Carbon Neutral Government
What is Carbon Neutral?
The Province of British Columbia has set targets for reducing provincial greenhouse gas emissions from 2007 levels by
33% by 2020 and 80% by 2050. In recognition that government is responsible for reducing the carbon pollution
generated by its operational activities, the Province has legislated that the entire public sector be carbon neutral by
reducing its greenhouse gas emissions to net-zero each year.
Under the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Targets Act, the Carbon Neutral Government Regulation requires all British
Columbia public sector organizations to measure and account for their energy use and emissions, pursue actions to
reduce their emissions, offset their measured emissions to a net-zero balance, and provide transparent and
comprehensive reporting on all of these responsibilities.
The legislative framework of Carbon Neutral Government encompasses all core provincial government ministries and
agencies, as well as Crown corporations, schools, universities, colleges, hospitals, and health affiliates. To meet Carbon
Neutral Government requirements, all public sector organizations measure energy use from buildings, fleets, and
paper annually. Core government ministries and agencies must also measure emissions from business travel.
Economic and environmental benefits
Carbon Neutral Government is supporting a shift in how public sector
organizations think about greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Taking
steps to develop smart and innovative projects that reduce emissions
not only benefits the environment, it also makes good business sense.
Increasing the energy efficiency of public sector operations is an
investment. Every decision that facility managers and capital planners
make needs to take operational costs into consideration and support
ways to reduce those costs. Energy reduction strategies translate into
immediate savings for B.C.’s public sector organizations and provide a
measure of protection against rising energy prices in the future.
Through Carbon Neutral Government, the Province is demonstrating
viable clean energy and technologies, increasing the demand for skilled
and experienced workers, and supporting improvements to the
environmental design and planning of buildings. These actions
contribute to the overall comfort and health of the two million British
Columbians who work, learn in or visit government buildings each day.
B.C. Public Sector GHG Emissions
2014 Emissions by Source
Paper
2%
Travel
1%
Fleet
20%
Buildings
77%
2014 Emissions by Sector
Core
Post- Government
Secondary
9%
Crown
19%
Agencies
19%
School
Health
Districts
Authorities
24%
29%
The Carbon Neutral Government program is a four step process:
1. Measure greenhouse gas emissions
All public sector organizations must gather accurate energy consumption data for their buildings, vehicles and
maintenance equipment (e.g. forklifts, boats, chainsaws, etc.), and paper use. This process involves each organization
making an inventory of the assets (e.g. buildings) that it owns or leases and identifying the types of energy and fuels that
are used (e.g. electricity, natural gas, steam, diesel, gasoline, etc.) for heating/cooling, lighting, appliances, equipment and
vehicles. The inventory also includes the types of paper used. Core government ministries and agencies must also measure
emissions associated with business travel. By identifying exactly where and how energy is used, organizations can better
prioritize energy management projects and related expenditures across their asset base.
Public sector organizations are geographically dispersed throughout the province and range in size from a single office to a
multi-faceted entity with multiple buildings and functions across an entire region (e.g. a health authority operating a
number of hospitals). Measuring emissions may therefore be a relatively straightforward process or it may be a complex
and comprehensive undertaking, involving: developing an accurate understanding of the different types of energy used;
tracking changes in the ownership, leasing and sub-leasing arrangements for facilities and fleets; and recording the
changes to insourcing and outsourcing of activities.
Once an organization has collected its energy consumption data, the data are entered into a provincial online software tool
that converts the energy use into carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e), the standard unit of measurement for greenhouse gas
emissions. The software makes this calculation using methodology developed and adopted by the Province.
To support the provision of standardized measurement and reporting, the Province produces the Best Practices
Methodology for Quantifying Greenhouse Gas Emissions. Informed by established international protocols and standards,
and updated annually, this document provides a rigorous, robust and current approach for quantifying greenhouse gas
emissions.
Managing emissions helps manage energy and costs
B.C. is beginning to bend the GHG emissions curve
downward. Moving forward, our focus will be to support
public sector organizations in managing their carbon
footprint, and realizing emission reductions that also reduce
energy and operating costs.
The public sector spends in excess of $400 million each year
on energy costs and for every 1% improvement in energy
efficiency, it can save over $4 million in energy costs per year.
