Benchmarking and energy audits

Jump into the legal memorandum prepared by Lidstone & Co.

Benchmarking

Benchmarking is the practice of measuring and tracking a building’s energy performance over time and comparing it to similar properties. Local governments across British Columbia are increasingly interested in implementing benchmarking and reporting requirements for subsets of the building stock as an initial step toward enabling energy retrofits and broader climate action.

Whether required by law or adopted voluntarily, benchmarking measures a building’s actual performance over time, relative to itself and to other similar buildings. It is distinct from energy code compliance, which is based on modelled simulations; however, benchmarking data can inform future compliance evaluations and help prioritize retrofit opportunities.

Many BC local governments have begun exploring benchmarking, reporting, and disclosure as part of their decarbonization toolkit. Building Benchmark BC, a voluntary initiative led by multiple jurisdictions, has laid important groundwork for a future transition to mandatory reporting.

Local governments considering regulatory approaches should also take steps to build a supportive enabling environment, including stakeholder engagement, data infrastructure, and legal clarity.

Energy audits

Energy audits are commonly used to understand how a building uses energy and to identify opportunities to improve efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. For local governments, requiring energy audits—particularly where a building has low performance—can be a way to gather information, support energy conservation objectives, and inform future action without directly regulating building construction. In BC, municipalities likely have authority to require energy audits for existing buildings through bylaw, provided the requirement is clearly tied to buildings and falls within established limits under the Community Charter and the Building Act.

Local governments may wish to ensure that energy audits occur not only as a general requirement, but within a specific period of time, particularly where timely information is needed to understand or improve building performance. Requiring audits within a defined window can support energy conservation and greenhouse gas reduction objectives while providing clarity to building owners about compliance expectations. In BC, municipalities likely have the authority to set time‑limited audit requirements by bylaw, provided those timelines are clearly established by council and not delegated to staff discretion.

Related Reading

For detailed guidance on program design, implementation, communication, enforcement, and evaluation, see the Step-By-Step Guide: Supporting Local Governments in British Columbia to Implement Energy Benchmarking.

Regulatory pathways

Require energy and emissions reporting through the Community Charter

Last update: Jun. 2026

Municipalities in British Columbia can likely require energy and emissions reporting—including home energy labelling—by enacting a bylaw under section 8(3)(l) of the Community Charter.

How it works

  • Section 8(3)(l) grants municipalities the authority to regulate matters in relation to buildings and other structures. However, this authority is constrained by section 53, which limits its use to purposes such as energy conservation, greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction, public health and safety, and protection of persons or property.
  • Energy and emissions reporting aligns with the permitted purposes of energy conservation and GHG reduction under section 53.
  • The Building Act also applies. Section 5(3) of the Building Act invalidates any local building requirement that:
    • overlaps with a requirement set by an existing building regulation; or
    • is designated as a restricted matter.
  • However, section 5(4) clarifies that these limitations do not apply to “unrestricted matters” as defined in regulation.
  • Energy and emissions reporting is not currently addressed by the BC Building Code or other building regulations and is not designated as a restricted matter. Even if it were, section 2.2 of the Building Act General Regulation designates energy conservation and GHG reduction as unrestricted matters.
  • As long as the reporting requirement does not impose new construction standards beyond those set out in the Step Code or modify a requirement or impose a requirement in addition to those in the Step Code, it would likely be considered valid.
  • This pathway applies only to municipalities and not to regional districts.
  • Municipalities can also use this pathway for home energy labelling.

Require energy audits through the Community Charter

Last update: Jun. 2026

Municipalities can likely require building owners to undertake energy audits for existing buildings by enacting a bylaw under section 8(3)(l) of the Community Charter. This section provides councils with broad authority to regulate and impose requirements in relation to buildings and other structures, including existing buildings, where the purpose aligns with energy conservation or greenhouse gas reduction.

Additionally, municipalities can likely require a building owner to complete this energy audit within a specified window of time. The key legal consideration is that the timeframe must be set out directly in the bylaw to avoid unlawful delegation of council authority.

Note: This authority applies only to municipalities; regional districts do not have a corresponding power to require energy audits by bylaw.

How it works

Local governments may regulate certain aspects of buildings:

  • Section 8(3)(l) of the Community Charter allows a council to regulate, prohibit, and impose requirements in relation to buildings and other structures.
  • Section 5 of the Building Act restricts local building requirements that are already subject to a building regulation or prescribed as restricted matters.

Energy audits are not subject to requirements in existing building regulations such as the BC Building Code and are not prescribed as a restricted matter.

