Sustainability Scholars Program

Launched in November 2020, the Renovate Smart Kamloops program (RSK) is one of Canada's newest community energy efficiency programs. The program provides home owner information on energy upgrades and incentives to advance comfort and reduce GHG emissions. This report analyzes data gathered through RSK's participant intake and feedback surveys, provides an overview of four successful energy retrofit programs and provides recommendations for how the RSK program might increase participation.

Partner: City of Kamloops
Keywords: green buildings, leadership & behaviour change

This report offers recommendations in support of an Electric Vehicle (EV) strategy for the City of Prince George. It addresses the unique demographic, climatic, and topographic characteristics of the City and provides suggestions on how to overcome barriers to EV adoption. The report also includes information on how to improve the availability of home, workplace, and public charging and how to generate awareness about EV technology.

Partner: City of Prince George
Keywords: transportation, Electric Vehicles, Northern British Columbia

Managed charging and energy storage can offer many benefits and electric vehicles are increasingly seen as viable energy storage assets. Using EV batteries to power homes via the vehicle-to-building model can provide economic benefits for EV owners and help offset the significant capital cost of EVs. The research looks to understand the technical contexts, EV storage capacity, and cost savings for owners based on projections for EV uptake in British Columbia.

Partner: Community Energy Association
Keywords: sustainable development & green economy, transportation

This project aims to develop articles on advancing deep emissions retrofits by analyzing four retrofit cases (three on Part 9 detached home retrofits, and a limited scope, domestic hot water retrofit of a Part 3 commercial building) all serving as educational material to encourage and supporte industry professionals and homeowners in British Columbia to opt for high performing equipment and design strategies to successfully meet the climate targets.

Partner: ZEBx
Keywords: green buildings, sustainable development & green economy

This project aims to identify and explore how other Indigenous Peer Network models engaged in capacity building work with Indigenous communities. This work is intended to support the Great Bear Initiative's Climate Action Network (CAN) to improve their network's functioning and provide lessons learned from other Indigenous Peer Networks to build off the current model of CAN. Includes suggestions for best practices based on interviews and an environmental scan.

Partner: Great Bear Initiative Society/Coastal First Nations
Keywords: Indigenous sovereignty, energy sovereignty, climate mitigation, climate adaptation, Indigenous Ways of Knowing

This project aims to address inequities in accessing resources, opportunities, benefits, and costs/burdens of climate action initiatives among social groups. To achieve this, local governments must prioritize frontline, marginalized and vulnerable communities in the "Big Moves" while driving down GHG emissions. Includes a climate equity framework explicit on social equity goals and objectives for local governments to adopt and integrate into ongoing climate action initiatives.

Partner: Community Energy Association
Keywords: social sustainability, sustainable development & green economy, transportation

This project considers the concentrations and distributions of nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions from gas boilers, heaters, and generators of buildings in Metro Vancouver - particularly the potential impact of emissions on neighbouring buildings - and focuses on how other jurisdictions address similar issues. Recommendations include reducing NOx emission limits for such technologies; implementing stack design policies; increasing data collection, modeling, and leveraging a city-planning approach to emissions; and electrifying heating appliances and buildings.

Partner: Metro Vancouver
Keywords: green buildings, sustainable development & green economy

This project aims to support the future implementation of a Regional Resilience Strategic Framework by Metro Vancouver. Specifically, the project provides a conceptual framework for defining and measuring resilience of the regional water and liquid waste systems. Additionally, the project further identifies potential key performance indicators (KPIs) to evaluate system resilience based on a systematic literature review and internal engagement with staff.

Partner: Metro Vancouver
Keywords: waste management & recycling, water, resilience

This report summarizes the lowest life cycle costs (LCC) and life cycle emissions (LCE) of powertrain technologies available for light, medium and heavy-duty vehicle classes and shows the emissions impacts of selecting the lowest LCC technologies, as well as the financial impacts of selecting the lowest LCE technologies. The LCC includes capital, interest, fuel, and environmental cost of GHG emissions over a ten-year life. LCE includes fuel, vehicle cycle, and vehicle operation.

Partner: Metro Vancouver
Keywords: supply chain management & green procurement, sustainable development & green economy, transportation