As noted in previous newsletters, the Government launched the Independent Review of CleanBC last May, which included an assessment of the step codes. UDI participated in the consultation and responded to the Panel with a July 17th letter – raising concerns about the implementation of the Energy Step Code (ESC) and Zero Carbon Step Code (ZCSC).  

Last month, UDI also issued a statement recommending a pause to the implementation of the step codes, and have contacted the ministers of Energy & Climate Solutions and Housing & Municipal Affairs about the recommendations, which are: 

• Maintain Part 3 buildings at Step 2 and Part 9 buildings at Step 3 under the ESC; 
• Limit the ZCSC to EL-2; and 
• Restrict municipalities from imposing requirements beyond the BC Building Code. 

On November 26th, the CleanBC Independent Review Panel’s Final Report, Rising to the Moment: Renewing CleanBC to Improve Affordability, Strengthen the Economy and Ensure a Cleaner Future was released. In it, the Panel makes the following recommendations regarding the step codes: 

1. “Amend the Energy Step Code to remove the net-zero energy-ready step (Step 5 for Part 9 and Step 4 for Part 3 buildings) given the scale of additional cost versus benefit. 
2. Amend the Zero Carbon Step Code to achieve Strong Performance (EL3) in 2027 and Zero Carbon Performance (EL4) in 2030 for climate zones 4 and 5, and Strong Performance (EL3) in climate zones 6-8 in 2030. 
3. Push the timeline for implementation of Step 4 (for Part 9 buildings) and Step 3 for (Part 3 buildings) requirements—which would achieve ~20% better building efficiency per the Energy Step Code—to 2030 in the base B.C. Building Code. 
4. For both Codes, continue to allow local governments to move faster, while encouraging regional coordination.” 

UDI is requesting meetings with the ministers Energy & Climate Solutions and Housing & Municipal Affairs to discuss UDI’s and the Panel’s recommendations regarding the step codes. We will also be raising the Panel’s recommendation to “Convene BC Hydro, FortisBC, local governments and developers to advance opportunities to reduce the costs and timelines for electrical service connections.” UDI noted issues with electrical connections in our July 17th letter. 

The Panel also made several other recommendations in their review of CleanBC, including: 

• Developing “…  requirements for 100% EV readiness for residential parking at new and substantially upgraded buildings …”; 
• Phasing-in “… a provincial requirement that permanently installed new air-conditioning systems in Part 9 buildings must be able to provide both low-carbon heating and cooling …;” 
• Developing/implementing “… the Highest Efficiency Equipment Standard (HEES) to require all new space and water heating equipment sold and installed in B.C. to be at least 100% efficient by the early 2030’s …,” which would mean“ … conventional gas and oil furnaces, boilers, and many commercial rooftop units would no longer be available;” and  
• Considering “… a Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) program for commercial buildings …,” as well as exploring “… other opportunities to enable affordable financing of residential clean energy and efficiency upgrades.” 

July 29, 2025

On July 17, UDI submitted a letter as part of the independent CleanBC review process underway. Feedback was focused on: 

• The need to review government policies and standards being imposed on new housing (i.e. they need to stop growing, but also be reduced)
• A moratorium on adding new green building requirements at Provincial and municipal levels (i.e. future plans to implement higher tiers of the step codes, EV requirements, embodied carbon standards, sustainability regulations) 

UDI’s letter submission can be viewed here. Written submissions were due by July 18, but the online survey is open until August 1.