Three new residential buildings in UBC Vancouver’s Wesbrook neighbourhood - Verve, Theory and Symphony - have earned REAP Gold, under UBC’s Residential Environmental Assessment Program. This rating recognizes buildings that meet UBC’s high standards for energy efficiency, climate readiness, and environmental performance.
Theory and Symphony offer below market rental housing for UBC faculty and staff and their families and others working on campus, helping more people live closer to where they work and study.
More than 16,000 people currently live in UBC’s Vancouver campus neighbourhoods—a number set to grow as the university adds new housing to support local and regional population growth. To support this growth, UBC is prioritizing sustainable development that reduces environmental impacts and advances a resilient, low‑carbon future. Through the Campus Vision 2050 planning process, the community clearly voiced support for climate‑forward development, including designing new buildings and retrofitting existing ones to withstand climate change impacts.
What is REAP?
Since 2006, all new residential buildings in UBC neighbourhoods have been required to meet REAP standards, which go beyond the BC Building Code sustainability requirements. REAP helps ensure new housing supports UBC’s long‑term climate goals.
The latest update to REAP (REAP 4.0) strengthens these requirements to better respond to climate change and evolving best practices in building design and construction. Key updates include:
- Adopting the BC Zero Carbon Step Code’s Zero Carbon target, which will reduce operational emissions in new buildings by more than 95%
- Guidelines for reducing energy used for cooling
- Requiring 10% embodied carbon reduction, making UBC the first jurisdiction in BC to adopt a mandatory embodied carbon target
- Designing for wildfire resilience
- Aligning with UBC’s Integrated Rainwater Management Plan, which plans for future climate
- Enhancing soil quality and volume to support long-term plant health
“With REAP 4.0, UBC is leading by example in British Columbia. By making embodied carbon reductions a standard requirement, we’re recognizing that climate action involves not just how buildings operate, but how they are designed and built—setting a new benchmark for low‑carbon, climate resilientcommunities.”
- John Madden, Director, Sustainability and Engineering, Campus and Community Planning, UBC
Sustainability in action
Verve, Theory and Symphony demonstrate how REAP principles translate into real-world benefits for residents and the environment. Examples include:
- Design to meet Step 3 of BC Energy Step Code, which means the building is about 40% more efficient than a 2018 base BC Building Code building
- More than 85% of construction waste diverted from landfill
- Over 50% of concrete materials sourced and manufactured within 200 km of the site, reducing transportation emissions
- Infrastructure for bike‑share programs, supporting sustainable transportation
- EV‑ready underground parking, with wiring for Level 2 charging in about half of all stalls
- Energy-efficient heating connected to UBC’s Neighbourhood District Energy System
- High‑performance walls, roofs and windows that significantly improve energy efficiency
- Programmable thermostats for better comfort and energy control
- Energy efficient cooling designed to meet future climate conditions
- Low‑flow fixtures to reduce indoor water use
- Landscaping designed with native and climate adapted plants
- Dedicated recycling and compost facilities to support waste reduction
As development continues across UBC’s Vancouver campus neighbourhoods, REAP plays a critical role in ensuring new housing supports climate action, resident well‑being, and the long‑term resilience of the campus and its communities.