Follow our progress

East to West

Halifax

HCi3 approved its first Direct Investment and continues to grow its project pipeline. Additionally, HCi3 participated in the first Steering Committee meeting and completed initial research on deep retrofit financing as part of the Atlantic Canada Deep Retrofit Accelerator initiative led by Recover.

Montreal

GMCF opened applications for its second call for projects in early summer to support innovative greenhouse gas reduction initiatives in Greater Montreal. GMCF also awarded a grant to NPO IVÉO to support its project for an educational tool to help municipal officials make informed decisions about decarbonization.

Ottawa

OCAF launched its Climate Equity Grant Program, developed to further their commitment to equity and Reconciliation in climate action. The program works to ensure that climate action is led by the communities it aims to serve – emphasizing their commitment towards communities that have historically been excluded from environmental dialogues.

Toronto

The EV Station Fund wrapped up and resulted in the installation of 848 chargers, including 712 in 48 multi-family buildings which were identified as a priority use case for the program. Construction is underway on TAF’s most ambitious retrofit to date—an affordable seniors’ apartment building pursuing Passive House certification and an 80% reduction in carbon emissions.

Calgary and Edmonton

The Retrofit Accelerator Program was launched in September. CIF also announced its investment in QEA Tech, who uses drones and AI to perform building envelope audits and help owners identify energy loss and structural issues.

Vancouver

In September, ZEIC’s launched the BC Retrofit Accelerator program which aims to kick-start climate and energy upgrades across hundreds of the province’s commercial and residential buildings. The program will provide hands-on guidance to owners and managers of larger commercial residential properties with the goal of supporting progress on local, regional and provincial climate targets.

East to West

Halifax

A new grant focusing on low-carbon housing, community renewables and shared transportation was launched in May. HCi3 co-organized and moderated two presentations at BuildGreen Atlantic 2024 on Net Zero Affordable Housing and Financing Energy Retrofits and helped plan and attended the Building to Zero Exchange Action Accelerator Roundtable. As well, a new HCi3 website was also launched.

Montreal

The GMCF funded Finance Montreal’s Sustainable Finance and Climate Action Learning Network for Quebec SMEs, which aimed to develop and promote Quebec’s financial services industry by bringing together influential players in the world of finance. The GMCF was also one of the Montreal Climate Summit partners.

Ottawa

OCAF launched its partnership with Audette, supported by RBC Foundation’s Tech for Nature, to create carbon reduction roadmaps. Also, OCAF supported the Future Homes Ottawa retrofit project, which completed six demonstration homes, achieving up to 93% emissions reductions and 80% GHG reductions. The success of these demonstration homes will be showcased to inspire and guide other Ottawa homeowners on implementing energy-efficient retrofits that reduce GHG emissions and enhance resiliency.

Toronto

TAF’s Retrofit Accelerator is working with Efficiency Capital to convert two Hamilton homes into ten fully electric units. As well, a case study of a Toronto heat pump retrofit highlighted the first use of a packaged terminal heat pump, emphasizing the importance of post-retrofit monitoring to maintain performance goals.

Calgary and Edmonton

The second advisory committee meeting for the City of Calgary Community of Practice, launched by ENBIX in December 2023, brought together key stakeholders to advance discussions on Emissions Neutral Buildings. The meeting highlighted strong collaboration with the city and engagement from local industry, with media coverage emphasizing Calgary’s leadership in sustainability.

Vancouver

ZEIC formally launched its new area of programming focused on economic
development and market transformation with the goal of supporting business and workers in navigating the energy transition to increase prosperity, inclusivity and competitiveness.
ZEIC also participated in the First Nations Housing and Infrastructure West Conference held in Richmond, BC, in April and May, and learned about key priorities in First Nations housing and development and where decarbonization goals intersect.

Discover quarterly highlights from our LC3 Centres.

Halifax

Funded by HCi3, the Building to Zero Exchange is an exciting new organization in Halifax/Kjipuktuk, NS. They seek to advance cross-sectoral collaboration and capacity building within the building industry with a focus on low carbon buildings. The Exchange is a two-time recipient of HCi3’s Accelerating to Zero grant.

Montreal

The GMCF participated in COP28 with the Canadian and Quebec IQI delegation, followed by a short brief on LinkedIn by its Executive Director, Vincent Moreau.

by its Executive Director, Vincent Moreau.

Ottawa

The Ottawa ACORN team has been engaging tenants in the climate and retrofit conversation in Ottawa, a project in which OCAF is the primary funder. They have identified over 60 buildings in Ottawa with energy efficiency problems and/or retrofit opportunities and are now working to establish Eco-Tenant groups in two of the buildings to engage their landlord and work to conduct retrofits to cut energy losses and costs.

Toronto

TAF’s EV Station Fund continues to support the rollout of EV charging infrastructure across the GTHA by providing rebates for up to 50% of project installation costs. Both the initial $2M funding tranche and second $3M tranche received from Natural Resources Canada have been fully allocated and will result in the installation of over 900 chargers by fall 2024.

Calgary and Edmonton

In December 2023, the Emissions-Neutral Buildings Information Exchange (ENBIX) was launched. ENBIX will provide access to resources to help industry make informed decisions on how to renovate and build emissions-neutral buildings in Alberta. By fostering knowledge-sharing around emissions-neutral building and retrofitting, ENBIX will help to reduce climate impacts, stimulate cleantech job opportunities, and support healthier indoor and outdoor environments.

Vancouver

ZEIC hosted an event called The City of Vancouver’s Embodied Carbon Guidelines. The City of Vancouver’s Building Bylaws (VBBL) include an embodied carbon requirement for large (Part 3) buildings. In this webinar, the City of Vancouver and Priopta presented the new VBBL requirement, as well as the guidance provided in the new Vancouver Embodied Carbon Guidelines.

Halifax

HCi3 worked on relationship building within the local investment ecosystem, federal, provincial and private bodies, and with entrepreneurs interested in cleantech and other climate-forward initiatives, including networks of investors supporting racialized and female founders.

Montreal

The GMCF continued its development of mobility-related initiatives, including discussions with potential partners to electrify the truck and bus fleets of NGOs.

Ottawa

OCAF is supporting City of Ottawa Building Operator Training, part of a series of workshops to train building operators to learn about potential for energy savings and net zero buildings (hosted by the Better Buildings Program, run by the City of Ottawa and EnviroCentre).

Toronto

Retrofit Accelerator is improving efficiency and housing – TAF’s Retrofit Accelerator helps connect building owners to the services and funding they need to get their projects started. TAF launched a new webpage for communities to learn more about the importance of this work and share at large.

Calgary and Edmonton

The Home Upgrades Program is now launched in Calgary and Edmonton to help homeowners struggling with their energy bills. To date in Calgary, ten homes have been retrofitted and ten more are under renovation. To date in Edmonton, 12 homes have been retrofitted and five more are under renovation. The most common upgrades are furnace replacement, air sealing and attic insulation.

Vancouver

Through its B2E Project Fund, ZEIC has funded a range of initiatives put forward by B2E working groups to help overcome barriers and enable electrification. A final call for project proposals was issued in September and project selection is in progress.

Halifax

HCi3 ran its second public call for grants, Accelerating to Zero. They awarded 14 grants totaling $500,000 including projects focused on renewable energy, the launch of a Building to Zero Exchange in Halifax, community education and engagement, and clean transportation, with many projects deeply integrating social equity.

On June 20, HCi3 hosted a funding announcement to celebrate a new contribution to HCi3 by the Province of Nova Scotia, and to publicly announce its 2023 grant awards, showcasing the growing size of HCi3’s network.

Montreal

The GMCF participated in the development of new models to service NGOs looking to integrate EVs in their medium-duty delivery fleets. Three business models were developed, with participants expressing an interest to move to pilot phase in 2024.

The GMCG continued its municipal engagement efforts as part of its work to decarbonize the Montreal Metropolitan Community, which is comprised of 83 municipalities, to evaluate the needs of municipalities which are not currently active with the GMCF. Staff met with officials from Laval, Granby, Varennes, and several other municipalities, including at events hosted by IVÉO, Propulsion Québec, CMM, and Partenariat Climat de Montreal.

Ottawa

OCAF is supporting the Ottawa ACORN chapter to meaningfully bring Ottawa low- and moderate-income renters into the climate and retrofit conversation. This initiative will educate and empower tenants to take climate action and engage their landlords on identification of building retrofit opportunities to improve living comfort and energy savings. This project is funded in part by the McConnell Foundation funding received this year.

