|
This article is part of a series called Six sustainability ideas that have gone mainstream in Canada. Each article explores an innovative sustainability idea that may have seemed radical a decade ago but is now considered a best practice. The series features inspiring ideas and projects being implemented in Canadian cities and towns of all sizes, plus resources to help you implement these solutions in your community. |
The solar panel on the roof of this house in Halifax is part of a solar-powered water heating system, which reduces water consumption and lowers energy bills.
Reduce GHG emissions by constructing more energy-efficient homes
The UN estimates that buildings use about 40 per cent of global energy and are responsible for about 33 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions. Consequently, cities need to dramatically improve the efficiency of new and existing buildings to achieve their ambitious climate change targets.
Net-zero energy (NZE) buildings are a key part of the puzzle. They are designed to produce as much energy as they consume on an annual basis. To qualify, the energy has to be produced onsite and come from renewable sources such as solar, wind and geothermal.
Net-zero energy construction, financing and education promoted across Canada
Both public and private sector actors are leading the way. For example, the Canadian Home Builders' Association (CHBA) Net Zero Energy Housing Council is developing pilot projects, financing, education and an NZE labelling program. Similarly, the Toronto Atmospheric Fund is using an Energy Savings Performance Agreement to retrofit buildings, generate revenue and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Local governments — such as Halifax, NS, Bridgewater, NS, and Toronto, ON — are helping by financing energy retrofits through property taxes and local improvement charges.
Net-zero energy buildings offer better efficiency, comfort and air quality
The key to the success of net-zero energy construction is to combine efficiency, quality and accessibility. For example, the CHBA's net-zero energy homes are 80 per cent more energy efficient than homes built to code and offer other benefits such as improved comfort and indoor air quality. Their long-term goal is to deliver net-zero energy homes at "net-zero cost" by using the monthly energy savings to pay for the additional capital investments needed.
Interested in starting a net-zero energy project in your community?
Learn more with these resources:
- An Action Plan for Net Zero Energy Housing in Canada Moves Forward (Canadian Home Builders' Association)
Discover more sustainability ideas and project examples
Read the other articles in this series for more sustainability ideas and project examples that you can use in your community:
- Cranbrook gains $1.2M in value by using wastewater for irrigation
- How Saint-Hyacinthe turns organic waste into biogas and revenue
- Innovative projects prepare older Brampton suburbs for climate change
- How low-carbon design helps cut greenhouse gas emissions in half
- Ways Ottawa increases cycling with green transit options
This series was inspired by "From Crazy to Common Sense: 'Radical' Ideas Whose Time Have Come," a workshop that was held at the Federation of Canadian Municipalities' 2016 Sustainable Communities Conference.
Move ideas to reality: Get funding and free resources from FCM's Green Municipal Fund
Subscribe to email updates and get the resources, training, networking opportunities and funding you need from FCM's Green Municipal Fund to implement these sustainability ideas in your community.
Want to explore all GMF-funded projects? Check out the Projects Database for a complete overview of funded projects and get inspired by municipalities of all sizes, across Canada.
Related Resources
See All
Local energy generation
Energy
Webinar recording: New GMF funding and support to accelerate community energy systems
Watch our webinar to explore GMF’s new funded learning offer: Accelerating Community Energy Systems. Discover best practices, funding insights and strategies for your municipality.
Sustainable affordable housing
Energy | Housing
Aspen Heights: Redefining affordable housing in Saskatoon
Sustainable affordable housing
Energy | Housing
Heartland Housing Foundation: Building a sustainable future in Fort Saskatchewan
Sustainable affordable housing
Energy | Housing
Building a better future: CABN’s net-zero affordable housing pilot
Sustainable affordable housing
Energy | Housing
Pine Tree Park: Transforming affordable housing with energy efficiency and solar power
Sustainable affordable housing
Energy | Housing
Rossland Yards: Transforming affordable housing in Rossland, BC
Sustainable affordable housing
Energy
Transforming communities with Sustainable Affordable Housing: Article series
In a series of six articles, we highlight impactful projects funded by GMF's Sustainable Affordable Housing (SAH) initiative, demonstrating how energy-efficient, community-centered housing can foster resilience and well-being.
Sustainable affordable housing
Energy | Housing
YWCA Banff: Building stability and community through affordable housing
Municipal and community buildings
Energy
Guide: Equity and non-energy benefits of community building retrofits
Explore the equity and other non-energy benefits of retrofitting community buildings.
Municipal and community buildings
Energy
Webinar recording: Accelerate your community’s net-zero transformation with new GMF funding
Watch our webinar to discover how GMF’s new funding can help you upgrade infrastructure and reduce local GHG emissions.
