The government procurement of office space is typically on a semi-gross basis, which means they pay a defined rent that includes a number of operating costs. Included in those operating costs is a defined amount for energy. And it's indexed. It increases every year by the amount of the index. If I change equipment in a building, I'm inclined to change the equipment such that the energy cost remains the same. If it goes higher, I eat it; if it goes lower, they benefit.
I'm incentivized under the terms of a gross lease arrangement to keep those energy costs the same because it's a defined amount in the lease. They get the benefit; if I over-invest and produce a saving, they get it. I get no recovery of my investment in that benefit to the crown and to the country.
Under a normal net lease arrangement with the private sector, I would go to the tenants in a building and say, “Look, I have an opportunity to reduce energy costs by 50¢ a square foot. It's going to cost me some extra money. Of that 50¢ a square foot, I need 40¢ to recover; I'll give you 10¢ back. The alternative is we can remain as we are with no change.” So there's a small benefit to them. I get a recovery of my additional cost over a period, typically, of between 15 and 20 years. That's the way it would work in the private sector.
We have approached PWGSC on a couple of occasions and said this is the right thing, and they said yes, but the policy says we can't.