Investor Ready Energy Efficiency

IREE certification brings investor confidence 

Investor Ready Energy Efficiency™ (IREE) certification makes retrofits more attractive to building owners and investors by facilitating retrofit proposal reviews, reducing transaction costs, and streamlining projects. As a result, investors can be more confident in retrofit project outcomes.

All types of retrofit projects can benefit from completing IREE certification, from those limited to targeted measures through to complex whole-building retrofits.

IREE certification signals to investors that projects were developed by qualified professionals and meet the requirements of the Investor Confidence Project Protocols. The protocols provide a consistent roadmap for assessing risk and comparing retrofit project investment opportunities. Results are verified by an independent ICP Quality Assurance Assessor (QAA) like CAGBC. 

ICP QAAs ensure certified projects have followed industry best practices and standards for baselining, savings calculations, commissioning, operations and maintenance, as well as measurement and verification planning.

CAGBC worked with industry to pilot IREE certification and tailor the ICP Protocols to align with Canadian standards and industry best practices. We continue to review the ICP Protocols for adaptations that ensure the certification works for Canadian projects.

Funding opportunities

The Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change recognizes that retrofitting existing buildings will be critical to reach Canada’s targets for emissions reductions.

One way to accelerate reductions is through the Canada Infrastructure Bank’s Commercial Building Retrofits Initiative, which leverages $2 billion in funding for deep carbon retrofits in privately-owned commercial, industrial, and multi-unit residential buildings.

IREE certification provides a framework to support the initiative which is open to building owners or third-party retrofit aggregators. To qualify, the investment opportunity must be a minimum of $25 million and projects must achieve IREE certification.

Getting Started 

1. Get trained
​ ICP Project Developer team members are encouraged to take the Investor Ready Energy Efficiency Training. 

​2. Develop your project
Develop your energy efficiency project according to the ICP Protocols and take advantage of the tools available to support you. Your development team must include a project engineer with at least five years of relevant experience and either a licensed Professional Engineer under a nationally recognized authority, or an Association of Energy Engineers (AEE) Certified Energy Manager (CEM) (or an equivalent license). Relevant experience includes building energy auditing, commissioning, energy simulation, and measurement and verification. ​

During development consider:

• If you have several similar projects, you may benefit from a batch process.
• If you wish to receive Canada Infrastructure Bank funding before final costs are known, contact us about pursuing a split review. As Quality Assurance Assessor, CAGBC will provide a provisional review prior to the final investment package, followed by a final review once costs are established.
• If your project includes converting a building to a different space/occupancy type, contact us about how to establish an energy use baseline.

3. Register your project
Review registration and certification pricing, then contact CAGBC – we will walk you through the registration process.

4. Choose your ICP Quality Assurance Assessor
Select and contract with an approved Quality Assurance Assessor, an independent third-party that will assess your project for ICP protocol compliance. CAGBC is an experienced Quality Assurance Assessor and contracting can be integrated into the registration process.

5. Apply for review
Submit project documentation for review by the Quality Assurance Assessor. ​

6. Feedback
The Quality Assurance Assessor reviews documentation against the ICP Protocols and provides feedback. ​

7. Quality assessment and certification
Your Quality Assurance Assessor provides the certification recommendation to CAGBC. Once the project passes final quality assessment, CAGBC will confirm the project to be Investor Ready Energy Efficiency™ certified.  With certification, stakeholders can now make investment decisions with increased confidence. ​You will receive a formal certificate of recognition and can use the IREE Certification logo for that project. Learn how CAGBC can help promote your accomplishment.

8. Performance reporting
After your project is certified and implemented, energy performance is measured and verified according to ICP protocols. Project teams and owners can continue to track and report energy performance using the Yearly Performance Update form.

For additional information, visit the ICP website. If you need assistance at any time, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

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ICP Quality Assurance Assessors

While IREE certification is issued by CAGBC, ICP Quality Assurance Assessors (QAAs) are a critical part of the certification process. They provide the independent third-party verification required to ensure projects comply with ICP protocols. ICP QAAs need to be fully knowledgeable in the IREE certification requirements and must possess industry credentials and experience. QAAs are independent to the transaction to ensure that projects are objectively verified and meet ICP’s project development quality standards. You may choose to use CAGBC as your ICP QAA, or another organization.

ICP QAAs in Canada:

• Canada Green Building Council
• Glumac
• Hatch
• Introba
• Posterity Group
• Mott MacDonald
• Willdan Energy Solutions
• ARUP

A global list of QAAs is available here. To assist ICP QAAs with their work, ICP provides the ICP Project Development Specification, the ICP Quality Assurance Specification, and the ICP Quality Assurance Checklists.