  • Even if energy audits were considered in relation to building regulations, energy conservation and GHG reduction are classified as “unrestricted matters” under the Building Act General Regulation.
  • Unrestricted matters are subject to conditions that local requirements must not: require buildings to be constructed except in conformance with a Step Code level; or modify or add to Step Code requirements.
  • Energy auditing does not require different construction standards and does not modify or add to Energy Step Code requirements.

As a result, a municipality can likely enact such a bylaw, provided it is reasonable and does not govern building construction.

  • To demonstrate reasonableness, a municipality would likely need evidence such as consultation with affected building owners, occupiers, managers, and informed consultant or staff reports showing the bylaw is clearly related to buildings rather than the environment generally.

If the bylaw clearly outlines the timing requirements associated with the audit, the municipality can additionally require the audit to be completed within a defined timeframe.

  • Section 154 of the Community Charter allows councils to delegate certain powers, duties, and functions by bylaw.
  • However, section 154(2) expressly prohibits councils from delegating:
    • the making of a bylaw; or
    • powers or duties that must be exercised by bylaw.
  • Because the powers under section 8(3)(l) must be exercised by bylaw, council cannot delegate decisions about whether or when an energy audit must be completed.
  • As a result, the bylaw must clearly articulate any window of time for completing an energy audit and it must not leave this to staff determination.

 

 

Glossary Entry

Bylaws Under the Community Charter

The Community Charter gives municipalities the authority to regulate specific local matters by bylaw.

Part 2 of the Community Charter outlines the powers municipalities have to pass bylaws in defined areas, following a “spheres of jurisdiction” model. This means local governments can regulate, require, or prohibit certain activities—such as animal control or public health—within specific policy areas, or “spheres.”

Some of these areas are classified as spheres of concurrent authority under Section 9 of the Charter. This includes:

  • Section 8(3)(i) – public health
  • Section 8(3)(j) – protection of the natural environment

In these cases, municipalities must receive approval from the relevant provincial minister before adopting a bylaw—even if the bylaw also addresses issues in non-concurrent areas.

Glossary Entry

Bylaws Under the Community Charter

The Community Charter gives municipalities the authority to regulate specific local matters by bylaw.

Part 2 of the Community Charter outlines the powers municipalities have to pass bylaws in defined areas, following a “spheres of jurisdiction” model. This means local governments can regulate, require, or prohibit certain activities—such as animal control or public health—within specific policy areas, or “spheres.”

Some of these areas are classified as spheres of concurrent authority under Section 9 of the Charter. This includes:

  • Section 8(3)(i) – public health
  • Section 8(3)(j) – protection of the natural environment

In these cases, municipalities must receive approval from the relevant provincial minister before adopting a bylaw—even if the bylaw also addresses issues in non-concurrent areas.

Glossary Entry

Benchmarking and energy audits

Benchmarking

Benchmarking is the practice of measuring and tracking a building’s energy performance over time and comparing it to similar properties. Local governments across British Columbia are increasingly interested in implementing benchmarking and reporting requirements for subsets of the building stock as an initial step toward enabling energy retrofits and broader climate action.

Whether required by law or adopted voluntarily, benchmarking measures a building’s actual performance over time, relative to itself and to other similar buildings. It is distinct from energy code compliance, which is based on modelled simulations; however, benchmarking data can inform future compliance evaluations and help prioritize retrofit opportunities.

Many BC local governments have begun exploring benchmarking, reporting, and disclosure as part of their decarbonization toolkit. Building Benchmark BC, a voluntary initiative led by multiple jurisdictions, has laid important groundwork for a future transition to mandatory reporting.

Local governments considering regulatory approaches should also take steps to build a supportive enabling environment, including stakeholder engagement, data infrastructure, and legal clarity.

Energy audits

Energy audits are commonly used to understand how a building uses energy and to identify opportunities to improve efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. For local governments, requiring energy audits—particularly where a building has low performance—can be a way to gather information, support energy conservation objectives, and inform future action without directly regulating building construction. In BC, municipalities likely have authority to require energy audits for existing buildings through bylaw, provided the requirement is clearly tied to buildings and falls within established limits under the Community Charter and the Building Act.

Local governments may wish to ensure that energy audits occur not only as a general requirement, but within a specific period of time, particularly where timely information is needed to understand or improve building performance. Requiring audits within a defined window can support energy conservation and greenhouse gas reduction objectives while providing clarity to building owners about compliance expectations. In BC, municipalities likely have the authority to set time‑limited audit requirements by bylaw, provided those timelines are clearly established by council and not delegated to staff discretion.