add a new contact.
3. Search username "CityofVancouver".
4. Connect. 
5. Share read-only access to your data with us.
Step 3: Log in to the Building Performance Reporting System (BPRS) and complete the GHG By-law Reporting Form in BPRS
1. Claim your building(s).
2. Complete a form for each building.
Create an account and submit a report(s)

Section 3 applies to office and retail buildings 100,000 square feet and larger.
Step 4: Review and submit your report
Submit your final report through the BPRS
1. You will receive a compliance notification.
2. Review this email carefully.
3. Follow up if corrections or documents are requested.
4. Retain records for at least 5 years, including:
  - Utility bills and other back‑up information
  - Emails confirming data submission through ESPM and the GHG By-law Reporting Form
  - Records of tenant information requests
  - Requests for deadline extensions and related correspondence

Reporting resources

Energize Vancouver reporting map
The reporting map displays disclosed energy and carbon performance data, such as
- Energy use
- Emissions intensity
- Building characteristics, along with compliance status for all buildings
For buildings that don't disclose their data, the map still shows basic details like:
- Primary use type
- Floor area
- Compliance status
It supports transparency and helps monitor progress under the by-law.

View the Energize Vancouver reporting map
Reference documents, guides, and information sheets
Reference documents and guides
- Annual Greenhouse Gas and Energy Limits By-law (212 KB)
- Covered Building list (building subject to the by-law (113 KB) (Use to find building ID and building address)
- Compliance Guide: Annual Energy and Carbon reporting (3 MB)
- Brochure: Energy and Carbon reporting (256 KB)
FAQs and information sheets
External resources
- BC Hydro Energy Efficiency Benchmarking (Use the City How-to-Guide for benchmarking and reporting steps)
- Creative Energy ESPM Quick Start Guide (202 KB)
- FortisBC ENERGY STAR^® Portfolio Manager^® Quick Start Guide
Learn more about the GHGI limits
Videos
Policy overview
Energy Star® Portfolio Manager® and Building Reporting System
- How to report
Webinars
Slides and recordings from our training webinars

Webinars for prepping the 2026 reporting cycle year

Intro to Energy and Carbon Reporting — Dec 3, 2025
- Presentation (December 3, 2025) (1.9 MB)
- Recording (December 3, 2025)
How-to auto-upload BC Hydro data — March 18, 2026
- Presentation (March 18, 2026) (1.4 MB)
- Recording (March 18, 2026)
Review all other 2026 webinar recordings

Support programs for commercial buildings

Find resources for available financial rebates, retrofit coaching, and pilot programs.

Multi-family building energy resources and programs

Depending on its size, your multi-family building may be eligible for a range of utility programs, incentives, and rebates.

Greenhouse gas intensity limits

Enforcement is paused. Learn more about performance standards.

Need help?

Review FAQ, guides, and training videos that explain how to register properties in ENERGY STAR® Portfolio Manager® and our Building Performance Reporting System.

Still have questions? Contact us and schedule an appointment by:

Phone: 604-330-3797 (9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday)
Email: [email protected]

Join the Energize Vancouver mailing list

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Report your building and energy data

Paused enforcement of by-law

What you need to know

Getting started

Software you will use

How the software works together

Steps to submitting your energy and carbon report

Step 1: Login and upload your building and energy data in ENERGY STAR® Portfolio Manager®

Step 2: Connect and share your building's ESPM profile with us

Step 3: Log in to the Building Performance Reporting System (BPRS) and complete the GHG By-law Reporting Form in BPRS

Step 4: Review and submit your report

Reporting resources

Energize Vancouver reporting map

Reference documents, guides, and information sheets

Videos

Webinars

Support programs for commercial buildings

Multi-family building energy resources and programs

Greenhouse gas intensity limits

Need help?

Join the Energize Vancouver mailing list

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