OCAF’s Director of Programs and Partnerships, Tina Nicholson, moderated a panel at the 3rd annual Retrofit Canada conference held in Montreal, June 13-14. The panel of private sector leaders noted the importance around the demands for ESG, public reporting and disclosure and the need for a paradigm shift to retrofit all buildings by 2050. Panel members underscored the critical need to shift to life cycle cost analysis for identifying economically-viable retrofit opportunities and the challenges relating to ownership structure and split incentives between owner and tenants.

Toronto

TAF commissioned Dunsky Energy and Climate Advisors to conduct a study to assess the barriers, opportunities, and trade-offs to scaling up heat pump retrofits through aggregation and bulk procurement. A report and related blog post are live.

TAF published new resources and recommendations to support any municipalities in Canada applying for the federal Housing Accelerator Fund. Informed by TAF, LC3, the Tamarack Institute, the Clean Air Partnership, and City Building TMU, the document summarizes high level recommendations for how applicants in urban settings can integrate community climate action and engagement into their HAF proposals and action plans.

Calgary and Edmonton

The Home Upgrades Program is now launched in Calgary and Edmonton to help homeowners struggling with their energy bills. Alberta Ecotrust Foundation and Kambo Energy Group are now providing Alberta’s only program to provide lower income homeowners with education and home upgrades to help reduce their energy costs without repayment or financing, specifically to reduce energy poverty while concurrently reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

A new partnership with Efficiency Capital to deliver energy retrofits to Alberta’s multi-unit residential building (MURB) owners is now available in Calgary, Edmonton and across the province. This initiative will provide innovative financing and turnkey project management solutions to deliver deep energy retrofits in MURBs, with Alberta Ecotrust providing project origination and energy coaching services to assist building owners move from information to action as part of the emerging Retrofit Accelerator Services.

Vancouver

As part of Carbon Leadership Forum British Columbia, ZEIC launched a new initiative called The Exchange, a bi-monthly group discussion on all things embodied carbon. Focus is on open-ended, informal discussions about real-world, on-the-ground problems related to reducing embodied carbon in building construction projects by bringing together experts from the field on topics such as baseline definitions, circular economy, concrete, biogenic materials and Mechanical, Electrical and Plumbing (MEP) systems in buildings.

ZEIC hosted several events and published a number of reports, including:

• • June 6, 2023 – Paving the Way to Carbon Negative Building Materials: A Manufacturer’s Perspective

• • June 2023 Decarb Lunch: Bondi Energy is Coming to BC

• • May 2023 Decarb Lunch: The New Zero Carbon Step Code

• • April 2023 Tech Demo Series: A Thermal Battery for Domestic Hot Water

• • Case Study (May 2023): Scalable Decarbonization Opportunities in Commercial Building

• • Case Study (April 2023): Zero Carbon and Net Zero Energy-Ready in Northern BC

• • Resources: Make the Switch

• • Concrete: A Pragmatic Approach to Lowering Embodied Carbon

Halifax

Grants: HCi3 launched its 2023 grant program, Accelerating to Zero, in March 2023, with a focus on climate impact, community, equity and reconciliation. New language and metrics around equity and reconciliation were integrated, in line with LC3’s shared equity metric.

Staffing: HCi3 has engaged two advisors to support integration of reconciliation, trauma and racially-informed practice into their work. They are currently recruiting for an outreach and communications coordinator who will have a primary focus on building relationships and telling the stories of marginalized communities.

Application: HCi3 participated as a core team member in an application to NRCan’s Deep Retrofit Accelerate Initiative, with a team representing a strong cross-section of actors in HRM and Nova Scotia, including representation from Indigenous communities.

Montreal

Events: The Greater Montreal Climate Fund (GMCF) finalized the design workshops and conducted a consultation with 25 targeted participants, including a major Canadian bank, an energy services company (ESCO), multi-unit owners, the public housing agency, and other potential partners to gather their thoughts and potential roles and operation of the MultiRés building program, which was scheduled to be launched at the Montreal Climate Summit.

Grants: The GMCF participated as a stakeholder in Propulsion Québec’s Impulsion conference on TEI “Electrified Intelligent Transportation” paper and presentation. GMCF’s grant of $10,000 co-financed Propulsion’s guide for entrepreneurs in the TEI sector to more reliably raise financing.

Resource: The GMCF supported the launch of a GHG emissions calculator tool (in French only) for municipal decision makers to help municipalities review and establish projections and targets in their emissions-reductions budgets.

Grants: The GMCF launched a $200,000 open call for grant projects for projects of up to $50,000 each. Grants will be offered to groups meeting evaluation criteria focused on decarbonization in the Greater Montreal area, which include or support equity, inclusion and reconciliation activities.

Ottawa

Events: OCAF’s EV Experience initiative (led by EnviroCentre in partnership with OCAF, the Electric Vehicle Council of Ottawa (EVCO), Communauto, the City of Ottawa and Hydro Ottawa) led to 26 community events offering EV test drives in a stress-free, non-sales environment. Results include adding five EVs to the Communauto fleet in lower income areas of the city, over 2,400 EV rides from test drives and Communauto trips and 41,000 participants engaged in the program. OCAF is pleased to support Phase 2 of the program to expand the acceleration of electric mobility solutions (EVs, e-bikes, carsharing) through education, outreach, and sales-free test drives with a particular focus on serving under-served and equity-deserving communities across the Ottawa region.

Resources: OCAF has funded a new research and stakeholder engagement project in partnership with EnviroCentre by contracting active transportation company Alta Planning + Design to assess effective bikeshare practices and explore the potential of a successful future Bike Share program in Ottawa. You can learn more by reading their press release and or by listening to OCAF’s Executive Director interview on CBC radio.

Research: OCAF funded Envari to conduct a Wastewater Energy Transfer (WET) research study to assess the potential to heat and cool a new 600,000 ft2 residential development at the Library Parcel in Lebreton Flats, Ottawa. Learn about the report findings and the City’s approval to connect a WET to the City’s sewer system for the first time.

Programming: OCAF’s funding support to the Future Homes Ottawa (FHO) program is in Phase 2, which is geared to building local homeowner interest and net-zero ready retrofits through community and regional level marketing efforts in select Ottawa neighbourhoods. EnviroCentre’s retrofit planning services have been integral in the homeowner retrofit journey while also preparing Ottawa trades to carry out retrofits. They hosted a Trades Consortium event in February with over 60 attendees from 16 different trade sectors. An inspiring retrofit story from a homeowner who now owns a 100+ year old fully electric home can be found on YouTube. The FHO project also co-hosted with the City of Ottawa a “boot-camp” training for trades to gain nationally recognized Qualified Net-Zero accreditation, which was attended by over 50 participants from various trades.

Toronto

Resources: In support of the federal government’s proposed electric vehicle sales targets, TAF monetized the health impacts of Canada’s electric vehicle sales targets by analyzing Health Canada’s recent modeling of air quality benefits associated with transportation emission reductions. In a media release, TAF highlighted that the proposed sales targets could reduce air pollution and create at least $90 billion in health benefits and recommended they be maintained, and better yet, strengthened with interim targets.

Resources: Highlights of TAF’s commentary and thought-leadership on key urban climate issues include an urban climate perspective in a media release and a blog about impact investing opportunities in response to the 2023 federal budget; a blog telling the story of two recent municipal resolutions on gas plants which complements TAF’s advocacy for modernizing the electricity system; and a statement in support of Ontario’s new Clean Energy Credit Registry that could generate funds for clean energy options, such as developing hydroelectric, wind, and solar projects.

Resources: TAF published several retrofit case studies and research reports. The Stepwise apartment retrofit demonstrated the excellent performance of heat pumps with a 46% reduction in heating energy and emissions and another Toronto Community Housing retrofit project showed how heat pumps are a key solution for extreme heat indoors. Both used a new web-based format to enhance engagement and user experience. TAF heat pump aggregation/bulk procurement report shows some potential for purchase price savings, but the main value of bulk purchasing heat pumps comes from streamlining processes and addressing supply and workforce gaps.

Programming: Four projects supported by TAF’s Retrofit Accelerator have secured the City of Toronto’s Deep Retrofit Challenge (DRC) funding. TAF is now working with the City’s DRC team to integrate their requirements into their retrofit projects.

Calgary and Edmonton

Grants: Lightspark Engage platform is now available in Edmonton and Calgary, helping homeowners assess their home’s energy efficiency with digital home energy labels. Alberta Ecotrust launched the city-wide digital labelling system in March of 2023.

Grants: Carbon Capture for Nonprofits: Alberta Ecotrust Foundation, with its partner Cenovus and technology provider CleanO2, recently installed a CarbinX™ unit at the Excel Society building in Edmonton. This installation is the first of several installations being planned as part of Alberta Ecotrust’s Carbon Capture for Nonprofits program. This program helps nonprofits reduce their energy costs while concurrently reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the community. This occurred in March 2023.

