The Building Owners and Managers Association of Canada (BOMA Canada) has updated BOMA BESt program, now referred to as “BOMA BESt Version 2.” It includes revised building assessments for four types of commercial properties including Offices, Open Air Retail plazas, Shopping Centres, and Light Industrial buildings, as well as updated references to industry standards and other helpful resources, expanded explanations for program requirements, and a host of user-friendly features to facilitate a more efficient application process.
Some of the notable changes to the content of the questionnaires include updated energy and water performance benchmarking scales to better reflect industry performance; and additional questions on existing building commissioning, site enhancement, innovative practices and technologies, commuting, and effluent management.
Version 2 also includes the long-awaited assessment for Multi-Unit Residential Buildings.
Some of the enhanced user-friendly features that have been introduced into the Program include a recertification function for all previous BOMA BESt certified buildings and transparent scoring to enable applicants to see how many points each question is worth.
BOMA BESt Version 1 will continue to remain active for all applicants who are currently using this version to assess their buildings; however all new applications and recertifications will be required to use the newest version of the Program.
The French version of BOMA BESt Version 2 is scheduled to be released on February 16, 2012.