Community efficiency financing
Energy
Webinar recording: The real impact of home-energy efficiency financing
Watch our webinar to discover how you can achieve your climate goals by implementing a home-energy efficiency financing program in your community
Sustainable affordable housing
Energy
Webinar recording: Transform your approach to energy efficiency with the Housing Providers’ Toolkit
Watch the discussion on how to take advantage of the Housing Providers’ Toolkit.
Municipal and community buildings
Energy
Guide: Taking your indoor swimming pool to net zero
A guide with key measures and lessons learned to help you build a plan for net-zero indoor swimming pools.
Municipal and community buildings
Energy
Webinar recording: How to start reducing GHG emissions in community buildings
Watch the discussion on how to create a GHG reduction pathway for community buildings.
Municipal and community buildings
Energy | Housing
Webinar recording: How to get a project started, tips for small francophone communities
If you’re a small francophone municipality looking to develop sustainability projects and access funding, watch this webinar to learn how others overcame common challenges.
Municipal and community buildings
Energy
Factsheets: Community Buildings Retrofit initiative
Learn how to retrofit existing community buildings to lower GHG emissions and extend their life cycle.
Municipal and community buildings
Energy
Webinar Recording: Enhance comfort and energy savings with municipal building envelopes
Watch this webinar to explore strategies for optimizing municipal building envelopes, enhancing both comfort and energy efficiency.
Municipal and community buildings
Energy
Webinar recording: Energy efficiency for reaching net zero
Learn how municipalities can advance energy efficiency initiatives to reach net-zero targets.
Energy
Webinar recording: Planning for net-zero emissions
Municipal leaders and experts discuss strategies for achieving net-zero emissions targets and scaling up climate action efforts at the local level.
Community efficiency financing
Energy
Video: Durham Region, ON launches novel financing model
A video showcasing innovative and accessible financing options for home-energy upgrades.
Municipal and community buildings
Energy
Video: Retrofitting community buildings for maximum GHG reduction impact
A short video explaining the pathway approach of retrofitting a building - using an outcomes-oriented approach - to achieve (near) net zero carbon buildings over time.
Municipal and community buildings
Energy
Community Buildings Retrofit Advisory Service
The CBR Advisory Service is a new service that is intended to help smaller municipalities by matching them to industry leaders who understand best practices in the CBR field and can help provide personalized coaching and advice, including clarified goals, insights, and replicable results.
Community efficiency financing
Energy
Community Efficiency Financing market guide
Guide to help Canadian municipalities assess potential home energy upgrade programs
Local energy generation
Energy
Webinar recording: An introduction to district energy
Learn how a centralized heating and cooling system can help your municipality reduce GHG emissions and save money.
Municipal and community buildings
Energy
Webinar recording: Supporting small and medium municipalities through the Community Buildings Retrofit initiative
Watch this webinar recording to learn about successful examples of completed retrofits, how municipalities can choose the right funding options and to answer any questions about the funding process.
Municipal and community buildings
Energy
Guide: Taking your indoor ice rink to net zero
A practical guide to get you started on your own net zero retrofit plan and to help you develop an actionable roadmap to net zero ice rinks.
Municipal fleet electrification
Transportation
Priority Municipal Actions to Enable Zero Emission Vehicle Adoption
GMF and Low Carbon Cities Canada (LC3) collaborated to create six priority municipal actions to accelerate zero emission vehicle adoption.
Sustainable affordable housing
Energy
Understanding energy efficiency: A guide for affordable housing providers
This guide is for affordable housing providers, such as municipalities or housing cooperatives, interested in improving energy efficiency in their buildings.
Municipal and community buildings
Energy
Webinar: Transitioning ice rinks to net-zero
Learn the basics of building retrofits for facility buildings
Municipal and community buildings
Energy
Resource library: Community Buildings Retrofit
Find practical case studies and guidance for planning your local community building retrofit.
Community efficiency financing
Energy
Webinar recording: Introduction to local home-energy financing programs
Learn the basics on delivering local financing programs for home-energy upgrades.
Community efficiency financing
Energy
Video: Saskatoon delivers Saskatchewan’s first local home-energy financing program
Learn how the City of Saskatoon designed its Home Energy Loan Program (HELP) to help residents retrofit their homes and reduce GHG emissions.
Community efficiency financing
Energy
Resources: Community Efficiency Financing
Read guidebooks and case studies to see how municipalities are designing home upgrade financing programs.
Community efficiency financing
Energy
Video: Kingston supports homeowners with financing program for energy upgrades
Hear from Julie Salter-Keane, Manager of Climate Leadership at the City of Kingston, as she discusses the City’s program implementation and their approach to designing a strong local program.
Energy
Factsheet: Governance strategies for deep decarbonization
This factsheet provides senior municipal leaders with governance strategies for achieving deep emissions reductions in each decarbonization pathway.