Media: Local media came out in support.

Vancouver

Resources: Across programs areas, the Metro Vancouver Zero Emissions Innovation Centre (ZEIC) hosted 7 different events, published a dozen newsletter and a number of case studies and resources, including:

• • BC Building Electrification Roadmap – Scorecard

• • Getting Strata Approval for Heat Pump Installations

• • Orion: Real-Life Performance of a Step 4, Al Electric Building

Programming: They continued to grow membership of the Building to Electrification (B2E) Coalition and launched two new streams of the Near Zero Program, stream 2 focused on embodied emissions and stream 3 focused on domestic hot water fuel switching. The program combines implementation-specific research, experience and capacity building with incentives

Applications: ZEIC continued to work on the development of the retrofit accelerator scope, including the development of a proposal to NRCan as part of the Deep Retrofit Accelerator Initiative (DRAI) for large buildings. The project partners for ZEIC’s application include the BC Non-profit Housing Association, the Aboriginal Housing Management Association, the Building Owner’s and Manager’s Association of BC (BOMA BC), the Condominium Homeowner’s Association, Landlord BC and the University of Victoria with support from Metro Vancouver and City of Vancouver.

Grants: ZEIC committed 10K of the McConnell grant funding to Emily Carr University to support a portion of a Social Innovation Researcher- in-residence to work with ZEIC on equity and reconciliation matters related to the organization and its programs.

Staffing: ZEIC initiated recruitment for a new Director of Business Strategy and Impact Investment in March 2023. Their Manager of Grant, Programs and Engagement gave notice due to a relocation to the Netherlands. Recruitment will begin in the next quarter.

Vancouver

Programming: The Zero Emissions Innovation Centre (ZEIC) launched the NearZero research and incentive program focussing on reducing embodied emissions in new construction, as well as an Embodied Carbon Research Network.

Publications: ZEIC’s Building to Electrification coalition (B2E) published the BC Heat Pump Technology Attraction Strategy in collaboration with the Vancouver Economic Commission, which looks to identify availability, understand barriers and develop an action plan to increase the installation of heat pumps in the province. In addition, ZEIC developed two case studies that both feature developments in Pemberton, BC: a profile of the OSO development, winner of the provincial Net-Zero Energy Ready (NZER) Challenge (through the Zero Emissions Building Exchange, ZEBx) and a review of the energy performance of the Orion, Step 4 All-Electric building (through B2E).

Webinars and Podcasts: ZEIC released new episodes of the ZEBx Decarb Lunch Podcast on the OSO residential development and on University of British Columbia’s Evolve building, their latest ultra-energy efficient new construction. In addition, ZEIC’s Carbon Leadership Forum (CLF) hosted a webinar on the implications of biobased insulation materials.

Halifax

Programming: The Halifax Climate Investment, Impact and Innovation Centre (Hci3) launched their Direct Investing Program in November 2022 to accelerate measurable, equitable, meaningful and scalable climate solutions. The Direct Investing Program builds on the successes of HCi3’s existing grant program and will allocate between $500,000 and $1 million annually, investing a minimum of $100,000 per project.

Montreal

Programming: GMCF delivered the second design workshop of a three-part series for its building decarbonization program. In addition, GMCF met with three levels of government, Canadian banking institutions and other stakeholders to explore potential partnerships in the program.

Calgary & Edmonton

Programming: In December 2022, Alberta Ecotrust Foundation (AEF) convened potential partners in an effort to better understand and scope Alberta’s building retrofit sector, and to gauge interest in establishing a collaborative in preparation for Natural Resources Canada’s Deep Retrofit Accelerator Fund. There was broad support from participants to work together, which would enable the design and development of a Retrofit Accelerator in Alberta.

Ottawa

Outreach: The Ottawa Climate Action Fund (OCAF) launched Climate Action Ottawa, a communications campaign in partnership with the City of Ottawa. This campaign aims to help identify practical climate actions that Ottawans can take in their commutes and in their day-to-day living. The campaign covers topics of residential heat pumps, electric vehicles, 15-minute neighbourhoods and retrofitting of commercial buildings.

Events: OCAF partnered with the Ottawa Energy Collective to convene a workshop with leading experts in building technology, energy and finance aimed at advancing the business case for deep energy retrofits in multi-unit residential buildings (MURBs). Learnings and outcomes from the workshop were summarized in a joint blog post, which expands on the multiple benefits of conducting deep energy retrofits on MURBs.

Toronto

Inventory: Toronto Atmospheric Fund (TAF) published its latest Carbon Emissions Inventory for 2021, which shows emissions increasing by 4.5% across the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area relative to 2020 and little progress since 2015. This annual inventory offers a data-driven basis for key program and policy decisions on how TAF and other organizations are working to decarbonize across the GTHA.

Grants: TAF approved 27 projects through the EV Station Fund, which is a co-funded program of TAF and Natural Resource Canada’s Zero-emissions Vehicle Infrastructure Program. These funds will support the installation of 245 electric vehicle charging stations in the GTHA.
rships in the program.

Vancouver

Programming: ZEIC continues to be very active in developing and delivering programs, many in collaboration with other entities in the region, including: ZEBx, Building to Electrification (B2E) Coalition Secretariat, Zero Emissions Retrofit Accelerator, Embodied Carbon Centre of Excellence, Women4Climate Mentorship Program.

Granting: ZEIC issued its first grant using proceeds from their Endowment. The grant from ZEIC would specifically enable the participation of non-profit and municipal participants who could not otherwise participate due to funding availability and includes creation of knowledge products (report and video) and a post-event convening for participants and key regional stakeholders about lessons learned, insights and potential applicability within the Metro Vancouver region.

Zero Emissions Building Exchange (ZEBx): In the past quarter they published 2 newsletters and hosted 2 events.

Webinar: Getting Unstuck: homeowner and contractor perspectives on home electrification

Technology demonstration: In partnership with BC Institute of Technology: Innova HRA-I Plus

Article: On the Clean BC Net-Zero Energy-Ready Challenge

Annual Report: Published the ZEBx annual report, summarizing activities and impact for the prior year.

Women4Climate Mentorship Program: The mentor and mentee recruitment process was completed and 11 outstanding mentees working on climate action projects in the region were selected.

Halifax

Grant Announcement: HCi3 Fund has awarded grants to local organizations to implement projects that focus on greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions and demonstrate a commitment to equity and community benefits. This is the first round of grant funding provided by HCi3. The grants, totalling just over $500,000, have been awarded to 11 local projects. Details on the grant recipients and their projects can be found here.

Annual Report: 2021 was a foundational year for HCi3 with many successes in their first year of operations in the areas of governance, outreach, and action. Discover how HCi3 is supporting an equitable transition to a net-zero Halifax by reading the first Annual Report.

Strategic Planning: HCi3 brought together their Board of Directors, Investment Committee, and Advisory Group in April for a workshop to inform the creation of HCi3’s first strategic plan.

Climate & Equity: HCi3 in partnership with HRM’s climate team convened a meeting with diverse local stakeholders from community and government around climate change and equity in October. This meeting arose out of an identified need to create more connections within and attention to this space. HCi3 will continue to engage this group to support its work and also collaborate on the design of HCi3’s equity, climate and reconciliation initiatives for the coming year.

Montreal

Study: The Greater Montreal Climate Fund completed and reviewed a study together with Government of Québec on alternative financing and fund mechanisms for small – medium buildings in commercial and residential sectors, confirming its decisions around the financing structure of our buildings program.

Buildings program: Designed to replace fuel oil systems with heat pumps in energy-poor multi unit residential building (MURBs) – began formal program design with consultants and entered a search for pilot project sites. Program partner Efficiency Capital announced a partnership with Canada Infrastructure Bank which brings up to $50m to start projects.

Staffing: Vincent Moreau announced as the new Director General for GMCF, and preparation and transition from interim DG Ted Kantrowitz (Director, Programs) has begun.

Calgary & Edmonton

Symposium: Alberta Ecotrust Foundation participated in the Calgary Climate Symposium, offering three sessions: Equity and Climate, How a ZEBx model can assist in acheiving Calgary’s climate goals, and Achieving Emissions Neutral in the new and existing building sector. The last session included three other LC3 representatives from Vancouver, Toronto and Halifax. The LC3 Panel session had 130 participants.

Workshop: Alberta Ecotrust is partnering with All One Sky and Efficiency Capital to provide a financing workshop to the affordable/social housing sector across Alberta (focusing on Calgary and Edmonton). Building on the work completed by All One Sky, a grantee of Alberta Ecotrust, Efficiency Capital and Ecotrust intends to develop a bespoke financing product that can be offered to the affordable/social housing sector. The financing workshop is scheduled for early November and the work with Efficiency Capital is ongoing.

