Dive Brief:
- BGO has completed Ontario’s first all-electric, net-zero carbon speculative industrial building in a business park that aims to provide tenants with superior energy efficient industrial buildings.
- The 234,061-square-foot industrial building’s all-electric HVAC system is 200% to 300% more efficient than standard systems. Additionally, the building is equipped with a 500-kilowatt rooftop solar array that negates 100% of annual greenhouse gas emissions, according to a Wednesday news release.
- The move-in ready building will provide a 59% reduction in annual operating costs in the first year, compared with traditional new construction, the firm noted. Its operationally net-zero carbon footprint will also immediately help new tenants with their sustainability goals, BGO Managing Partner Ross Strowger said in the release.
Dive Insight:
With a global shift toward renewable energy and demand for clean energy and electric vehicles expected to persist, ESG and sustainability initiatives are poised to become key long-term drivers of industrial real estate growth, according to JLL’s Q4 2023 industrial outlook.
The new building BGO has completed is one of four net-zero buildings at the Fifth Line Business Park in Milton, Ontario. All four facilities include enhanced building envelopes that use precast panel insulation to reduce air leakage as well as strengthened structural reinforcement in the roof to accommodate future rooftop solar panels and increased electrical capacity to support a transition to all-electric HVAC systems, BGO said in the release.
The new all-electric facility will prevent 2,151 tons of CO2 from entering the atmosphere in the first 10 years, BGO said. Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada, which owns the business park and holds a majority stake in BGO, says the project is the latest important milestone in its efforts to achieve net-zero GHG emissions in its investments and operations by 2050.
“Greener, more energy-efficient buildings are highly sought after, and this project is a first-hand example of how Sun Life’s commitment to net zero is delivering real-world emissions reductions while meeting our investment objectives,” Randy Brown, chief investment officer at Sun Life, said in the release.
BGO noted that the building has achieved Canada Green Building Council’s Zero Carbon Building Design certification, and is also targeting the CGBC’s Zero Carbon Building Performance certification.