These savings can be re-invested in continued energy
reductions or public services such as education and health.
Energy Efficiency Projects
More than 80% of the costs associated with a
building over its lifetime are operational costs,
including heating/cooling, lighting and running
equipment. Good upfront planning and design
results in significant long-term savings.
• MEASURE • REDUCE • OFFSET • REPORT •
2
2. Take action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions
It is a regulatory requirement for public sector organizations to take action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions resulting
from their operations. Public sector organizations in British Columbia have made and continue to make numerous
changes to reduce their carbon footprint and save money.
These changes include:
 Improving energy efficiency, for example by updating heating/cooling systems and
optimizing energy management strategies
 Switching to lower emission fuels or zero emission energy sources, including biomass,
solar, geo-exchange energy and electric vehicles
 Adopting LEED Gold certification for new buildings
 Using online telepresence technology to reduce the need for official travel
As of 2015, the Carbon Neutral Capital Program budget provides $14.5 million dollars in annual funding for school
districts, post-secondary institutions, and health authorities to fund energy efficiency projects. This funding is equal to, or
greater than, the total amount of money that these public sector organizations pay each year to purchase greenhouse
gas emission offsets.
3. Offset emissions in B.C. through emission reduction projects
While the B.C. public sector is actively reducing energy use, it is not yet possible to get to zero greenhouse gas
emissions. Therefore, in order to achieve net-zero emissions, every public sector organization must offset its emissions
by investing in high quality emission reduction projects that either reduce greenhouse gas production or remove
greenhouse gases from the atmosphere. One purchased “offset” – currently priced at $25.00 – represents one metric
tonne less of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e). This sets a price on carbon to incent emission reduction efforts.
View the portfolio of B.C. offset
projects supporting Carbon
Neutral Government here.
The Climate Action Secretariat’s Climate Investment Branch is responsible for investing in B.C. offset projects that
reduce emissions. These innovative projects provide economic opportunities and are making clean technology and
practices a reality. To ensure real emission reductions, B.C.’s offsets undergo two independent audits by accredited
professionals in meeting the stringent requirements of B.C.’s Emission Offsets Regulation. Existing projects are diverse in
nature and range, from community landfill projects that capture and convert energy to heat homes to large
sequestration projects that protect forests.
• MEASURE • REDUCE • OFFSET • REPORT •
3
4. Report on climate action progress
All public sector organizations are required by regulation to produce an annual Carbon Neutral Action Report. These
public reports provide a statement of an organization’s greenhouse gas emissions, a list of actions taken to reduce
emissions, and the units of offsets purchased to become carbon neutral. The reports may also summarize sustainability
initiatives and other “green” activities implemented by the organization. Details of these initiatives and activities are
collected and shared across the public sector so that they can be adopted by other organizations to reduce their own
carbon footprints.
Information and data are rolled up, analyzed and compared with previous years to provide government with a clear
picture of its current greenhouse gas emissions and the progress that is being made in reducing those emissions over
time.
To enable meaningful year-to-year comparisons of B.C.’s provincial public sector emissions, buildings data are normalized
for climate variability based on the average temperature for a 30-year period. Buildings make up 77% of public sector
emissions in B.C. and these emissions change from year to year, largely due to differences in heating and cooling
requirements as a result of variability in outside temperature. “Weather normalization” enables a like-for-like comparison
of energy consumption and shows overall building performance and efficiency improvements over different periods of
time.
A rigorous process, that mirrors best practices in financial reporting, is in place to verify each public service organization’s
annual net-zero emissions balance. Senior staff must sign their organization’s report to confirm their confidence in its
accuracy. In addition, each year the Province selects a random representative sample of organizations to undergo an
independent third-party verification of their measurement practices and greenhouse gas emission reports. This
verification process ensures that reporting is rigorous and accurate.
To see what organizations across B.C. are doing, view the Carbon
Neutral Action Reports and provincial report highlights here.
B.C. Carbon Neutral Government
Website: Climate Action Secretariat
Email: Climateactionsecretariat@gov.bc.ca
• MEASURE • REDUCE • OFFSET • REPORT •
4