Toronto 

Guide: TAF published a Guide to Measurement & Verification of Heat Pump Retrofits to help make heat pump performance transparent to building owners and ensure systems are optimized and run as efficiently as possible.

Blog: TAF CEO Julia Langer actively advances a “multi-solving” message based on the belief that addressing climate, affordability, community benefits, equity and other ‘co-benefits’ in tandem is both possible and necessary.

Retrofit: Construction begins on a TAF retrofit project, the French Quarter condominium retrofit, which will be the first commercial implementation of Mitsubishi’s new air-to-water heat pump system in Canada. These heat pumps will play a key role in decarbonizing buildings where heating and cooling is distributed by water (like radiators).

EV: TAF’s EV Station Fund has approved $1,700,000 for 27 projects (245 charging stations) to install EV charging stations in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area. Four project installations have been completed to date.

Staffing: Kristian Knibutat joined TAF this summer as VP Impact Investing, bringing his extensive professional experience with PricewaterhouseCoopers over the course of 35 years, including as CFO and COO, to TAF’s impact investing work and leadership team.

Ottawa

Program: OCAF Celebrates the Launch of the Ottawa Community Housing Electric Vehicle Car Sharing Program. Ottawa is on the road to making electric vehicles available to communities that need them most with the launch of an electric vehicle carsharing program accessible to five Ottawa Community Housing Corporation (OCH) communities in the urban core located between Little Italy and Chinatown and puts electric cars within easy reach to about 500 residents. This program is made possible by funding from the Ottawa Community Foundation (OCF), the Ottawa Climate Action Fund (an initiative of OCF), and Hydro Ottawa in partnership with OCH and Communauto.

EV Car Sharing News: CBC News: Sharable car gives OCH tenants a new way to get around town. CBC All In A Day: New electric car share coming to Ottawa Community Housing development. CTV News: Ottawa Community Housing residents will have access to an electric car. Le Droit: Auto électrique partagée: une première au sein d’un complexe de logements abordables en Ontario

Staffing: The Ottawa Climate Action Fund (OCAF) recently hired Teagan Yaremchuk as Sr. Program Specialist. Teagan has a degree in Environmental Studies from Carlton University and has been working in the environmental non-profit sector focused on creating change from the ground up. Her work at OCAF will be geared to supporting granting and communications.

Blog post: Institutional Investors Dig into Detail on Deep Energy Retrofits for MURBs. Following a six month workshop series co-hosted by the Ottawa Climate Action Fund (OCAF), a project of the Ottawa Community Foundation, and the Ottawa Energy Collective (OEC), some of Ottawa’s leading institutional investors are taking a closer look at the prospects for deep energy retrofits in the city’s multi-unit residential buildings. An essential role for energy retrofits is to prepare existing buildings for a low-carbon future. Electrification and low-carbon technologies are leading the charge, triggering fast enough, deep enough change that we can only follow the wisdom of hockey great Wayne Gretzky: We must “skate to where the puck is going, not where it has been.”

Ottawa

Ottawa Climate Equity Initiative: After a year of listening, sharing, connecting, and communicating, the Ottawa Climate Equity Initiative is out with its final report! This project was funded in part by the Government of Canada and was led by the Ottawa Climate Action Fund (an initiative of the Ottawa Community Foundation) in partnership with Ecology Ottawa. The project built essential links between local groups engaged with the climate emergency and social equity organizations to foster connections outside traditional climate circles. The report highlights the tremendous work accomplished by our partners through this inter-sectoral collaboration.

Too often, the environmental movement feels closed off to racialized and low- income communities, or those facing disabilities or other forms of marginalization. This occurs despite the knowledge that these communities often face the worst impacts of the climate crisis. By creating spaces for open communication, “we’ve identified common areas of interest, like green jobs and affordable housing in walkable, 15-minute neighbourhoods,” says Steve Winkelman, executive director of OCAF. And we now know each other well enough to pick up the phone to share an idea, offer support, ask an (embarrassing) question, pursue opportunities and co-create success.” View the flipbook

OCAF Celebrates Launch of EV Experience: June 20th marked the launch of EnviroCentre’s EV Experience/Expérience VÉ a milestone on the road to decarbonizing transportation in Ottawa and an exciting opportunity for anyone who ever gets behind the wheel of a car. This electric vehicle promotion program aims to break down barriers to access and shift the perception of electric vehicles in Ottawa.

The Ottawa Climate Action Fund (OCAF), an initiative of the Ottawa Community Foundation (OCF), is proud to be a founding sponsor of the program. OCAF and OCF are pleased to co-fund EV Experience alongside Natural Resources Canada.

“This public-private-philanthropic-community collaboration delivers an EV Experience for all Ottawans—from renters to rural, regardless of income,” said OCAF Executive Director Steve Winkelman. “It will accelerate EV use in Ottawa and help make carsharing an even more practical option to reduce car ownership and per capita vehicle use.”

“Cars and trucks produce 42% of our city’s greenhouse gas emissions,” Winkelman said. “Switching to an electric vehicle makes sense, since 94% of Ontario’s electricity is emissions-free.”

But many Ottawans have questions—about what it’s like to drive an EV, how and when to charge them, and how to get through the day on a single charge.

“EV Experience arrives at just the moment when everyone is wondering what they’ll have to do to electrify their daily ride and avoid high gasoline prices,” Winkelman said. “With free test drives in neighbourhoods across the city, and five new EVs added to Communauto’s carsharing fleet, here’s a chance to find out.”

OCAF is honoured to support EnviroCente and key implementation partners — Communauto and EVCO, along with supporting partners – the City of Ottawa climate team, Hydro Ottawa and SmartNet Alliance. It is only through this type of cross-sector partnership that we can effectively address the climate emergency. Click here for details on EV Experience/Expérience VÉ.

Avoid, Shift, Improve: Sustainable Transport Expert explains how international best practices can accelerate low-carbon, resilient transportation in Ottawa: On June 23rd, the Ottawa Climate Action Fund (OCAF), an initiative of the Ottawa Community Foundation along with the German Embassy Ottawa, the Urban Forum and Vivre en Ville hosted a talk by Holger Dalkmann, CEO of Sustain 2030. The talk by Dalkmann, an architect of the influential Avoid-Shift-Improve concept shared best practices on how Ottawa can move faster toward a low-carbon, resilient transportation system by building on tried-and-true best practices from other countries. The A-S-I concept was inspired by the principles of sustainability with the objectives to achieve significant GHG emission reductions, reduced energy consumption, less congestion with more livable cities.

“Planning our cities to Avoid the need to drive, speeding up the Shift to transit, walking and biking and Improving access to electric vehicles is essential for cutting Ottawa’s carbon emissions and preparing for the impacts of climate change,” said OCAF Executive Director Steve Winkelman. “We can accelerate local climate action by learning from communities that are working in the same direction.”

Based in Berlin, Holger Dalkmann has over 25 years of experience working in the field of transport, cities, sustainability, and climate change. Founder and CEO of Sustain 2030 and former Director the World Resources Institute’s Sustainable Mobility program. Holger has worked with more than thirty countries on mobility, environment and climate change and has published over 100 articles including the influential Avoid-Shift-Improve concept.

Halifax

Grant Announcement: The Halifax Climate Investment, Innovation and Impact (HCi3) Fund has awarded grants to local organizations to implement projects that focus on greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions and demonstrate a commitment to equity and community benefits.

This is the first round of grant funding provided by HCi3. The program provides grants to innovative projects that seek to reduce GHG emissions in the Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM) in support of Halifax’s ambitions climate plan, HalifACT: Acting on Climate Together. The grants, totalling just over $500,000, have been awarded to 11 local projects. Grants are being awarded up to $50,000 available per project and covering up to 80% of total project costs. Details on the grant recipients and their projects can be found here.

First Annual Report: 2021 was a foundational year for HCi3 with many successes in their first year of operations in the areas of governance, outreach, and action. Read their first Annual Report and discover how they are supporting an equitable transition to a net-zero Halifax.

Montreal

New guide: Propulsion Québec released a (French) guide called “Transporteur +“, which aims to provide easy and direct access to resources in order to clarify the steps, issues, conditions and facilitating measures for a successful transition to electrification. The realization of the guide was made possible thanks to the financial support of three organizations, including the Greater Montreal Climate Fund.

The GMCF team was present at the #AmbitionTEI2030 event and were thrilled to hear of the strong signals on a clear roadmap for the electric and intelligent transportation industry cluster.

GMCF announces a new chapter: The Board of Directors announces the departure of the first Executive Director of GMCF, Marie-Claude Bourgie since the 17th of June. We are grateful for her two years of leadership and her dedication to the climate through her service and support, and we wish her well in her future endeavours.

