An owner-side practice for BC buildings.
Vandecarb exists because BC building owners need a single, accountable analytical and execution layer for the capital, energy, carbon, and regulatory decisions that shape an asset's operating cost and long-run value. The frame is capital, not climate. The work is owner-paid, owner-aligned, and free of contractor commissions. The name combines Vancouver and decarbonization, the practice's geographic and operational center of gravity. The work itself reaches across British Columbia.
James Spooner, GSC
Founder & Principal · Vandecarb
James Spooner is the founder of Vandecarb, a British Columbia advisory practice working owner-side for multi-residential strata corporations and commercial building owners. James is Gold Seal Certified (GSC).
Sixteen years of commercial-buildings experience across Telus (utilities, real estate, and operations), Johnson Controls (building technologies, mechanical and energy services), and Pinchin (retrofit advisory and capital project oversight). The work has spanned building technologies, mechanical and energy services, construction environments, and owner-facing growth roles. James previously served on the BOMA BC board of directors for seven years.
James founded Vandecarb to give building owners a clear, independent view of what needs to be measured, what needs to be prioritized, and what action actually improves asset performance. He works directly on every engagement. The firm carries no contractor commissions and holds no vendor product.
Based
British Columbia
Practice
Founder-led
Engagement model
Stage 1 fixed-fee · Stage 2 percentage of project, monthly with retainer option
Four working principles.
- 01
Evidence over advocacy
Recommendations are tied to measured data, validated models, and source documentation. The plan stands on its own footnotes.
- 02
Sequencing matters
The right measure at the wrong time is the wrong measure. Roadmaps are sequenced to capital cycles, equipment lifecycles, and incentive program windows.
- 03
One point of accountability
Owners should not translate between modelers, utilities, P.Eng firms, and contractors. Vandecarb owns the energy and capital story end-to-end and reports to one person. This is what Stage 2 OwnerSide Stewardship was built for.
- 04
Plain language, real numbers
Technical depth is non-negotiable. Jargon is. Reports read as if a non-engineer strata council member is the audience, because often they are.
British Columbia, deliberately.
BC's regulatory and capital landscape rewards practitioners who know the local context in detail. The provincial Zero Carbon Step Code trajectory, BC Hydro and FortisBC incentive program windows, federal Clean Tech Investment Tax Credit interactions, lender data requirements, and the City of Vancouver's evolving by-law landscape all interact in ways that determine what an owner actually pays for a given measure. Vandecarb stays narrow on geography on purpose.
Built for owners with capital decisions on the table.
If your asset is sitting on a stale technical study, weighing a retrofit, or facing a reserve fund decision that involves equipment, that is the conversation.