Get Sust! Issue 28

Canadian university saves cash and carbon through refurb

The University of British Columbia (UBC), Canada, is part way through an ambitious programme to refurbish ten of its major teaching facilities, some of which date back to the 1920s.

The University has created a special financing model to pay for infrastructure upgrades, under which the cost of providing every third campus building will be free. The ten buildings targeted by its UBC Renew scheme would have cost C$209 million to build new, but renewing them will cost C$120 million. On top of that, the initiative will extend the life of these ten buildings by 40 years - a significant saving on natural resources and energy.

Refurbishment of the newly opened Buchanan D Block, for instance, cost C$7.2 million for new finishes, reconfigured spaces, double-glazed, energy-efficient windows and new heating, ventilation and audio-visual systems. All the UBC Renew projects are aiming for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) silver certification or better.

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Further details are at www.publicaffairs.ubc.ca/media/releases/2007/mr-07-041.html.