Apr 2025 Decarb Lunch: Vancouver’s GHG Reporting Bylaw – Reflections & Projections

Vancouver’s GHG Reporting Bylaw – Reflections & Projections

Past Event: Apr 3, 2025 @ 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm

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Podcast – To Follow

We’ll add the event podcast here soon, in the meantime here’s the most recent upload.

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Slideshow

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Overview

At this webinar, the City of Vancouver staff shared insights from the first year of the City’s mandatory energy and carbon reporting program and previewed what industry can expect in the current reporting cycle and beyond.

Co-host BOMA BC kicked off this event by highlighting industry engagement, challenges, and opportunities—before handing things over to the City of Vancouver’s Gurmeet Gherra and Micah Lang. They gave a recap on the city’s GHG bylaw, outlined its phased requirements, and shared key takeaways from this past year’s first reporting cycle. They also outlined how building managers can prepare for 2025.

In 2024, more than 200 of Vancouver’s largest commercial properties—spanning more than 47 million square feet—submitted their energy and carbon data to the City. With the requirements now expanding as scheduled to include nearly 900 commercial, residential, and hotel buildings, the City is working to ensure building owners and operators are aware of both the regulation and the available compliance support tools and resources.

The session concluded with a Q&A.

Thanks to the generous support of BC Hydro, NRCan, and the City of Vancouver, this event was free.

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Speakers

Gurmeet Ghera, Senior Green Building Planner, City of Vancouver

Gurmeet works on developing and implementing decarbonization policies for existing large buildings, which includes working and partnering with commercial and residential sectors, utilities, consultants, and other levels of jurisdictions. Gurmeet was part of the team that developed the first GHG limits for existing buildings in Canada and now leads the implementation of the Annual GHG and Energy Limits By-law and Energize Vancouver resource hub. Prior to Vancouver, Gurmeet worked as a Green Buildings Specialist with City of Winnipeg’s Office of Sustainability where he developed and implemented the first municipal energy benchmarking and disclosure program in the Province and worked on other green building policies. Gurmeet holds a Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering and a Masters in Natural Resources Management from the University of Manitoba.

Micah Lang, Team Lead, Large Existing Buildings, City of Vancouver

Micah leads a team within the Sustainability Group at the City of Vancouver that is developing carbon reduction policies, regulations, and support programs for existing commercial and multifamily buildings. During his 10 years at the City, Micah led the development of the first GHG limits for existing buildings in Canada, developed the Zero Emission Building Retrofit Strategy, launched multiple support programs for multifamily buildings, and helped launch the Energize Vancouver initiative. Previously, as a consultant, Micah assisted local governments around the world with planning and implementation of climate change mitigation strategies. Micah holds a Master’s degree in Energy and Resources from the University of California, Berkeley.

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Hosts

Darla Simpson, BCRA Program Manager, ZEIC

Jennifer Davis, BOMA BC, Decarb Accelerator Program Director