We’re pleased to announce a new service to help CHF BC members measure and track energy use. Benchmarking may not sound that exciting, but it’s definitely something we’re thinking about and excited to promote. It fits well with our shared concern for environmental sustainability.

What does it mean? Benchmarking means measuring, tracking and comparing performance for things like electrical consumption and fuel use. It can even include other measures like water and waste. Benchmarking helps provide a picture for how your co-op is doing—both compared to itself over time, and against other, similar kinds of buildings.

Why benchmark your energy use? It

• helps your co-op meet its own promises to members on sustainability (e.g. compliance with internal sustainability policies);
• may offer support for action plans (i.e. when submitting reports to The Agency to meet FCHI-2 obligations);
• helps you set targets for energy use reductions;
• allows you to easily track recent energy use when automated; and,
• lets you see the impacts of policy changes, co-op initiatives, and building upgrades on energy use.

It can also help your co-op in long-term planning efforts, offer data to support funding applications, and assist you in other reporting for internal and external purposes.

CHF BC’s Planning & Renewal team wants to help co-ops connect. We are launching a program to do that using ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager. This a platform used across North America, and connected to the same group that offers efficiency ratings for things like consumer goods. In some ways it’s a larger scale version of those ratings you might see on a new fridge.

We help co-ops set up an account in Portfolio Manager and link utility accounts for automatic uploading of aggregated utility data. It’s easy — and FREE!

This autumn, we’re opening our program first to housing co-ops with apartment buildings. Over the coming months, we’ll expand that service. For more information on the program, eligibility criteria, and more, visit the Energy Benchmarking Program webpage.

Questions? Nick Dolbilov is our Benchmarking Program Contact. Email us at: sustainability@chf.bc.ca