To responsibly steward the rapid growth and development of this community, UBC’s Okanagan Campus has placed sustainability at the core of all our planning processes and strategic directions. To date, the campus has grown by 54% in square meters since 2007 and will triple its size from 0.5 million square feet to 1.5 million square feet by the end of the campus build out.
While such rapid growth has increased absolute building carbon emissions by 24.7%, greater efficiencies have been achieved. With a 54% increase in square meters from 2007-2010, the total carbon emissions per square meter has been reduced by 19.1% as compared to 2007 values. Increased efficiency is largely due to the energy efficient design and operation of all new academic buildings and residences on campus, and reductions in natural gas consumption as a result of geothermal heating and cooling which commenced in 2006. The campus has also received a number of awards as a testament to its smart, integrated sustainable building design.