Oliver Woods Community Centre was recognized as being one of Nanaimo's most eco-friendly facilities. (Chelsea Cavanagh/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By Chelsea Cavanagh

GOING GREEN

Reduced emissions in Nanaimo facilities highlighted by latest benchmark rankings

Feb 13, 2023 | 10:24 AM

NANAIMO — Four local facilities are leading the way for lowered greenhouse gas emissions according to a recent report from Building Benchmark BC (BBBC).

The latest edition of the BBBC rankings showed Nanaimo’s Oliver Woods Community Centre, the Nanaimo Art Gallery, Police Operations, and the Service and Resource building were operating more environmentally efficiently than other buildings of their size.

Mayor Leonard Krog said the record helps the City monitor their progress and keep them accountable in becoming a more sustainable community.

“Nanaimo has long been ahead of the game in sustainability and this report shows the forethought and careful planning of previous leaderships that have gone into making our facilities more efficient and less dependent on fossil fuels.”

The four facilities were all recognized for their use of low carbon energy sources such as hydro-generated electricity.

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Both Oliver Woods Community Centre and the Service and Resource building were built with high-efficiency electric heat-pumps.

Twenty-one of Nanaimo’s facilities are now being monitored by the BBBC Program.

In 2019, City Council introduced new community-wide emission reduction targets set to between 50 per cent and 58 per cent below 2010 levels by 2030, with more ambitious targets by 2050.

The BBBC report provides benchmarks for the public and private sector to track effectiveness of green design and climate change solutions. Over 1,160 buildings are tracked by the BBBC province-wide

Nanaimo began voluntarily reporting their data in 2022.

Nanaimo Art Gallery, which opened in 1959, was ranked as the fourth lowest out of 13 similar building types. (Chelsea Cavanagh/NanaimoNewsNOW)

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