ZEBx

As B.C. businesses electrify and cooling loads rise, managing peak electricity demand is becoming more important than ever.

Demand response programs are helping businesses to shift some of their electricity use out of peak demand periods, and putting money back into their pockets. Load shifting can result in a more stable and resilient energy system. Simple tactics can be employed to help commercial building owners and managers take advantage of BC Hydro’s Demand Response Behavioural program.

About this event

To many, building to BC Energy Step Code 4 and BC Zero Carbon Step Code Emissions Level (EL) 4 for Part 9 homes can seem ambitious — especially in the cold, cost-conscious East Kootenays. Yet real-world experience shows that high-performance, low-carbon homes can be built cost-effectively, comfortably, and reliably when design, construction, and energy advising work hand in hand.

What is the gold standard for new buildings? For years, two parallel discussions have been taking place. In one, there are those that elevate operational emissions reductions enabled by standards such as the Zero Carbon Step Code, Energy Step Code and Passive House, as well as regulations like the Vancouver Building Bylaw. In the other, it's all about the embodied carbon reductions through the use of low-carbon building materials, efficient design of space and form, and circularity. For our next tour, we bring it all together.

About this event 

This session will cover best practices for, and common barriers to, decarbonizing HVAC systems in existing commercial buildings, with a focus on Rootftop Units.  

In this ZEBx Decarb Lunch, we’ll share learnings from the City of Vancouver’s recent On-Site Barriers to Commercial Building Equipment Electrification Study, highlighting both the obstacles and practical solutions for decarbonizing HVAC systems. We’ll also hear about fuel-switching in action with a peek inside Vancity Credit Union’s pilot HVAC retrofit.  

As energy efficiency and carbon pollution become standard considerations for new and existing buildings, the supply chain is responding with new and innovative products that make energy-efficient and climate-friendly buildings more achievable than ever. 

About this event 

Extreme heat and poor air quality during wildfires are already affecting buildings, communities, and public health. Local governments and building professionals need practical strategies to address this challenge while advancing decarbonization goals. 

Join ZEBx for our September Decarb Lunch to explore practical, cost-effective strategies for reducing embodied carbon from pre-design through construction. 

For our fourth tour of 2025, ZEBx invites you to the recently completed Timbre and Harmony residential development by Brightside Community Homes Foundation. Located in Vancouver’s Grandview-Woodland neighbourhood, the project replaces two aging low-rise buildings that provided only 57 units of rental housing with a two-building, 157-unit complex.

On Thursday, June 12, ZEBx will be hosting its 3rd building tour of 2025. Located in Vancouver, the Chief Leonard George building sets the gold standard for Indigenous housing. The project entails a redevelopment of an existing three-storey building, which previously offered 27 affordable rental suites for urban Indigenous singles and families and is currently under construction.

Too often, addressing the housing and climate crises are seen as conflicting priorities. In reality, Canada urgently needs to both decarbonize its building stock and increase the supply of affordable housing.