Ted Kantrowitz has been named interim executive director while a search is conducted for the next leader of the Greater Montreal Climate Fund. Alain-Olivier Desbois, CFA, former Vice-Chair of the Board of Directors, continues to act as interim Chairman of the Board until the elections scheduled for this year.

Toronto

TAF kicks off most ambitious deep retrofit project yet with Toronto Community Housing: Residents of a low-rise Toronto Community Housing building have been rightfully concerned about leaking roofs and ongoing maintenance issues. Switching to electric heat pumps, envelope upgrades, and other deep retrofit measures will address all of this while reducing 85% carbon intensity and adding efficient cooling and comforts. TAF kicked off the retrofit project with partners and residents – check out the full story profiled by the Toronto Star and TAF’s announcement.

TAF is Hiring a Climate Policy Coordinator: This new role will support TAF by monitoring our activities across all levels of government in Canada, with focus on the GTHA. If you’re keen on coordinating and contributing to research, facilitating stakeholder engagement, and collaborating across TAF teams, details to apply here.

Alberta (Calgary & Edmonton)

Alberta Ecotrust would like to thank the City of Calgary and Enmax for each providing $150,000 to their Energy Poverty Reduction and Home Upgrades Program, bringing them closer to their total fundraising goal of $1.2 Million for the Calgary program.

They are excited to have launched their Direct Impact Investing webpage and are ready to receive potential investable opportunities that fit their direct investment criteria.

Montreal

The Greater Montreal Climate Fund (GMCF) closed two investments into specialized funds that will accelerate the decarbonization of the metropolitan region: Fondaction’s Circular Economy Fund and Windmill’s One Planet Living Fund. The GMCF believes in using its endowment as a driving force to encourage the scaling up of low carbon solutions.

GMCF’s Executive Director, Marie-Claude Bourgie presented the GMCF and the LC3 project in general on a panel at the 2022 Montreal Climate Summit.

Toronto

The Atmospheric Fund released a case study, a research report, a survey, and an interview:

• • Case study: Lessons from a Heat Pump Retrofit with CityHousing Hamilton

• • Research report: Fugitive Methane Guidelines

• • Survey: Results of our Toronto EV Charging Survey

• • Interview: How this small Ontario city is leading on public EV charging

Halifax

HCi3’s Grant Program: HCi3 has successfully launched their first round of grant funding. Projects are being evaluated and successful projects will be announced later this spring.

• • The program was launched in February 2022 with an Expression of Interest (EOI) and funding will be committed by end of May 2022.

• • 26 EOIs were received with a total ask of $1.3 million, 17 EOIs moved to the full application stage.

• • The program is centered around six challenge statements: deep energy retrofits, electric mobility, shared renewable energy, energy storage, and community-led ideas for climate action.

• • Grants are available up to $50,000 per project.

Clean Leadership Internship: HCi3 is pleased to share that they were successful in their application for an intern through Clean Foundation’s Clean Leadership Program and an intern will be joining HCi3 for 15-weeks over the summer. The focus of the internship will be to support research and analysis on climate financing opportunities and planning an event to bring stakeholders and climate finance experts together. The work will support a technical paper on Innovative Climate Financing.

Strategic Planning: HCi3 brought together their Board of Directors, Investment Committee, and Advisory Group in April for a workshop to inform the creation of HCi3’s first strategic plan. The strategic plan is being worked on now and will be launched in Summer 2022.

Ottawa

With the 2022 Ontario election just weeks away, CBC’s All in a Day show went to the streets of Ottawa to ask citizens how environmental issues would affect their vote. That segment was a preview for a panel discussion with two climate policy experts, OCAF Executive Director Steve Winkelman and Queen’s University adjunct professor Don Drummond. Winkelman emphasized that “the City of Ottawa needs 20,000 retrofits per year to meet climate targets, and half-a-million heat pumps. Those are jobs for plumbers and electricians.” He added that we already have most of the policy and technology solutions we need; what’s still missing is the policy momentum to achieve net-zero in the next two decades. “Can we afford to hit net-zero in two decades?” asked host Alan Neal. “We can’t afford not to,” Winkelman replied.

Alberta (Calgary & Edmonton)

Climate Innovation Grant Program: The Alberta Ecotrust’s Climate Innovation Fund received 46 expressions of interest. Expressions of interest (EOIs) are now closed. The EOIs will be reviewed, and successful applicants will be invited to complete a full application to receive funding in 2022/2023.

Since the Direct Investment Thesis and Criteria was developed and approved in the last quarter of 2021/2022 federal fiscal, Alberta Ecotrust has completed initial screenings on nine potential investments. Two of the opportunities that have passed the screen will be presented to the Investment Committee in May to seek approval to advance to deeper due diligence.

Alberta (Calgary & Edmonton)

The Alberta Ecotrust Foundation, with support from lead partner Cenovus Energy Inc., has collaborated with the technology provider, CleanO2, to launch Carbon Capture for Nonprofits. Read the blog post to learn more.

“We want your groundbreaking, innovative, and low-emissions projects.” They have started recruitment of projects suitable for the Climate Innovation Grant Program, learn more here.

They finalized a data sharing agreement with Calgary for Digital Home Labels.

They held two Executive Advisory Committee meetings (Calgary and Edmonton).

They continued fundraising efforts for their Energy Poverty Reduction Program.

Ottawa

OCAF is supporting the Future Homes Ottawa Project, a community collaboration, led by EnviroCentre and the Ottawa Energy Collective, to mobilize community engagement and participation in the kind of deep energy retrofits required to improve homes and transform neighbourhoods into low-emissions, resilient, climate-proofed communities of the future. This multi-phased initiative is supporting the City of Ottawa’s Better Homes Program. The project is now in Phase 2 which is geared to build local homeowner interest in net-zero and net-zero ready retrofits through community and regional level marketing efforts in additional Ottawa neighbourhoods while supporting homeowners in the customer journey to deep energy retrofits. In addition, goals of phase 2 of the project include preparing Ottawa trades to carry out mass retrofits; this phase will lay the groundwork for a scalable local retrofit industry model, as well as position Ottawa to take advantage of emerging supports for a national mass retrofits.

OCAF co-hosted a second workshop with the Ottawa Energy Collective on March 10 as part of a 6-month journey of connecting institutional investors with community financing opportunities to cut carbon emissions through deep retrofits of MURBs in Ottawa. The workshop built on a key identified topic from the November 2021 forum; the need to overcome the long-term payback and develop and advance a solid business case for deep retrofits of MURBs. This session focused on key discussions themes of what innovation, collaboration and financial structures are required to advance the long-term value of deep retrofits and the pathways to access the value given different priorities and perspectives of stakeholders.

OCAF’s Executive Director, Steve Winkelman, participated in a panel discussion hosted by The Energy Mix focused on the role that climate journalism can play in accelerating deep carbon reductions. The expert panel shared insights on how climate journalism can tell people-centred stories relevant to day-to-day concerns to overcome gaps in awareness, understanding and motivation for action. Steve noted that, “We need to keep it simple for the public: prevent and prepare (instead of mitigate and adapt). “There is still a shocking level of climate illiteracy. It’s wonderful to reuse your plastic bags, but buildings and transportation are ultimately the worst offenders. Again, simple messages: we need to electrify our vehicles and drive less.” Steve also emphasized the importance of (the humble) heat pump – one of the most essential and least-known climate technologies for decarbonizing buildings and enhancing resilience to extreme heat. The low-tech, unsung climate hero we all need – the Ottawa region alone needs 500,000 heat pumps over the next 25 years to meet their climate goals.

Alberta (Calgary & Edmonton)

Alberta Ecotrust hosted a workshop for Calgary stakeholders to explore a Green Economy Hub.

They hosted a joint workshop with TAF (Toronto Atmospheric Fund) to explore greenhouse gas impact assessment.

They finalized details for a 2022 Climate Innovation Grant Program which will launch on March 23rd.

They contracted Lightspark Technologies to create a platform that will provide digital energy labels to single family homes in Calgary and Edmonton.

Alberta Ecotrust launched their new website look. Take a look here.

Toronto

Mary Pickering (TAF’s VP of Strategy and Partnerships) wrote a blog post called Embracing the challenge of multisolving. Read it here.

Ottawa

The Ottawa Climate Equity Initiative, funded by Environment and Climate Change Canada and led by the Ottawa Climate Action Fund for the Ottawa Community Foundation in partnership with Ecology Ottawa hosted two workshops with climate and social equity leaders focused on developing collaborative action plans to advance equitable, low-carbon solutions and motivate environmentally conscious behaviour. One session focused on Housing, Transit and 15-minute Neighbourhoods and the second on Green Jobs & Green Economy.

