BOMA BEST v 3.0: What’s New To learn more about BOMA BEST® visit the BOMA Canada website at www.bomacanada.ca
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ith more than 5,000 buildings obtaining a certification or recertification since its inception in 2005, BOMA BEST is Canada’s largest environmental assessment and certification program for existing buildings. It is a unique, voluntary program designed by industry for industry; it provides owners and managers with a consistent framework for assessing the environmental performance and management of existing buildings of all sizes. BOMA BEST® 3.0 replaced BOMA BEST Version 2 completely in 2017 and the new version represents a vastly improved and more robust software platform. It stayed true to its core objective, to facilitate the continuous improvement of building operation and maintenance and it provides a consistent framework for owners, managers and building operators to critically assess ten (10) key areas of environmental performance and management. BOMA BEST® continues to rely on its foundation of BEST Practices representing minimum requirements for all buildings, regardless of level achieved. Sixteen BEST Practices are in place for Office, Enclosed Shopping Centre, and Universal buildings, while 14 BEST Practices are in place for Light Industrial or Open Air Retail buildings. BOMA BEST® 3.0 does represent a complete
renewal of the program as it existed in Version 2 which was released in January 2012. The program has evolved to include updated questions, categories, BEST Practices, as well as a new module called “Universal” for buildings that do not fit the definition of the other asset classes. Among many other upgrades, BOMA BEST® 3.0 will normalize energy consumption and improve energy and water benchmarking methodologies. BOMA BEST® 3.0’s new platform will be flexible, user-friendly and highly customizable to meet specific user needs. Beyond certifying your building with the BOMA BEST® assessment, new components also include: • Ongoing access so users can continuously update all metrics after certification; • Continuous utility benchmarking and monitoring; • Enhanced reporting capabilities; • Portfolio views for multiple buildings; and • Visible scores and scenario generation to project a proposed initiative’s impact on its BOMA BEST® score. The BOMA BEST® Sustainable Buildings 3.0 questionnaires and new online performance assess building performance and operations based on up to date industry best practices and expectations and now Energy and Water benchmarking will be calculated using the ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager tool.
In addition, the following features are distinctive to BOMA BEST® Sustainable Buildings 3.0: • Portfolio view of all buildings in the same account from anywhere in the country; • Overhaul of sections, flow of questions and BEST Practices; • Question order reflects a progressive increase in difficulty; • Gross floor area definition matches ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager • When is a building a single structure that can answer a single BOMA BEST® questionnaire. • Heavier emphasis on management practices – with greater detail provided in regards to what components must be included in the management programs. • Heavier emphasis on clarity in regards to verification requirements. • Emphasis on demonstration of implementation for management programs. • Energy and water benchmarking methodology is based on ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager Methodology: o Office building energy performance is based on the ENERGY STAR Score; water performance is based on the Water Use Intensity, as calculated by ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager. o However Light Industrial, Open Air Retail, Enclosed Shopping Centres and Universal buildings are not assessed for their energy or water performance. Instead, qualitative questions have been included to assess the steps taken by the building manager to collect the information needed to benchmark performance internally. • New scoring thresholds All Levels must attain BEST Practices AND score on the questionnaire o Certified: between 0 & 19% o Bronze: between 20 & 49% o Silver: between 50 & 79% o Gold: between 80 & 89% o Platinum: between 90 & 100%
See pages 75 to 83 for Industrial and Retail listings
• Many more questions on Waste as well as new Waste requirement as BEST Practices. • Questions on resiliency in the face of long and short term climate risks have been introduced, assessing whether a business continuity plan has been prepared for the building. • Introduction of Innovation questions – bonus points can be earned, above and beyond the regular score. BOMA Ottawa Commercial Space Directory 2017/2018 17