Energy
Factsheet: Governance components for deep decarbonization
This factsheet introduces senior municipal leaders to key components of a good governance structure for deep emissions reductions and implementation actions.
Energy
Factsheet: Municipal governance for deep decarbonization
This factsheet provides senior municipal leaders with the pathways and steps for achieving deep decarbonization and net-zero emissions by 2050.
Energy
Climate Action Accelerator for Community Buildings
Is your municipality looking to drive climate action by reducing greenhouse gas emissions in municipally-owned buildings, but is unsure how to maximize time and impact, secure funding and partnerships, or how to get started? FCM’s Climate Action Accelerator for Community Buildings will help up to 20 small and mid-sized municipalities take climate action within their building portfolios.
Energy
Video: Tips from Iqualuit’s LEED Silver aquatic centre
In this video, you will learn the key elements and lessons learned that helped Iqaluit succeed on building its energy efficient aquatic centre.
Community efficiency financing
Energy
Video: New municipal financing program removes barriers to energy-efficiency upgrades for homeowners
Marie-Pierre Paquette discusses how the municipalities of Plessisville, Varennes and Verchères banded together to launch a joint pilot project that would bring energy-efficient home renovations within reach for more homeowners.
Community efficiency financing
Energy
Video: Introduction to home energy upgrade programs
Watch this video to learn more about home energy upgrade programs and how they can help municipalities to tackle climate change, save money, and invest in the local economy.
Community efficiency financing
Energy
Video: New municipal financing program removes barriers to energy-efficiency upgrades for homeowners
Marie-Pierre Paquette discusses how the municipalities of Plessisville, Varennes and Verchères banded together to launch a joint pilot project that would bring energy-efficient home renovations within reach for more homeowners.
Energy
Webinar recording: How to adapt green municipal projects to stand the test of time
Watch this webinar recording and explore how to build and adapt projects to make them truly sustainable in the long term.
Energy | Housing
Webinar recording: Take your project from study to capital
Watch this webinar recording and discover how others have successfully converted studies into a capital project that provides social, economic and environmental benefits.
Energy
Webinar recording: The 5 keys to a green municipal project business case
Watch this webinar recording and discover the five critical focus areas you need to address to get your project started, from financing and partnerships to integrating a triple-bottom-line approach.
Energy
Introducing GMF’s Community Buildings Retrofit initiative
Discover how GMF can support your community building retrofits, from funding for energy monitoring, building commissioning, studies and capital projects to capacity-building activities and resources.
Energy
Article series: Meet LC3’s climate leaders
Read our article series to get to know the leaders of the Low Carbon Cities Canada (LC3) network, and learn how they are advancing effective ways to address climate change in big cities.
Municipal and community buildings
Energy
GMF’s Municipal Energy Roadmap
Solutions for Canadian communities to achieve significant GHG emissions reductions in buildings and meet long-term sustainability objectives.
Municipal and community buildings
Energy
Primer for elected officials: Municipal Energy Roadmap
This primer for elected officials outlines how the Municipal Energy Roadmap can help choose the right energy-related solutions for your buildings.
Sustainable affordable housing
Energy
Regional Energy Coaches
Regional Energy Coaches help affordable housing providers plan energy efficiency retrofits and new builds.
Municipal and community buildings
Energy
Factsheets: Municipal Energy Roadmap
These factsheets offer specific guidance around building-level solutions, community-level solutions, and long-term strategies to help you drill down and meet your objectives.
Community efficiency financing
Energy
Webinar recording: How to create an efficiency financing program for your community
An overview of the funding options, eligibility and application details of GMF’s Community Efficiency Financing program.
Community efficiency financing
Energy
Factsheets: Community Efficiency Financing
Learn how to design, deliver and market a home upgrade financing program for your community.
Energy | Housing
Webinar recordings: Best practices in municipal sustainability
How are cities and communities of all sizes tackling their environmental challenges? Find out from our five-part webinar series on innovations and opportunities in municipal energy, waste, water, transportation and land use initiatives.
Energy
Tool for municipal clean energy program development: Use the Energy Poverty and Equity Explorer to reduce energy poverty and greenhouse gases
The Energy Poverty and Equity Explorer tool, developed by Canadian Urban Sustainability Practitioners (CUSP), offers municipalities access to relevant data so they can better understand energy poverty, and other equity and affordability challenges in their communities.
Energy | Housing
Webinar recording: How to prepare a GMF capital project application
Need advice for preparing your GMF capital project funding application? Watch our webinar recording to hear tips from our staff and find out what reviewers are looking for.
Related Projects
See All
Local energy generation
Energy
Waterloo Region uses 100% of biogas to fuel heat/electricity in wastewater facilities
Municipal and community buildings
Energy | Housing