Participants of each workshop presented on hot and emerging topics, discussed, and identified key areas for collaboration to support the development of collaborative action plans focused on reducing carbon emissions and enhancing social equity. These workshops have been central in bringing Ottawa leaders together to build understanding, identify common interests and foster partnerships.

Alberta (Calgary & Edmonton)

Alberta Ecotrust finalized a collaboration agreement with Kambo Energy for an Energy Poverty Reduction and Home Upgrades Program and continued work on identifying funding opportunities.

They completed their evaluation of the 2021 CIG Grant Program.

They sent out invitations for Calgary’s exploratory workshop at the Green Economy Hub.

Alberta Ecotrust announced the Digital Home Energy Labels pilot project. They were interviewed by CBC, Global News and a local radio station about the project.

Toronto

Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA). Applicants will receive technical and financial support, including up to a 50% contribution towards the costs of installation.

Transportation – primarily the gasoline and diesel used in vehicles — is the source of about 35% of the carbon emissions in the GTHA. Electrifying cars and trucks is a key pathway to reaching net zero emissions, but the lack of charging infrastructure is a barrier to EV adoption in the region. TAF’s EV Station Fund aims to serve the community equitably and will prioritize installation of chargers in underserved areas such as on-street parking, community properties, and multi-family residential buildings. Learn more here.

Ottawa

EV Test Drive Concierge Service: Reducing GHG emissions from the transportation sector is critical to achieving Ottawa’s climate targets and keeping our air clean. OCAF played a key role in the co-creation with EnviroCentre, the City of Ottawa and other local partners of the Electric Vehicle (EV) Test Drive Concierge Service. OCAF and the Ottawa Community Foundation are co-funders of the project which was awarded federal funding through Natural Resource Canada’s Zero-Emission Vehicle Awareness Initiative.

The EV Concierge Service is a “one-stop-shop” that will not only provide hands-on EV experience for a wide-range of Ottawans – from renters to rural – it is also designed to activate neighbour-to-neighbour communication that is essential for broader awareness and uptake of EVs. Ottawans can schedule an EV test drive (to-your-door service) accompanied by an EV expert that can answer key questions on EV operation, costs, incentives and benefits. This innovative public-private-philanthropic collaboration seeks to increase experience, awareness, understanding and uptake of EVs in Ottawa while reducing transportation GHG emissions.

Wastewater Energy Transfer Study: OCAF is supporting a project with the City of Ottawa to assess the potential for heat recovery from municipal wastewater to provide low-carbon heating to buildings in the urban core. The study is deploying sensors in eight sewer covers to monitor temperature and flow throughout the heating season to provide key data for decision makers and project developers. The project will not only help advance an innovative zero-carbon resource for heating buildings (Ottawa’s largest source of GHGs) it will also support the City’s densification goals which reduce GHGs from transportation.

Alberta (Calgary & Edmonton)

Alberta Ecotrust held the CIF Executive Advisory Committee meeting for Edmonton on December 1st.

Jessica Lajoie, one of Alberta Ecostrust’s CIF Program Specialists, participated the Calgary’s EcoHack-a-City which asked the question: How might we accelerate the retrofitting of high rise buildings in Calgary? The final presentation was delivered on December 8th.

They worked with Green Economy Canada to prepare materials and an invitee list for a workshop in February 2022.

They drafted a press release and held the kick-off meeting with the City of Edmonton staff to discuss data needs for the digital home energy labels (now released in January 2022).

They worked with an external funder for CleanO2 building level carbon capture units on expectations and outcomes.

They worked to finalize a collaboration agreement with Kambo Energy for Energy Poverty Reduction and Home Upgrades Program and continued work on identifying funding opportunities. They then signed a contribution agreement with the City of Edmonton for Energy Poverty Reduction and Home Upgrades Program

They worked with grantees to finalize funding agreements for the Climate Innovation Fund Grant Program.

Toronto

TAF published their Carbon Emissions Inventory for the GTHA. This report identifies the sources and amounts of carbon emissions in the GTHA. TAF relies on the inventory to inform their strategies and the direction and pace of work. Municipalities across the GTHA use this report to inform their own policies and programs. They include recommendations for policymakers and examples of effective success stories from across the GTHA.

“…The regional carbon emissions inventory for the Greater Toronto Hamilton Area includes two years of data (2019 and 2020) and provides the first look at emissions since the global pandemic. Consistent methodology, data sources, and time frames chart progress across the Region of Durham, Halton Region, City of Hamilton, Region of Peel, and City of Toronto. Five-years of data is showing a relatively flat line – emissions in the GTHA are now about 2.0% above 2015 emissions, notwithstanding the 2020 anomaly. The data reveals that the GTHA is not on track to reduce emissions in line with local or international 2030 climate commitments. Read the media release, the report summary, or download the full report.”

TAF also prepared for a big announcement for their new EV Charging funding program.

Alberta (Calgary & Edmonton)

Alberta Ecotrust joined the international and Canadian community of philanthropic organizations committed to act on climate change by becoming a signatory to the Canadian Philanthropy Commitment on Climate Change.

The Climate Innovation Fund’s Commercial Retrofit Accelerator program has nearly 60 buildings participating. Rapid digital audits are in the process of being conducted with results expected early in the new year.

The Climate Innovation Fund’s Executive Advisory Committees approved the CIF strategic plan and the 2022/2023 Annual Statement of Plans and Objectives setting direction for the LC3 Alberta centre’s activities for the next three years.

Ottawa

OCAF co-hosted a forum with the Ottawa Energy Collective Impact on November 25th that is part of a 6-month journey of connecting institutional investors with community financing opportunities to cut carbon emissions through deep retrofits of MURBs in Ottawa. The first workshop lay the groundwork by inviting leading doers and thinkers to review top barriers to generating bankable deep retrofit projects, consider potential aggregators needed to attract patient private capital and explore opportunities for blending and stacking finance. Frederic Bettez from the Canadian Infrastructure Bank was the keynote speaker providing insights on the Commercial Building Retrofits Initiative.

As part of the Ottawa Climate Equity Initiative, climate and social change participants co-created communications products to advance equitable, low-carbon solutions and motivate environmentally conscious behaviour. The following is an example of a co-created product from Ecology Ottawa and the Ottawa Local Immigration Partnership that builds an understanding of shared values and priorities among leaders in climate action and social inclusion on the importance of green jobs and new immigrants: video 1 and video 2.

OCAF’s Green Building Workforce Initiative in partnership with the Canada Green Building Council hosted it’s first roundtable on November 12th with participation from local building sector market actors to collaboratively discuss how to accelerate climate action through workforce capacity enhancement. The initial roundtable was an important first step that explored workforce collaboration models and identification of local market needs to accelerate the transition towards a green economy, creating green jobs and achieving Ottawa’s net-zero GHG emissions by 2050.

Alberta (Calgary & Edmonton)

Alberta Ecotrust hosted its annual Environmental Gathering online for October 27th. Over 80 people attended this gathering and the CIF team talked to stakeholders about its journey over the last year, updated on some strategic projects and partnerships, and engaged stakeholders to inform next steps.

Alberta Ecotrust was successful in securing funding from the Alberta Real Estate Foundation (AREF) to launch its residential energy labelling program in Calgary and Edmonton. Utilizing the Lightspark platform, and working closely with the Realtors, the intention is to provide all homes in Calgary and Edmonton with an energy label by the end of 2022. Training on interpreting the label as well as home energy efficiency 101 will be provided to the Realtors by our delivery partner SAIT. The label is just the beginning, the platform also provides customized retrofit roadmaps, a feature that will be explored as part of the project.

Alberta Ecotrust Foundation awarded 18 Alberta organizations with nearly $900,000 in grants for innovative projects to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Calgary and Edmonton through the Climate Innovation Fund grant program. Read the announcement here.

Alberta Ecotrust is launching its fundraising matching campaign in November and aims to raise $30,000 by the end of the year. Donate today!

Ottawa

OCAF’s Executive Director, Steve Winkelman, penned an op-ed for Corporate Knights on the role of urban land use in addressing the twin crises of climate and housing affordability. He proposes three steps that the federal government can take to increase the supply of low-carbon, affordable, location-efficient housing: Location, location, location.

Alberta (Calgary & Edmonton)

Alberta Ecotrust posts for its Investment Director.

Alberta Ecotrust moves its annual Environmental Gathering online for October 27th (register here). At this gathering the CIF team will talk to stakeholders about its journey over the last year, update on some strategic projects and partnerships, and engage stakeholders to inform next steps.

Partnering with Efficiency Canada, the Climate Innovation Fund develops a primer describing the important of achieving net zero in the new building stock as soon as possible including highlighting important work the City of Edmonton has done in consultation with the building industry on the cost of achieving various tiers of the model national building code. Watch for our Blog in October.

