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BERS Program Governance

Ontoly (1483124 B.C. LTD., operating as Ontoly) runs the BERS Program and the Ontoly Registry day to day, including methodology authorship, project assessment, quantification and registry administration.

Organisational structure

The bodies and roles that govern and administer the BERS Program, and how they relate to each other.

BERS Program organisational chartOntoly, the Programme Administrator, is accountable to the independent BERS Governance Board. Ontoly contracts accredited, independent Validation and Verification Bodies, and the Scientific Advisory Board reviews methodologies. Programme operations are led by Ashley Sarauer, Founder and CEO, with Elyse Lindgren (Senior BERS Program Advisor), Adam Doran (Senior Software Engineer), Laura Castellani (Senior Frontend UI Designer) and Maddie Mackenzie (Marketing Lead). Ashley Sarauer and Elyse Lindgren act as Certification Decision-Makers, and certification decisions can be appealed to the Governance Board.APPEALSACCOUNTABLE TOBERS Governance BoardIndependent oversight · AppealsOntolyProgramme AdministratorValidation &Verification BodiesAccredited · IndependentScientific AdvisoryBoardMethodology reviewProgramme operationsAshley SarauerFounder & CEOElyse LindgrenSenior BERS ProgramAdvisorAdam DoranSenior Software EngineerLaura CastellaniSenior Frontend UIDesignerMaddie MackenzieMarketing LeadReports toIndependent: contracted, advisory or appealCertification Decision-Maker

Roles and responsibilities

Who holds each role in the BERS Program, what they’re responsible for, and who they report to.

Body or roleHeld byResponsibilitiesReports to / authority
Ontoly (Programme Administrator)1483124 B.C. LTD., operating as OntolyDay-to-day administration of the BERS Program and the Ontoly Registry (BERS Standard Section 2.1.5)Accountable to the BERS Governance Board
Certification Decision-MakerNamed for each project on the Ontoly RegistryGrants or refuses Validated status, approves BERU issuance, and suspends or cancels projects or BERUs (BERS Standard Section 2.1.4)Ontoly; decisions may be appealed to the BERS Governance Board (Section 5.3)
Programme operationsOntoly staffQuantification and additionality assessment, methodology drafting, Registry administrationOntoly
BERS Governance BoardMembers published on ontoly.orgStrategic oversight; approval of major updates to the Standard; final authority on appealsIndependent of Ontoly management (Sections 2.3 and 6)
Scientific Advisory BoardMembers published on ontoly.orgTechnical review of BERS Methodologies; Formal ObjectionsSeparate from the BERS Governance Board (Section 7)
Validation and Verification BodiesAccredited third partiesIndependent validation and verification of projectsContracted by Ontoly; independent of projects (BERS Standard Section 2.1.3)

Source: BERS Governance Board: Composition, Roles and Responsibilities, Version 1.4, Section 1.5. Section numbers without a document name refer to that document. See all BERS Program documents

Certification Decision-Maker

The Certification Decision-Maker takes certification decisions on BERS projects. One is named for each project on the Ontoly Registry, and they grant or refuse Validated status, approve BERU issuance, and suspend or cancel projects or BERUs (BERS Standard Section 2.1.4).

Certification decisions are part of Ontoly’s day-to-day administration of the BERS Program, not a Governance Board responsibility. They may be appealed to the BERS Governance Board.

BERS Independent Governance Board

Jamie Gray-Donald, PhD

Independent Governance Board

Jamie is President of Recursive Advisors and one of Canada's most experienced real estate sustainability leaders. As SVP Sustainability & EHS at QuadReal and previously VP Sustainability at Bentall Kennedy, his work helped attract over $1.25B in new investment mandates.

Matt Strand

Independent Governance Board

Matt brings 20+ years in decarbonization for commercial real estate. He leads commercial energy efficiency programs at BC Hydro, authored BOMA BC's Decarbonization Planning Guide, and previously drove sustainability initiatives across QuadReal's $70B portfolio.

Michael Pohlod

Independent Governance Board

Michael has spent 15+ years in energy markets — from climate policy and emissions reporting across N. America to developing and operating energy storage and demand response assets at Voltus, including 200+ MWh of transactions across major wholesale markets.

BERS Scientific Advisory Board

Riley Beise, P.Eng., BEMP

BERS Scientific Advisory Member

Riley is a Building Performance Engineer at Focal Engineering, specializing in whole-building energy modelling and performance simulation. His expertise in translating building data into verified performance outcomes anchors the technical rigor behind BERS quantification.

Mohammad Fakoor, PhD, CEA, P.Eng.

BERS Scientific Advisory Member

Mohammad is the technical lead of the Building Performance Team at RJC Engineers, where his work spans energy modelling, airtightness testing, and life cycle carbon analysis across residential, commercial, and industrial buildings. As a published author and lecturer, he advances the field through both practice and research.

Menush Akbari

BERS Scientific Advisory Member

Menush is a Professional Engineer, specializing in building energy modelling for code compliance, monitoring building energy use, and providing energy efficiency advice on all building system details such as envelope, mechanical, and electrical details.

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