Summary

The City of North Battleford knew its too-large vehicle fleet was an opportunity to reduce both costs and emissions. It commissioned a study that analyzed municipal vehicle ownership and usage and made a series of recommendations to help the City save money and move closer to net-zero while continuing to meet the needs of users and residents.

Background

The City of North Battleford is located in west-central Saskatchewan along the North Saskatchewan river and is home to about 15,000 people. The City has long owned vehicles for municipal use, but staff realized that its fleet had grown in size while the number of users had not. They decided that assessing and then refining their municipal vehicle fleet was an opportunity to rein in costs while also reducing their carbon footprint and contributing toward the move to net-zero.

The challenge

With financial support from GMF, the City issued an RFP to study their fleet and determine how they could make it more efficient to lower costs and emissions while continuing to meet user needs and provide reliable service to residents. An additional goal was to explore the feasibility of using electric vehicles.

Approach

To complete the study, the City chose to work with Fleet Challenge Canada, an organization that specializes in optimizing vehicle fleets. Steps included:

• Data-gathering, review and analysis of the current fleet, its usage and costs, as well as of relevant city policies and protocols. This included surveying staff (vehicle users)
• Data analysis and modelling to forecast future fleet usage, operating costs and emissions impacts, and to optimize use of current vehicles versus purchasing new ones. The team also explored the relative costs of buying versus renting or leasing
• Assessment of current and future feasibility of bringing in electric or hybrid-electric vehicles as part of the municipal fleet, as well as a review of future charging infrastructure requirements

Results

The study concluded not only that the fleet was too large for North Battleford’s needs, but also that it was on average past its prime usable lifetime, and that the vehicles should be upgraded. Specific recommendations included:

Management:

• Reduce fleet size, beginning with vehicles that are under-utilized
• Invest in fleet management software to boost available data and help lower costs, for example by optimizing maintenance schedules
• Avoid excess costs and emissions by right-sizing fleet use (avoiding using larger vehicles on jobs that don’t require them), enforcing anti-idling policies and training staff to drive in a fuel-efficient manner

Purchasing:

• Modernize the fleet and consider leasing new vehicles as an interim measure to limit immediate capital costs
• Consider hybrid, biodiesel and electric vehicles (EVs) as solutions to lower costs and emissions during fleet modernization
• Make better use of capital by using total cost of ownership as a benchmark when purchasing new vehicles, rather than just upfront costs. For instance, vehicles with better fuel economy and fewer maintenance requirements have lower operational costs
• Invest in charging infrastructure in the short term to meet demand in the medium and long term, as better EVs become available on the market and more suitable for municipal needs

Benefits

North Battleford now has a clear understanding of the makeup of its vehicle fleet and the steps it can take to lower costs and emissions. In addition, its efforts to modernize the fleet and invest in charging infrastructure will benefit the community by demonstrating the feasibility of using EVs and hybrid vehicles in the region.

Lessons learned

One major realization during the study was how many gaps there were in the City’s record-keeping about its fleet, primarily in terms of historical information. They had to do additional research to compensate for a lack of knowledge. The better the historical data, the more accurate the study will be.

Next steps

Following the completion of the study, the City’s next step was to create an action plan to implement the recommendations. They recently purchased two new fleet vehicles, one hybrid and one plug-in hybrid, to replace half-ton trucks. The new vehicles are expected to reduce fuel costs by 20 to 30 percent and emissions by 40 to 50 percent.

Summary

The District of Summerland, B.C., operates its own electrical utility and is enhancing its support for a transition to net-zero. They pinpointed a municipally owned brownfield as a viable location for a solar and storage facility. With GMF-backed studies, they verified its suitability for cleanup and solar panel installation, accomplishing two sustainability goals simultaneously.

Background

The District of Summerland, a 12,000-resident municipality in south-central British Columbia, operates its own electrical utility. This local control enables reliable, resilient and net-zero-aligned power sourcing. One of their initiatives is establishing a solar and storage facility for renewable energy.

With funding from the Federal Gas Tax Fund (now the Canada Community-Building Fund), the district initiated their solar project, choosing a 10.4-hectare brownfield site, used as a public works yard until 1970, located southwest of downtown Summerland.

The challenge

The district needed to find out whether this site would be a good choice for their solar and storage facility and thus achieve two solutions at once: redeveloping a brownfield while also creating a new source of renewable energy. They successfully applied for a brownfield site redevelopment grant from GMF to determine the site’s suitability and how much cleanup would be required.

