North Saanich Joins Award-Winning Climate Action Program for Commercial Buildings
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(North Saanich, BC, November 14, 2025) – The District of North Saanich officially announced that it is joining the Greater Victoria 2030 District and its hub of high-performance buildings. This growing network includes nearly five million square feet of space committed to achieving aggressive reductions in energy use and emissions.
“Our 2030 District launched in 2021 along the highway corridor in Saanich and Victoria. We expanded into Central Saanich last year and are thrilled to now expand into North Saanich. Participating in the 2030 District means commercial properties will be ahead of the curve—ready for upcoming regulations and making their buildings climate resilient,” said Cora Hallsworth, Director of Greater Victoria 2030 District.
“The District of North Saanich has a strong commitment to climate and is currently undertaking a climate mitigation and adaptation plan which will require action across all sectors. Participating in the Greater Victoria 2030 District presents an important opportunity to support climate action amongst local businesses and commercial buildings in our growing peninsula municipality” said North Saanich Mayor Peter Jones.
Hosted by the Building Owners and Managers Association of British Columbia (BOMA BC), the Greater Victoria 2030 District supports commercial buildings as they accelerate climate action. Participating property managers gain access to group learning, technical support, and pooled procurement, all aimed at overcoming barriers to green and resilient building innovation. Collectively they are “future-proofing” their buildings by making them more resilient to climate change.
The good news is that even low- and no-cost energy-efficiency, clean-technology and climate-friendly retrofits can make a big difference and also save a property money. A recent BOMA report showed that low hanging fruit measures could reduce annual operating costs by 25¢-60¢ per square foot. In the Greater Victoria 2030 District, returns on investments by participants are demonstrating even greater performance across all property types and classes, with new case studies being produced each year.
Commercial properties located within the boundaries of the Greater Victoria 2030 District (North Saanich, Central Saanich, Saanich and Victoria) can join the 2030 District for free. To pledge a commercial building, property managers share two years of energy consumption data and make a commitment to District targets. Performance disclosure is optional.
2030 District buildings are automatically enrolled in Building Benchmark BC, and make great candidates for BOMA Best certifications.
Building Benchmark BC provides data insights to property and energy managers, and provides annual performance report cards including dashboards comparing year-over-year and against similar peer buildings.
BOMA Best certification provides many benefits, including a competitive edge in the lease market.
Shape Properties’ Uptown was one of the first participants in the 2030 District and recently won a BOMA BEST Prestige Award for their impressive results.
“Over the past five years, occupancy at the property has risen dramatically with [new tenants opening up, including restaurants],” says Scott Schira, Uptown’s Operations Manager. “At the same time, through our commitment and attention to sustainability, we’ve managed to continually reduce our energy and carbon intensity, water consumption, and waste generation. Being a part of the Greater Victoria 2030 District has given us access to critical support that helped us get to where we are today.”
Find out more: https://2030districts.org/greater-victoria/
Media Inquiries:
Greater Victoria 2030 District:
Cora Hallsworth, Director:
t: 250-580-7423, e: corahallsworth@2030districts.org
BOMA BC:
Damian Stathonikos, President:
t: 604-684-3916 x.224, e: dstathonikos@boma.bc.ca
About 2030 Districts Network:
The vision of the 2030 Districts Network is to establish a North America-wide network of thriving high performance building districts and cities, uniting communities to catalyze transformation in the built environment and the role it plays in mitigating and adapting to climate change. Each District commits to meeting 50% reductions in energy, water and transportation related emissions as established by Architecture 2030 in its 2030 Challenge for Planning.
The Greater Victoria 2030 District is one of twenty-six such 2030 Districts across North America, and the second in Canada following Toronto. It is a unique public-private partnership that showcases we can do more together to combat climate change.
Contact info@2030districts.org or visit the 2030 Districts Network website at www.2030districts.org
About BOMA BC
The Building Owners and Managers Association of BC (BOMA) represents the commercial property and facility management (CFPM) industry in British Columbia, and is the host sponsor of the Greater Victoria 2030 District. Founded in 1911, BOMA is a leader in helping transform the commercial buildings industry towards energy efficiency and environmental responsibility in a voluntary and pragmatic manner. This 2030 District initiative is one element of BOMA BC’s efforts contributing to the ambitious goals identified in the Provincial Clean Growth Strategy – CleanBC.
