Financing for climate-friendly building upgrades.

In British Columbia, using fossil gas for space heating and hot water produces 16 times more emissions than electricity.

So, when the owners of a four-storey apartment building in Duncan needed to make some upgrades, they knew choosing climate-friendly solutions would make a big impact. Taking the 1970s building from “really rough” to retrofitted meant a complete overhaul, including upgrading to an electric hot water heater, replacing the windows and insulation, and installing heat pumps.

It paid off. After renovations, the building achieved an impressive 91.3 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and 40 per cent energy savings – with financing help from Vancity’s new Commercial Retrofit Financing program.

The Commercial Retrofit Financing pilot is a new offer to support commercial property owners in undertaking deep energy retrofits to make buildings more efficient and resilient. To qualify for the program, planned upgrades must reduce GHG emissions by a minimum of 30 per cent. Non-profit-owned buildings are also eligible and can combine it with Vancity’s Non-Profit Retrofit Grant program.

“Retrofits can be complicated, and we really want to make this as accessible and low-barrier as possible – even if they’re starting small,” says Senior Climate Business Consultant Emily Pearson.

However, most projects will likely be able to achieve a 70 to 90 per cent reduction if they’re converting from fossil gas to electric – the most effective way to reduce a building’s GHG emissions in our region. “If you combine that with smaller upgrades like better windows and insulation, achieving significant reduction is very doable,” Emily explains.

Although our current economic environment is making it challenging for many business owners to invest in retrofit projects, the program aims to make financing more accessible through alternative terms, including longer amortization periods, preferred pricing, and lower debt-to-service ratio requirements.

“With climate change, we know we’re going to continue experiencing extreme heat events,” adds Emily. “It’s more important than ever to have clean and cool indoor air for people to live and work safely.”

But improving a building’s energy performance isn’t just good for people and the planet – it’s also good for business. Along with lowering a building’s carbon footprint and increasing resiliency to climate impacts like extreme heat, green retrofits can make buildings more affordable to operate, ready for future regulations, and more attractive to tenants.