Approach

The GMF grant funded two studies:

1. A preliminary site investigation (PSI) to examine the site’s water and soil for the presence or absence of contaminants. This process included soil collection, groundwater monitoring and the use of boreholes.
2. A geotechnical analysis to assess soil, slopes and groundwater conditions in the proposed location for the solar panels. This stage included determining the best way to remove asbestos materials from the site.

Reports from these studies were completed with an eye to guiding the full redevelopment plan.

Results

The studies showed that the brownfield site was suitable for a solar and storage installation and that there was no appreciable contamination of soil or water on the site. The only hazardous materials that needed to be removed were the pipes present, which contained asbestos, and remnant concrete structures. The geotechnical study also provided guidance on stormwater management and made construction recommendations related to the soil analysis.

Benefits

The brownfield is close to a viewpoint and cultural site significant to the Penticton Indian Band. Conducting studies prior to the solar and storage facility’s installation ensured minimal impact on this site and nearby recreational trails. Besides preserving the viewpoint, the municipality plans to accentuate it with a plaque, viewing platform and native plant landscaping.

Economically, the solar and storage facility will reduce the district's electrical costs by roughly $250,000 annually, decreasing energy purchases from Fortis BC during peak rates. These savings will be reinvested in the community, enhancing electrical infrastructure and supporting more projects.

Local businesses benefitted from construction and solar installation, with battery storage sourced from a firm in Quebec. Additionally, the solar site serves as an educational resource on major solar initiatives.

Lessons learned

The municipality was pleased with some of the decisions they made for this project and would recommend the following advice to others undergoing similar studies:

• Hire an external consultant to develop the scope of work for their RFP and be part of the evaluation team
• Have third-party experts on board to assist with understanding technical requirements and questions
• Combine the PSI and geological phases for cost savings
• Ensure the initial contract specifies report copyrights, permitting sharing and republishing by the municipality and partners like FCM to foster transparency.

Next steps

Following the completion of these studies, Summerland issued an RFP for construction of their solar project. The panels and batteries have all been installed and the project is expected to launch by the end of 2023.

Summary

Residents and community partners of Brampton's Fletchers Creek neighbourhood crafted a Sustainable Neighbourhood Action Plan (SNAP) for climate action, including water management to slow rainfall entering the creek. They identified natural infrastructure as a cost-effective method for swift change. As a result, the City and partners established a school rain garden and roadside bioretention cells as pilot projects.

Background

Brampton is in southern Ontario and has a population of about 650,000. For its Fletchers Creek neighbourhood, the City created a Sustainable Neighbourhood Action Program (SNAP) in partnership with the Region of Peel, residents, local schools and businesses and Credit Valley Conservation (CVC), with the goal of developing a neighbourhood-scale plan for climate action and other environmental initiatives. This area covers 258 hectares of land along Fletchers Creek and is home to nearly 8,800 people.

The challenge

The neighbourhood features extensive pavement and minimal vegetation. During heavy rain, water rapidly flows into Fletchers Creek, leading to flooding, erosion and pollution and affecting the creek's temperature. Furthermore, the creek is habitat to the endangered redside dace fish, necessitating federal and provincial habitat protections.

Drainage concerns across the neighbourhood are prevalent. For example, post-rainfall, Glendale Public School's field often became too waterlogged for students to play on and the school wanted to revitalize an underused baseball field. The City had identified the area near Haggert Avenue as a priority in its 2015 Stormwater Management Retrofit and Enhancement Study.

The Fletchers Creek SNAP emphasized applying green-infrastructure low-impact development as a cost-effective stormwater management measure. Recognizing their swift implementation potential, the City promptly initiated two pilot projects: a rain garden at Glendale Public School and bioretention cells along Haggert Avenue.

Approach

The objectives of both projects were to address drainage concerns, reduce the volume of stormwater runoff flowing into Fletchers Creek and improve water quality by slowing flow, cooling incoming water and filtering suspended solids. They also sought to curb peak stormwater surges to minimize erosion within the creek.

At Glendale Public School, with the participation of over 300 staff, students and parents, the rain garden was designed using a treatment train approach to:

• Guide runoff from the schoolyard and rooftop to the garden via a grass swale
• Capture and infiltrate 200 m3 (27mm) of runoff
• Direct rainwater into a perforated underdrain pipe so that it can enter the municipal storm sewer when the garden becomes saturated and if the control valve is open
• Enhance existing topsoil to increase its absorption capacity and infiltration rate
• Plant bird-friendly plants and add amenities like benches and pathways

For the Haggert Avenue project, the City and CVC collaborated to design and implement three bioretention cells to capture, clean and cool stormwater runoff from the street before releasing it into Fletchers Creek. If the site experiences enough rainfall, filtered water enters a perforated underdrain that conveys it to the municipal storm sewer network. Each cell contains overflow pipes that prevent excess ponding by directly conveying overflows to the municipal storm sewer system.

