Plan Implementation

Climate action requires a community approach. Collaboration is key to achieving the ambitious goals set out within this plan. NCAP will be implemented in close collaboration with the University Neighbourhoods Association (UNA), UBC Properties Trust and with involvement and engagement with the community. Implementation planning will be coordinated through regular working sessions between staff from UBC, the UNA and UBC Properties trust.

Successful implementation of NCAP actions will require coordination and shared commitment to resourcing the plan. UBC, the UNA and UBC Properties Trust will provide dedicated staff resources to support NCAP action implementation. UBC will coordinate collaborative efforts to obtain external funding from Federal, Provincial, utility and other programs to help fund retrofits, infrastructure upgrades and support research projects that progress NCAP objectives. In addition, UBC will engage with outside partners such as the City of Vancouver and BC Hydro to support policy development.

Actions will be implemented through a climate equity lens that looks to improve outcomes for all, while keeping an eye on who benefits and who bears the costs, and how we can better support vulnerable community members.

The commitments below on ongoing community dialogue, monitoring and reporting, and our commitment to learning and adapting our plan in response, all support equitable implementation.

Ongoing dialogue and engagement with the community will be critical to successful implementation. Ongoing collaboration with the UNA will be central to this work, especially through the UNA’s neighbourhood programming and communications channels. As actions are implemented, opportunities will be given to provide feedback on challenges and successes. This information will be used to refine our approach and inform additional actions, most especially under a climate equity lens.

NCAP will support and engage with community members through a variety of community focused actions, including community programming such as re-use and repair programs, communication resources, for example, to help residents navigate heat-pump retrofit process and incentives, and ongoing engagement through regular reporting on NCAP progress to the community.

Learning and research are integral to the successful implementation of NCAP, a unique opportunity provided by the association with the academic institution. Actions that identify opportunities for study have been identified for all scope areas. Coordination with UBC academics is supported by the UBC Sustainability Hub and the Campus and Community Planning SEEDS program, leveraging programs such as UBC’s Campus as a Living Lab (CLL) program which provides a collaborative framework for faculty, staff, students and partners to address sustainability challenges on campus. Research will help us gain knowledge on innovative building and nature-based design strategies and insights into behavior such as transportation or consumption choices. Collaborative funding opportunities will be sought to support research initiatives.

In addition, Musqueam staff and knowledge holders are advising and working with UBC on a variety of projects to transform the campus with a stronger Musqueam presence. We will look for ways to apply learnings from these projects to advance NCAP actions.

NCAP’s technical development was strongly supported by Technical Working Groups, which brought together staff, academics, and other subject-matter experts to develop and refine NCAP’s approach. Throughout implementation, we will look for opportunities to reconvene these groups to continue this process of sharing, learning and continued improvement.

Monitoring and reporting are key elements of implementation of NCAP. Progress on actions and community emissions will be tracked regularly and reported publicly. New construction will be required to meet operational energy and emission targets, and building performance will be tracked by a multifamily benchmarking program that was first in region when launched. Outcomes of implemented actions will be monitored (e.g., number of heat pump retrofits, quantity of e-waste collected), to gain insights into the effectiveness of programs and policies. To enhance learning, opportunities will be identified to monitor additional outcomes of implementation actions through research projects, in partnership with academics and students.

The NCAP will be reviewed and updated as necessary.