SUSTAINABLE BUILDINGS
Asset Classes
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Offices
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- Not applicable
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Enclosed Shopping Centres
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- Not applicable
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Open Air Retail
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- Not applicable
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- Not applicable
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Light Industrial
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- Not applicable
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Multi-Unit Residential Buildings
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- Not applicable
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- Not applicable
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Health Care Facilities
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- Not applicable
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Universal
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- Not applicable
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Focus Area
Topic
Baseline Practices
Question #
Question
Applicability
All asset classes
Owner/landlord occupied building
Tenant occupied building – all systems managed by the owner/landlord
Answer & Scoring
- Yes
- N/A – tenant manages water systems but does not have access to water bills
0/0
Requirements
The water assessment report must contain the following elements:
- Analysis of water consumption through monthly utility bill analysis and benchmarking. For benchmarking purposes, utility bills must cover a minimum of 12 months of continuous data
- Assessment and list of current performance of water-consuming equipment.
- Prioritized list of proposed water conserving measures (WCM’s) to enable greater water efficiency
- Provision of estimates of financial savings the building owner will realize as a result of investing in WCMs and the simple payback period
For buildings located in regions where monthly or annual water bills are not issued, provide calculations. All assumptions should be stated; including but not limited to: number of occupants, occupancy schedule, frequency of use, duration of time etc.
Users may wish to install whole-building meters or submeters for the future to avoid the need for recalculation at recertification.
Documentation
- Walkthrough Water Assessment Report and if applicable, calculations
OR
- W1.0a – Water Assessment Template and if applicable, calculations
OR
- Documentation demonstrating that no systems are under the building owner/landlord’s control (e.g. lease agreement)
Suggested Lead
In house: Facility Maintenance/Project Manager/Building Manager
Third-party: Engineering consultants
Value
- Understand a building’s environmental impact through water use data analysis
- Perform an entry-level walkthrough water assessment to define a building’s baseline water usage through utility analysis
- Identify ways to reduce water consumption through low-cost water conservation measures (WCMs)
- This assessment can be performed in-house using the BOMA BEST Template provided in the How-to Manual or by a qualified third-party
- The question is applicable to spaces both inside and outside of the building
- Engage a qualified third-party professional to provide more detailed recommendations to improve building performance, save on operational costs, and reduce a building’s overall environmental impacts
RELATED Question:
Description
References
Adapted BB 3.0 Question
Best Practice 5 — Has a water assessment been conducted in the past five years?