Results

The Glendale Public School rain garden can manage runoff from a 27-mm storm event and capture up to the 90th percentile of annual rain events in the area. It has improved stormwater runoff water quality by reducing total suspended solids by 80 percent and provides heat mitigation by cooling runoff before discharging it into Fletchers Creek. It has also increased floodplain storage by a total of 800 m3, which reduces flooding potential during large storm events while also solving the school’s drainage problem.

The Haggert Avenue bioretention cells capture and treat up to 90 percent of the average annual rainfall and provide 63 m3 of stormwater storage.

Both projects have received interest from across Canada, have been showcased on various websites such as the Sustainable Technologies Evaluation Program (STEP) and have been deemed feasible to replicate and implement at full scale. The Glendale Public School rain garden, which is estimated to be the largest rain garden in the country, has also received a Friends of the Credit Conservation Award for the collaborative work that went into the project.

Benefits

In addition to their stormwater management function, both projects are enhancing public spaces and increasing cooling tree canopy in this heat-vulnerable area of the city. They are adding significant new habitats for pollinators and supporting both terrestrial and aquatic species. The rain garden has also provided a learning opportunity for elementary school students and volunteers.

In addition, both pilots are setting an example for homeowners to implement similar projects on their own properties.

A total of 19,690 m2 of new contributing drainage area is now being serviced and a total of 85 native trees and shrubs and 5,000 wildflowers, grasses and hedges have been planted. More 600 people including residents, youth, corporate volunteers and school groups have been engaged at these projects’ locations to take hands-on action and learn about green stormwater retrofits.

Lessons learned

One major lesson learned during the implementation phase of the Glendale Public School rain garden was the importance of frequent on-site construction oversight and check-ins to prevent any issues.  Choosing the right contractor is key to success. If one with previous experience constructing green low-impact development is not available, the next-best option is to find a contractor who is eager to learn.

The importance of advance planning and stakeholder engagement cannot be overlooked so that goals, objectives and priorities are defined before the design stage.

Next steps

The city continues to monitor the three bioretention cells to compare the effectiveness of the different planting plans and is identifying opportunities to install new bioretention cells and rain gardens elsewhere in the city. CVC has also moved forward on other, similar initiatives within the Credit River watershed using lessons learned from these projects, including two new school rain gardens constructed as part of the Fletchers Creek SNAP.

Summary

In 2021, with support from GMF’s Community Efficiency Financing (CEF) initiative, the City of Ottawa launched the Better Homes Ottawa Loan Program to lend homeowners money to make energy-efficient retrofits. In 2022, the City partnered with Vancity Community Investment Bank in an innovative private-sector funding model that allows the City to continue and expand the program. This is a promising example of how municipalities can leverage private-sector capital to help more homeowners take climate action by making their homes more energy efficient.

Background

Retrofitting homes to be more energy efficient is an important step in transitioning communities toward net-zero. In 2021, the City of Ottawa launched the Better Homes Loan Program to help more homeowners undertake energy-efficiency upgrades and renewable energy installations.

To cover the upfront costs of these upgrades, the program offers long-term financing. This is repaid over time through property tax bills, a method known as Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE). The program is delivered in partnership with local non-profit EnviroCentre and supports Ottawa's Climate Change Master Plan, which includes set targets to reduce community GHG emissions by 100 percent by 2050.

The City received support from GMF's Community Efficiency Financing (CEF) initiative to launch the program and is one of more than two dozen communities across Canada that are successfully implementing local financing programs.

The first phase of the Better Homes Ottawa Loan Program was extremely popular, to the point that it was oversubscribed.

The challenge

Ottawa anticipated a high uptake for their program and knew they would need more capital to continue to provide loans over the long term. The question was: where could they find additional funding? The City had some preliminary discussions with private lenders during the design of the program, and it appeared that they were going to need to finalize these sooner than expected.

Approach

City staff explored a variety of options to raise capital so that they could scale up the program and give more Ottawa homeowners access to funding for energy-efficiency improvements. Green bonds were considered, then rejected, as the total loan amount was much lower than the City’s internal bond issuance threshold of close to $50 million.

