How STEP Works

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Saving on water costs and maintenance costs through retrofits, tenant engagement, staff training, and other conservation measures. Improving stormwater management on the property. Reinvesting water savings into building upgrades and tenant.

Participants

• Monitor your water usage and spending monthly

Performers

• Have a water audit or assessment (within the past 3 years)
• Engage and train staff on water conservation – including leak checks, and water maintenance
• Engage with residents about water conservation, including leak reporting
• Install faucet aerators in units
• Install low-flow showerheads in units
• Have ultra-low flow toilets in units
• Outdoors, switch to low water plantings and landscaping
• Outdoors, reduce or unhook your irrigation system
• Perform in the top 25% of the benchmark for annual water consumption

Leaders

• Keep improving water efficiency to get into the top 10% of the energy benchmark
• Collect rainwater using rain-barrels to use for irrigation or any outdoor washing
• Improve storm-water management on the property
• Have and use a savings redistribution plan to re-invest water savings into other building and community projects (and use resident input to help direct this re-investment)

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Saving on waste collection costs and lowering the building’s environmental impact by reducing the amount of waste generated and increasing re-use and recycling. Engaging residents and staff on the waste reduction journey and re-investing savings into the building.

Participants

• Monitor waste monthly, including monitoring contamination of your recycling and organics bins
• Conduct a waste assessment (within the last 3 years)
• Keep a clean, accessible recycling room or drop-off area with clear signage

Performers

• Have Operations & Maintenance practices, equipment and upgrades to enable increased waste diversion (e.g. upgrading or covering the recycling area, or making access easier)
• Train staff on waste reduction, diversion, sorting, contamination and resident engagement
• Refresh resident engagement and education about waste diversion, using signs and stickers, Welcome Package info, hosting an interactive lobby booth visit from Solid Waste Management Services, or other
• Support a tenant “3R Ambassador” or active residents group for waste & recycling
• Have an organic (green bin) collection for recycling food waste
• Have collections for other waste streams (e.g. Household Hazardous Waste, E-waste, and others like cooking oil, or clothing donations)
• Perform in the top 25% of the benchmark for annual waste generation

Leaders

• Continue improving waste diversion to get into the top 10% of the benchmark
• Have and use a savings redistribution plan to re-invest waste savings into other building and community projects (and use resident input to help direct this re-investment)
• Demonstrate leadership in waste reduction, for example a Sharing Shelf/Tool Library, a recycling incentive program for tenants, and more

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Working to make the apartment building and exterior area the safest possible, both physically and socially, for all residents and staff. Listening to resident feedback around sense of safety and security, being prepared for emergency situations and power outages, fostering an inclusive pro-social environment, making accessibility upgrades, and supporting vulnerable residents, all contribute to overall safety.

Participants

• Clearly post and distribute fire prevention information and fire evacuation plans to residents
• Keep a list of vulnerable or “needs assistance” residents easily accessible, shared with staff, and updated at least annually
• Identify ways to improve building safety with a CPTED or other type of safety audit (e.g. METRAC)

Performers

• Post and share a 24/7 building emergency contact for residents
• Have an emergency response plan (for weather events, disasters and power outages)
• Communicate with residents about emergency preparedness and response
• Install or designate a “Cool Room” or exterior cooling space (or promote a nearby option) for extreme heat situations
• Support vulnerable residents in building, for example, knowledge of agencies/community supports available to residents, connecting residents with
  local support services, and doing in-house checks
• Respond to resident safety concerns (and/or recommendations from CPTED/METRAC audits), for example, adding extra lighting, dealing with
  issues of discrimination in common areas, and more

Leaders

• Be ready for weather and power emergencies, with a generator that will allow for shelter in place for several days
• Broaden the accessibility of the building for all residents, for example making upgrades for residents with mobility challenges
• Become involved in safety in the broader community (for example, attend the Community Police Liaison Committees (CPLCs) at the local police division, promote community safety campaigns in your building)
• Include safety elements in your community ambassador or tenant rep training
• Involve property management staff in multi-disciplinary care teams for vulnerable residents receiving external supports

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Strengthening tenant relations and communications, preventing unforeseen maintenance costs, and improving building value, through good planning, maintenance, and tenant engagement.

Participants

• Keep an emergency contact list for all residents and update it at least annually
• Clearly post or distribute human rights
• Ensure Residents’ rights and responsibilities are posted, distributed and supported through lease and other documentation

Performers

• Provide a comprehensive Welcome Package at resident move-in including conservation information, safety preparedness, and local community
  information
• Ensure annual full building and unit inspections include focus on conservation, resident comfort, air quality, safety and accessibility
• At least annually, communicate building performance in energy, water and waste to residents to encourage conservation
• Have and train staff on an Integrated Pest Management program
• Have and follow an improvement and Capital Plan with a 5+ year horizon
• Have a preventative maintenance program (either in-house or 3rd party) for HVAC, plumbing, cleaning
• Respond to resident complaints within 24 hours to begin the resolution process

Leaders

• Have a green procurement program
• Train staff on green cleaning techniques and products, or look for this in your 3rd party cleaner
• Support a “Community Ambassador” or Tenant Representative role or team
• Conduct regular resident satisfaction surveys
• Participate in case studies and information sharing

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Strengthening tenant satisfaction and retention through improving quality of life for residents and the wider community. This can be through fostering a sense of community in the building, strengthening tenant communications and feedback, creating common spaces for tenant and community use, encouraging active and healthy living, strengthening opportunities for resident training and employment, and much more.

Participants

• Assess opportunities to improve amenities, common rooms, outdoor areas, and potential spaces for use by residents and local agencies
• Have at least one resident communications piece, for example a newsletter or a bulletin board (beyond posting about building operations)
• Have at least one easy way for residents to provide feedback (beyond maintenance requests – e.g. suggestion box, online portal, clearly posted staff numbers around building, and more)

Performers

• Enhance engagement with residents – for example through regular tenant/landlord meetings or regular surveys
• Make effort to identify language and translation needs in building and respond accordingly
• Host and/or fund inclusive resident events
• Provide weather protected exterior seating
• Install exterior bike racks for bicycle parking
• Support and promote other sustainable and active transportation initiatives (e.g. easily accessible transit information, promoting carpooling, or car-sharing opportunities on-site)
• Provide access for residents to information and services in the local community, for example through a brochure stand in a common area or allowing local service providers to do booths or door-to-door flyer drops
• Common space – Designate interior and/or exterior space for residents to use

Common space – Make upgrades to interior and/or exterior common areas (within the past 5 years)

Enlist the support of local community groups to provide programming for the resident community, for example, to attend on-site events, or to provide training or classes on-site

Leaders

• Install interior, secure bicycle parking
• Dedicate outdoor space for gardens and support tenant and community participation
• Support site-level commercial or community use of space initiatives (e.g. RAC zoning initiatives)
• Train and hire tenants for on-site employment (e.g. custodial, opportunities for youth tenants)
• Make investments (funding, resources, space, or other) to support improvements based on resident and community priorities
  • Examples: participating in healthy food pilots, participating in other City and partner programs or pilots, offering public Wi-Fi hotspots
• Provide permanent on-site space for community programs and services offered to tenants and the wider community