Ontoly is opening a 30-day public consultation on the most recent versions of the Building Emissions Reduction Standard (BERS) Program: the BERS Standard Version 1.3 and the Existing Building Methodology Version 1.3 (Energy Efficiency and Fuel Switching for Buildings), together with the Weather Normalization Methodology Version 2.0. The consultation runs from November 4 to December 4, 2026.
The BERS Program mobilizes climate finance for the decarbonization of the existing building stock through a standardized carbon asset, the Building Emissions Reduction Unit (BERU). Each BERU represents one tonne of CO₂e reduced through a certified building retrofit. It is quantified from measured utility data and issued, tracked and retired on the Ontoly Registry.
These updates respond to comments from the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market (ICVCM) on Ontoly's application to have the BERS Program assessed against the Core Carbon Principles (CCPs). Ontoly's application has passed the ICVCM's completeness check and is now in full assessment under the CCP Assessment Framework, making Ontoly the first carbon registry built for buildings to reach this stage. The changes strengthen how certification decisions are made, open every project and new methodology to public comment, and simplify how measured savings are weather normalized.
What's Changed in BERS v1.3
A Simpler Approach to Weather Normalization
A notable change in this release is a simpler weather normalization process in the Existing Building Methodology and the Weather Normalization Methodology v2.0. The goal is the same: make sure a building is credited for its retrofit, not for a mild winter.
How to Comment
The consultation opens on Wednesday, November 4, 2026, and the deadline for submitting comments is Friday, December 4, 2026 at 11:59 p.m. Pacific Standard Time. Submit your comments here: [comment form link]. Ontoly will consider every comment and publish the comments received, with our responses, alongside the final documents.
Details
Consultation Period: November 4, 2026 – December 4, 2026
Documents for Comment: BERS Standard v1.3, Existing Building Methodology v1.3 and Weather Normalization Methodology v2.0, available on the BERS Program page. The supporting documents updated alongside them (BERS Governance Board terms and the Conflict of Interest, Wind-Down and Corrective Actions policies) are also open for comment.
How to Comment: Comments can be made here.
About the Consultation: Ontoly is running a 30-day public consultation to gather feedback on BERS v1.3 and the Existing Building Methodology v1.3 before they are finalized. The objective is to address comments from the ICVCM as part of its full assessment of the BERS Program, and to strengthen how Ontoly certifies emissions reductions from building retrofits. All comments received will be published with Ontoly's responses. Respondents may choose to remain anonymous; where anonymity is selected, Ontoly will remove names and affiliations but cannot filter identifying content within free-text responses. Comments must be submitted by December 4, 2026 (closing 11:59 p.m. Pacific Standard Time).
After the consultation closes, Ontoly will submit the final documents and a revision history explaining each change to the BERS Governance Board for approval.