That left the option of pursuing private capital, and staff approached several potential lenders to discuss what they could offer. A major factor was the availability of competitive interest rates to make the program attractive to both homeowners and the City’s finance department.

Ultimately, the City of Ottawa found common ground with the Vancity Community Investment Bank (VCIB), a values-based Canadian bank focused on environmental and social impact, and signed an agreement in March 2022. This arrangement had the advantage of being simpler for the city to manage than other forms of debt.

Barriers

Volatile market conditions and the imminent introduction of the Canada Greener Homes Loan program made it challenging for the City to secure a preferential interest rate, though they ultimately ended up with a number they were happy with.

Results

The partnership with VCIB includes an initial $3.9M credit facility that helped launch the first phase of the program and a second tranche of $30M to expand the program to more residents, $15M of which has been accessed as of October 2023.

Benefits

This financing agreement has opened the Better Homes Ottawa Loan Program to more Ottawa households, making homes more comfortable and lowering energy bills while helping homeowners take climate action. The City is making sure to include low-income households in the program by covering their administrative costs and, for low- to mid-income residents, offering loans at 0 percent interest.

The program also creates cost savings for homeowners. While they are replacing energy-related bills with loan payments, the long amortization period typically results in lower monthly payments overall. Should someone sell their home, the remainder of the loan is transferred to the new owner.

Lessons learned

First and foremost, the choice of partner matters. The City of Ottawa and VCIB were aligned on their missions, such as aiming for triple-bottom-line benefits. Starting partnership conversations early-on was also a factor that led to success.

The City used funding from GMF to create a loan loss reserve to mitigate risk should participating homeowners be unable to make payments. Along with the City’s AAA credit rating, the existence of this reserve was an important consideration for VCIB as a lender because it lowered their risk. However, the VCIB loan added to the City’s overall municipal debt, which is an important consideration for other communities that may want to replicate this model.

VCIB was supportive of the program because they believe the climate crisis requires immediate action and financial institutions have a critical role to play in addressing it. The impact-focused bank is committed to helping the public act on climate change, exemplified by initiatives like the Better Homes Ottawa Loan Program. With attractive financing options and support for public and private partnerships in place, these kinds of municipal programs can have a huge impact and will help Canada move closer to its net-zero goals.

The program included several key features which positioned it well for success:

• Market transformation: The program creates demand for energy retrofits, attracting more contractors to the market and creating an ecosystem for growth.
• Presence of consumer protection measures: The program includes several measures to safeguard participating homeowners, such as a loan cap of 10 percent of the property value (up to a maximum of $125,000).
• Team capacity: The City assigned staff to manage the program and developed training plans to ensure they will have the capacity to operate the program well into the future. The delivery partnership with EnviroCentre provides additional confidence about business continuity.
• Program uptake: The City provided robust projections on the pipeline of applicants and anticipated demand.
• Potential for replication and scale: Ottawa’s program can be replicated in other communities, growing the market for home retrofits and creating additional investment opportunities.

In addition, VCIB is not involved in vetting homeowners’ eligibility; to cover this need, the city committed to training new staff on managing applicant screening, disbursements and the loan loss reserve fund. As for loan repayments, they are handled by the City via property tax bills payment.

Next steps

As Ottawa continues to roll out its PACE program, more and more property owners will be able to retrofit their homes, helping to lower the city’s GHG emissions and support the transition to net-zero. Ottawa is also looking to build on the success of their residential financing program to launch a program targeting commercial buildings.

GMF is working to bring more private sector investment into municipal PACE programs to ensure their long-term sustainability and to meet the scale of opportunities for retrofits in Canada.

Summary

Vancouver housing provider Brightside wanted to do its part for climate action by creating a strategy to make its buildings net zero. By evaluating its current emissions and setting reduction targets, it was able to create a strategy that is ambitious yet actionable. Now, it’s moving forward on retrofitting its buildings to make them more energy efficient and less reliant on fossil fuels.

Background

Brightside Community Homes Foundation, a non-profit with 26 buildings and nearly 1,000 homes in Vancouver, has a 70-year history and almost $250 million in assets. This positions them to lead in transitioning to net zero, offering insights for smaller entities. In 2021, motivated to combat climate change, Brightside planned a net zero strategy. After board approval, they strategized their approach. Located in British Columbia, where hydroelectric power is predominant, Brightside has found that transitioning from fossil fuels to electricity can drastically cut its emissions.

