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VANCOUVER – The Zero Emissions Innovation Centre (ZEIC) has launched the  (BCRA), a three-year, $20-million program aimed at helping upgrade commercial and residential buildings across British Columbia.

The BCRA will use funding from Natural Resources Canada, the Ronald S. Roadburg Foundation, Metro Vancouver, ZEIC and others to “provide hands-on guidance to the owners and managers of larger commercial and residential properties – including strata-owned, rental, non-market, and off-reserve Indigenous housing,” a release said.

“The climate is changing, and the buildings that we live, work, and play in need to change too. By timing cost-effective energy and climate upgrades with regular building renewals, property owners and managers can deliver healthier, more comfortable homes and workplaces while advancing climate action. It just makes sense,” ZEIC executive director Melina Scholefield said in the release.

The BCRA aims to deliver decarbonization plans for 500 large existing buildings over the next three years, the release said, with the program providing coaching at all stages of a retrofit project.

ZEIC is working with delivery partners responsible for specific program streams including the BC Non-Profit Housing Association, the Building Owners and Managers Association of British Columbia, the Condominium Home Owners Association of BC, LandlordBC and the Aboriginal Housing Management Association.

Advisory and research partners include BC Hydro, the City of Kamloops, City of Richmond, City of Surrey, City of Vancouver, City of Victoria, District of Saanich, Metro Vancouver and the University of Victoria’s Energy In Cities group.

More information about the program is available at .