E-learning courses: Tackling energy use in your municipal and community buildings

Energy use in municipal, residential, and commercial buildings contributes significantly to Canada’s GHG emissions. Investing in building energy performance and resilience will not only decrease our buildings’ impact on the climate, but will also reduce maintenance costs, create jobs, and improve our quality of life.

This course series, Tackling energy use in municipal and community buildings, offers four self-paced, free, online courses for you to choose from that covers topics such as municipal leadership, community-scale energy solutions, and policies and programs designed to support community members. Once you have registered, the course you selected will be available to you for three months—although it’s estimated to take less than 10 hours to complete each course. You can take any number of courses and in any order, depending on your municipal priorities and needs.

Each course is divided into five modules. These modules include case studies and interviews with municipal champions across Canada, additional readings to support your learning and opportunities to connect, reflect and plan your next steps. Each module can be completed at your own pace and as your schedule allows, although we recommend that you try to complete one module per week. See more details below about each individual course.

The courses are based on the Municipal Energy Roadmap, which offers guidance in identifying the best solutions for Canadian communities to achieve significant GHG emissions reductions in their municipal and community buildings and meet their long-term sustainability objectives. More information is provided in our Municipal Energy Roadmap factsheets and webinar recording.

Course: Leading the way in municipal buildings

From "What can I do to improve the energy performance of buildings in my community?" to "How can I get it done?", discover how municipalities can model best practices to inspire their residents and businesses to take action.

Learning outcomes:

• Articulate your top priorities and challenges related to improving the energy performance of your municipal buildings.
• List examples of municipal champions and resources that can be sources of inspiration and best practices for your next energy initiative.
• Describe one or more strategies to improve building energy performance that you may be able to implement in your own municipality.
• Name five key steps to support project implementation and describe (at a high-level) how you can apply each step to your next energy initiative.
• Identify next steps to continue your learning and build on the ideas covered in this course.

The learnings of this course can be applied to municipal projects that are eligible for support via our Sustainable Municipal Buildings funding offers and Community Buildings Retrofit initiative. Discover how we can support your next steps.

Course: Scaling up solutions for community energy generation

Explore two different approaches for adopting low-carbon energy solutions at a broader scale in your community: district energy systems and renewable energy generation systems, with a focus on wind and solar power.

Learning outcomes:

• Compare the advantages and challenges of different types of community energy generation projects that municipalities can implement or support.
• Name examples of different approaches for district energy and renewable energy generation and resources that can support implementation.
• Describe one or more characteristics that determine if and how community energy generation makes sense for your municipality.
• Identify four different ways that municipalities can be involved in community energy projects and describe at a high-level what steps each way might involve.
• Explain how your municipality would be involved in a hypothetical community energy project and what actions you would take.
• Identify next steps to continue your learning and build on the ideas covered in this course.

The learnings of this course can be applied to municipal projects that are eligible for support via our Community Energy Systems funding offers. Discover how we can support your next steps.

Course: Incentive and financing options for building energy upgrades

Learn how your municipality or organization can support residents and businesses to complete energy upgrades to existing homes and buildings.

Learning outcomes:

• Explain the value of financing/incentive programs in supporting community members in completing energy upgrades.
• Identify relevant examples of financing/incentive programs across Canada and draw connections to your local context.
• Describe what financing/incentive program models might make sense for your municipality and any challenges that might be involved.
• List key steps or considerations involved in designing and implementing financing/incentive programs.
• Name common challenges and best practices related to designing programs with an equity lens.
• Identify next steps to continue your learning and build on the ideas covered in this course.

The learnings of this course can be applied to municipal projects that are eligible for support via our Community Efficiency Financing initiative. Discover how we can support your next steps.

Course: Advancing high-performance buildings in your community

Discover opportunities for municipalities to drive deep GHG reductions in buildings—and in their communities more broadly—through policies and programs that normalize the adoption of climate-friendly choices.

Learning outcomes:

• Articulate how municipalities can help meet net-zero targets in our communities, with a focus on community buildings.
• Describe specific policy levers that municipalities can use to contribute to the improved performance of new buildings and neighbourhoods.
• Explain how municipalities can raise awareness of the benefits of high-performance buildings through energy rating and disclosure programs and other initiatives to engage community and industry members.
• List key steps and considerations for designing and implementing policies and programs to achieve high-performance buildings and neighbourhoods.
• Identify next steps to continue your learning and build on the ideas covered in this course.

The learnings of this course can be applied to municipal projects that are eligible for support via our Net-Zero Transformation funding offers. Discover how we can support your next steps.

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