"If we’re going to be upgrading a building’s windows in five years, how do we use that as an opportunity to electrify and make it as close as possible to net zero?" – William Azaroff, CEO, Brightside

The challenge

Brightside believed in the mission of making their portfolio of buildings net zero, both in terms of taking climate action and of improving their housing offering. The question was, how could they create a plan with concrete steps to take and an ambitious yet realistic timeline?

Approach

Brightside was already collaborating with Affine Climate Solutions on another project and decided to continue working with them on developing a net zero strategy. The process included:

• Creating an emissions inventory
• Setting emissions targets
• Researching net zero strategies by other organizations
• Building out a plan for Brightside

Brightside’s main emissions are from building operations, so the plan emphasizes retrofits like window replacements and adoption of electric systems such as heat pumps. Other sources, like vendors and transportation, contribute less to their carbon footprint. In 2022, two pilot projects with heat pumps and new windows provided key insights. Brightside is targeting net zero by 2035, believing it’s a faster approach than initially aiming for 2040. 

Barriers

As is typical for a non-profit, Brightside has limited cash flow and depends in part on outside funding. This can make it challenging to plan for big projects. Maintaining the strategy as a “living document” allows them to be nimble and adaptable. The strategy is updated as they complete and learn from various individual projects.

Results

Following the board’s approval, the team explained the plan to all staff, aiming to generate enthusiasm and support.

The plan lays out clear steps and goals for cutting down Brightside’s carbon emissions. For example, to meet its target of zero emissions by 2035, the plan involves upgrading about two buildings every year.

Benefits

In addition to the emissions-reduction benefits of the net zero strategy, many individual projects will improve residents’ comfort and the buildings’ climate resiliency. For example, the transition to heat pumps means that many units will have their first-ever access to home cooling, a technology that has become essential to Vancouverites as the climate warms. This transition is also likely to lower utility bills for those residents who pay them.

In the spirit of knowledge-sharing, Brightside is also making its strategy freely available to other housing providers who might want to use it as a blueprint for their own net zero strategy. 

Lessons learned

Speed is of the essence when it comes to reducing emissions, and to that end, Brightside and Affine took an 80/20 approach to the emissions inventory, which they say paid off in getting them started as quickly as possible. Rather than trying to reach perfection when assessing the organization’s carbon footprint, they aimed to get to 80 percent accuracy, which is enough data to move forward on action without getting bogged down in details.

In this vein, they decided to start by focusing on reducing the emissions they directly cause, like those from their own buildings and cars (scope 1), as well as emissions from the energy they buy, like electricity and heating (scope 2). After making progress in these areas, they'll then look at reducing emissions from their broader network, like those linked to the products and services their suppliers provide (scope 3). This step-by-step approach helps them make immediate changes where they have the most control.

Developing the strategy was streamlined by Brightside's prior use of Energy Star Portfolio Manager, a tool that helps track and manage data on building usage and utilities. This software simplifies the gathering and examination of data, which is crucial for analysis and strategy planning. Brightside recommends that adopting a portfolio management system is a vital step for organizations aiming for net zero emissions. Such a system is instrumental in effectively tracking progress toward environmental targets. Peer learning was also a valuable tool in creating the strategy. Brightside reached out to other organizations who had done similar work that they could build on and learn from. Finally, Brightside recommends finding a good, experienced consultant to partner with to develop a strategy. They worked with Affine, a local organization, but there are other resources across the country too. 

Next steps

Following approval of its net zero strategy, Brightside has been working to get specific projects off the ground. For instance, two six-storey buildings in East Vancouver are being redeveloped to Passive House standards thanks to funding from GMF and the Government of Canada. They will provide 157 housing units for low-income seniors and people with mobility challenges and are on track to be completed by spring 2024.

The team is also moving forward on refining the strategy, including assessing and reducing scope three emissions.

Get started

To follow in Brightside's footsteps, begin by examining their strategy, which draws on insights from organizations with similar experiences. FCM’s capacity development resources can be a useful tool here, including the Community of Practice for sustainable affordable housing funded retrofit projects and the GMF project database.

Reach out to GMF-funded Regional Energy Coaches (RECs), who offer free one-on-one coaching and support to affordable housing providers of any size with projects at any stage. RECs can find opportunities for energy efficiency, assess project feasibility, support funding applications and share information about the types of technologies that can be leveraged. 

The Sustainable Affordable Housing initiative, delivered through the Green Municipal Fund, supports affordable housing providers in improving their energy efficiency. This is achieved through funding and capacity development support for energy-efficient retrofits and new builds. Visit our website for more information, including how to access a Regional Energy Coach.