Montreal

The Greater Montreal Climate Fund (GMCF) is thrilled to announce the arrival of Ted Kantrowitz to the team, as the Director of Programs. Ted brings twenty years of experience in the fields of energy and policy, he will be instrumental in designing the center’s programs and developing technical partnerships.

Ottawa

The Ottawa Climate Action Fund (OCAF) is launching an Ottawa Green Building Workforce Initiative in partnership with the Canada Green Building Council. We will start with two roundtables engaging local workforce leaders from across the buildings sector to collaboratively accelerate climate action through workforce capacity enhancement. Workforce transformation requires a coordinated cross-sectoral approach from employers, educators and practitioners to work together to impact government policy, business practices and education. These initial workshops will focus on identifying local market needs and promising collaboration opportunities to transition towards a green economy, creating green jobs and achieving Ottawa’s goal of net-zero GHG emissions by 2050.

Alberta (Calgary & Edmonton)

Alberta Ecotrust’s Climate Innovation Fund Grant Program Expression of Interest intake closed on August 8. We received 35 applications with a total funding request of $1.85 million dollars. Successful applicants from this stage will be invited to submit a full application in early fall 2021.

City of Edmonton generously contributed $400,000 to the Climate Innovation Fund over the next two years to increase the annual grant funding allocation

On August 25, 2021, Alberta Ecotrust formally launched its Accelerating Retrofits in Commercial Buildings pilot project that employs rapid digital auditing to identify retrofit opportunities in 50 to 80 commercial buildings in Calgary and Edmonton. Alberta Ecotrust has engaged Audette to assist with this project with the intention of bundling the retrofit opportunities into financeable portfolios with a target of $25 million in year one. Geoff Carran, Director of Investment for Osgoode Properties (our first confirmed participant in the program) said, “Audette’s platform and Ecotrust’s climate leadership will drive actionable insights that will help meet Osgoode’s goals of reducing our carbon footprint in our residential properties,”

Ottawa

The Ottawa Climate Action Fund (OCAF) recently hired Tina Nicholson as Director of Partnerships and Programs. Tina brings deep private and public sector experience in energy efficiency and will be leading OCAF’s work on building efficiency and green buildings workforce development.

The centre also launched the Ottawa Climate Equity Initiative to enhance collaborative capacity among organizations and leaders in climate change and social inclusion. A program of the Ottawa Community Foundation and funded in part by Environment and Climate Change Canada, OCAF is leading the initiative alongside Ecology Ottawa to accelerate equitable and effective climate action in Ottawa.

Alberta (Calgary & Edmonton)

After a series of informational webinars, the Climate Innovation Fund Grant program’s Expression of Interest will open on July 1. Nearly 300 people attended the information webinars leading up to the EOI opening. Approximately $1 Million in funding will be made available to community organizations in Calgary and Edmonton that are working on socio-economic transformation programs relating to transportation, buildings, renewable energy, and decarbonization initiatives.

Through a partnership with RBC Tech for Nature Alberta Ecotrust has engaged and an innovative technology company, Audette, to assist with a rapid digital auditing process that will see 50 to 80 commercial buildings in Edmonton and Calgary identify retrofit opportunities and take steps to access, low cost, low carbon financing. The project’s formal kick-off is scheduled for early July.

Montreal

The Greater Montreal Climate Fund update for this month is the hiring of Sebastian Menthonnex as Investment Director, he brings to the team over 20 years of experience in financing structuring and corporate cofinancing of large-scale projects dedicated to economic development, renewable energies and reduction of carbon emissions.

Alberta (Calgary & Edmonton)

Join Alberta Ecotrust for their webinar series on their new Climate Innovation Fund (CIF) Grant Program.

This webinar series is an opportunity to learn about the program’s goals, including eligibility requirements and the application process. Each webinar will highlight the types of projects CIF will support in three focus areas, provide examples of project case studies to inspire applicants, identify potential project collaborators or partners, and ask and answer your questions.

Register today:

• • Webinar 2: Moving on Mobility (May 17 at 2 PM MST)

• • Webinar 3: Decarbonization & Renewable Energy  (June 16 at 10 AM MST)

The first webinar, Building Better & Retrofitting Wiser, took place on May 4. Watch the video to see what you’ve missed.

Ottawa

The Ottawa Climate Action Fund (OCAF) is taking steps to announce the launch of OCAF on May 14, 2021. This will include a panel discussion, an overview of OCAF’s approach to low carbon solutions in the Nation’s Capital, and more.

Click here to register.

Vancouver

The Metro Vancouver Zero Emission Innovation Centre, set to launch in fall 2021, is seeking visionary directors with experience in:

• • community emissions,

• • capacity building, and

• • impact investment for their Board.

Spread the word & apply by May 28. Visit their website for more info.

Alberta (Calgary & Edmonton)

Join Alberta Ecotrust for their webinar series on their new Climate Innovation Fund (CIF) Grant Program.

This webinar series is an opportunity to learn about the program’s goals, including eligibility requirements and the application process. Each webinar will highlight the types of projects CIF will support in three focus areas, provide examples of project case studies to inspire applicants, identify potential project collaborators or partners, and ask and answer your questions.

Register today:

• • Webinar 2: Moving on Mobility (May 17 at 2 PM MST)

• • Webinar 3: Decarbonization & Renewable Energy  (June 16 at 10 AM MST)

The first webinar, Building Better & Retrofitting Wiser, took place on May 4. Watch the video to see what you’ve missed.

Ottawa

The Ottawa Climate Action Fund (OCAF) is taking steps to announce the launch of OCAF on May 14, 2021. This will include a panel discussion, an overview of OCAF’s approach to low carbon solutions in the Nation’s Capital, and more.

Click here to register.

Vancouver

The Metro Vancouver Zero Emission Innovation Centre, set to launch in fall 2021, is seeking visionary directors with experience in:

• • community emissions,

• • capacity building, and

• • impact investment for their Board.

Spread the word & apply by May 28. Visit their website for more info.

Alberta (Calgary & Edmonton)

In March 2021, Alberta Ecotrust celebrated the arrival of our $43.4 million endowment from the Government of Canada!

We also launched the Climate Innovation Fund Grant Program! The Grant Program will fund local climate mitigation projects in Calgary and Edmonton, covering a diverse range of activities, from technology demonstration to collective impact and policy advancement.

We are hosting an Information Session webinar series this spring as an opportunity to learn about the program’s goals, including eligibility requirements and the application process. Each webinar will highlight the types of projects we’ll support in our three focus areas, provide example project case studies to inspire applicants, identify potential project collaborators or partners, and ask and answer your questions.  Join us on Tuesday, May 4 from 10 to 11 am MST for our first webinar on the focus area Building Better & Retrofitting Wiser.

Ottawa

The Ottawa Climate Action Fund’s website is live! Keep up-to-date on the exciting work happening at the Centre. You can also follow us on @OttClimateFund on Twitter too.  The Centre is also hiring a Director of Partnerships, Programs & Projects to advance scalable climate action. Apply by April 8.

Montreal 

The Greater Montreal Climate Fund is hiring! GMCF is seeking an Investment Director and a Program Director. If you have a passion for climate, experience in advancing low carbon solutions in an urban area, and intimate knowledge of the issues related to the fight against climate change in an urban environment, apply today.

Alberta (Calgary & Edmonton)

Alberta Ecotrust continues to grow our expertise and capacity with the addition of two new Program Specialists with the Climate Innovation Fund (CIF). We welcome Jessica Lajoie and Stefanie Drozda, who will lead CIF programs in Calgary and Edmonton, respectively.

We also completed our Journey Mapping and Stakeholder Avatar process, which informed the development of the CIF Program Framework. The exercise helped identify barriers and potential solutions to ensure climate interventions address the actual problem from the perspective of five of our prospective program participants:

• • start-up company,

• • environmental non-profit,

• • think tank,

• • industry leader, and

• • sustainable finance investor.

Ottawa

Stay tuned for news on the Ottawa Climate Action Fund’s (OCAF) website which will be going live in the coming weeks, alongside an announcement of our new Advisory Board Members.

National Office

The LC3 network is looking for consultants and firms across Canada to conduct a feasibility assessment for its partnership and fund leveraging efforts. You may consult the requirements in this Request for Quote.

Halifax

EfficiencyOne has begun the search for an Executive Director and Chief Climate Investment Officer for the newly developed Halifax Climate Investment Centre.

The position is ideal for someone who:

• • Is passionate about climate change and the need to move to a low carbon economy and to net-zero by 2050

• • Thrives on community engagement

• • Is well-versed in project management and investment with a strong aptitude for financial markets

• • Is driven to see results

Learn more and apply here.

Montreal

In December 2020, the Greater Montreal Climate Fund (GMCF) joined the Montreal Climate Partnership, an independent initiative which brings together economic, community, philanthropic and institutional organizations recognized for their level of commitment to climate issues and their capacity to influence change in the Montreal area.

The GMCF also launched a new website. Want to learn more about our Montreal LC3 Centre? Check it out here.

Vancouver

On January 12, 2021, it was announced that Simon Fraser University’s Renewable Cities program was selected to establish a Low Carbon Cities Canada Centre in the Metro Vancouver region in a joint press conference. This centre will be funded by a $21.7 million endowment from the Government of Canada, and will help the Metro Vancouver region meet its climate change goals.

Read more about it here.

Ottawa

The Ottawa Community Foundation is pleased to announce that Steve Winkelman was hired as Executive Director of the Ottawa Climate Action Fund. He will lead the LC3 Centre’s launch efforts and its work with community partners. Welcome Steve!

National Office

Both the Scale-informed Theory of Change and the GHG-quantification Working Groups concluded their respective engagement meetings. The meetings’ outputs a

Alberta (Calgary & Edmonton)

Alberta Ecotrust’s Climate Innovation Fund (CIF) convened the inaugural meetings of the Executive Advisory Committees in both Calgary and Edmonton. Meet the members of our CIF Executive Advisory Committees.

Alberta Ecotrust is also excited to announce the launch of two research pieces, which will help guide the local LC3 Centres’ development in their respective cities. The documents are Best Practices for Climate Positive Interventions and Local Landscape Analysis.

Toronto

With the transfer of funds now complete, The Atmospheric Fund (TAF) and Ministry of Municipal Affairs are working towards implementing the endowment to ensure they have the right definitions, policies and procedures in place to streamline accountability and compliance.

Ottawa

With approval from its Board of Directors, the Ottawa Community Foundation and FCM have established the negotiating terms and are working to finalize the Funding Agreement to transfer the Government of Canada’s endowment funds to the Ottawa Climate Action Fund (OCAF), Ottawa’s LC3 Centre. Stay tuned!

Toronto

An agreement between the Government of Canada, FCM, The Atmospheric Fund (TAF), and the City of Toronto has approved the transfer of the Government of Canada’s $40 million endowment to TAF, bringing their total asset value to approximately $90 million.

Vancouver

The City of Vancouver and Metro Vancouver’s review committee, along with representatives from the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, are reviewing the submissions received from organizations interested in hosting the LC3 Centre. Stay tuned!

National Office

The National Office has initiated a series of discussions with all LC3 Centres and thought leaders across Canada to develop a shared framework, LC3’s Theory of Change. This exercise and the resulting framework will serve as the baseline for our work and how we measure our impact at scale over the coming years.

Montreal

The Greater Montreal Climate Fund has been meeting with key stakeholders from the transportation, waste management, energy efficiency and impact finance sectors. These meetings will lead to a planned strategy brainstorm with the board of directors in September, in an effort to position the Fund to maximize its value added in the Greater Montreal climate change landscape.

Ottawa

In August, representatives from the Ottawa Climate Action Fund (OCAF) will discuss climate and energy issues during an Energy Evolution Strategy meeting, a consultation organized by the City of Ottawa. These representatives will provide an overview of LC3’s evolution within the local context and discuss OCAF’s role and approach for launch, as well as potential collaborative opportunities.

National Office

The National Office officially launched a series of workshops as part of their Monitoring & Evaluation Working Group to discuss the principles behind its greenhouse gas emissions quantification methodology. This will be instrumental in communicating LC3’s success to the federal government, as well as the broader benefits and relevance of its work to Canadian communities.

Alberta (Calgary & Edmonton)

The City of Calgary and the City of Edmonton have signed agreements with the Alberta Ecotrust Foundation to launch the Alberta Centres, now the Climate Innovation Fund, in both cities. Partnering with the two largest municipalities in Alberta, Alberta Ecotrust will implement a local program framework in each city to identify, invest in, and scale up carbon reduction solutions.

Alberta Ecotrust is now recruiting for the Climate Innovation Funds’ Executive Advisory Committees. Currently, Councillor Peter Demong, representing Calgary, and Councillor Michael Walters, representing Edmonton, will sit on the Committees to oversee the strategic direction of each local fund.

Montreal

The Greater Montreal Climate Fund has recently announced the nomination of Marie-Claude Bourgie as the Executive Director. With 15 years of experience in the private and non-profit sectors, as well as a Master’s degree in Environment and an MBA, Marie-Claude brings an expertise in climate and project financing. Welcome, Marie-Claude!

Ottawa

The Ottawa Climate Action Fund (OCAF) formalized its relationship with the City of Ottawa to mutually support the efforts to scale up carbon emissions reduction solutions in the city. The Chair of the city’s Environment and Climate Protection Committee and other city staff participated in the development of the initial strategy required for Ottawa’s entry into the LC3 Network. That working relationship has continued to include representation on the OCAF Advisory Board, and the ongoing sharing of information and ideas to inform priorities.

Toronto

The Atmospheric Fund (TAF) has commissioned new research to help support LC3 Centres’ efforts to accelerate urban climate actions to scale. The research will be used to inform development of a scale key performance indicator to be used by all seven LC3 Centres.

National Office

Based on research conducted by TAF, the National Office hosted two webinars to discuss the concept of scale transformation. With practitioners, academics and industry representatives from across Canada, we gathered insights that could support transformation at scale for low carbon solutions and assess their relevance to the work of the LC3 Network.

Alberta (Calgary & Edmonton)

Mike Mellross has joined the Alberta Ecotrust team as Program Director of the new Climate Innovation Fund in Calgary and Edmonton, Alberta’s LC3 Centres. He brings over 20 years of experience across private and public organizations, working in the realm of environmental policy, energy management, and sustainability. See the official announcement here. Welcome, Mike!

Montreal

Greater Montreal Climate Fund has established its board, and the chair is Eric St-Pierre, the Executive Director of the Trottier Family Foundation. The board is composed of nine leaders in the climate change sector in Montreal; a municipal elected official, a representant of the Greater Montreal Metropolitain region, and engaged members of the for-profit and non-profit sectors.

Ottawa

The Ottawa Climate Action Fund Advisory Board, established in late 2019, held a strategy retreat in April. OCAF is now leveraging detailed analysis by the City to identify priority strategic opportunities for early action.

Vancouver

The City of Vancouver, working in collaboration with Metro Vancouver, has put out a Request for Expressions of Interest to find a host for the LC3 centre and have received a strong response. Staff are currently in the process of evaluating the submissions.

National Office

Oscar Espinosa has joined the National Office team as a Senior Project Advisor. His previous mandates have included the development of infrastructure, technology and skills projects within the Urban Regeneration and Economic Development team at the Greater London Authority in London, England, and the development of a capacity-building program on Open Smart Cities at OpenNorth. Welcome, Oscar!

The LC3 Network is scanning GHG quantification policies to find out which approaches are the strongest for use in LC3’s work. The ultimate goal is to have a common GHG quantification protocol and procedure adopted by all seven LC3 Centres.

May 2020 marks our 3^rd anniversary of working together to develop Low Carbon Cities Canada (LC3), which started with a meeting in Vancouver on May 17, 2017.

FCM now has a dedicated LC3 program office, directed by Kate Fleming and supported by Mary Pickering.

Kate Fleming is the Director of the LC3 program and a member of the senior management team of the Green Municipal Fund. Kate is an environmental scientist with 20 years of experience in designing and managing government-funded programs within the clean tech, healthcare and municipal sectors. Kate is delighted to play a part in making Low Carbon Cities Canada a reality’.

Mary Pickering has been Vice-President of The Atmospheric Fund since 2004, guiding design and evaluation of TAF’s grants and programs and supporting fundraising and organizational development, including co-creation of the Low Carbon Cities Canada initiative. Mary is also an accredited broker, mentor and practitioner-trainer with the international Partnership Brokers’ Association.

This winter has been a quiet phase with seven LC3 centres working collaboratively with FCM to co-create a master plan for managing the new funds in perpetuity. We are leveraging the full capacity of FCM’s programs and expertise to position the new LC3 pan-Canadian network for success.

What started as a vision in May 2017 is now poised to become reality with the first brand new federally-funded asset ready to roll out this Spring to The Atmospheric Fund, adding $40M to TAF’s existing provincial and municipal endowment to help TAF support accelerated climate action work in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area.

Six more new Low Carbon City Centres are poised to launch by year-end in Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Ottawa, Montreal and Halifax – stay tuned to this site and our national Twitter feed to hear about local updates and to get connected to local programs as they are developed.

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