Gordon Szaszi, Project Manager Housing Development, shares Niagara Regional Housing (NRH) experience creating the business case for a 67-unit affordable housing development for seniors. This modern and welcoming building is a boon to the community, a great example of urban intensification integrating much-needed community housing, and a wonderful new place for seniors to call home.

Other project highlights include:

Triple bottom line benefits: This project contributed an estimated $9 million to the Welland economy; the building achieved a 51% reduction in typical energy consumption,  and eliminates 44 tonnes of GHGs annual

Critical partnerships: Achieving LEED Silver certification required strong relationships with designers, consultants, planners, Municipal and Regional departments.

Capacity building: The implementation of this project brought new sustainable knowledge and practices to NRH, the City of Welland, and the Region as a whole.

Stakeholders / Community engagement: The Fitch Street development is an example of sustainable affordable housing providing a high quality of life to local residents.

Speaker

Gordon Szaszi, Project Manager Housing Development at Niagara Regional Housing

Read the transcript

Learn more on driving efficiency in community housing projects!

• Check out the Case Study on this initiative.
• Explore our Sustainable Affordable Housing Funding initiative.
• This video is extracted from the webinar "The 5 keys to a green municipal business case" presented on February 2, 2021. Watch the full webinar.

In this video, Johanne Ouellet, Vice-President YHC Mobility at YHC Environnement discusses how, in 2016, the Société d’innovation en environnement (SIE) and YHC Environnement started a pilot project to introduce an electric vehicle-sharing system, partnering with the municipalities of Plessisville, Nicolet, Bromont, Témiscouata-sur-le-Lac, Rivière-du-Loup and Sainte-Julienne.

Through this project, the six participating municipalities added electric vehicles to their fleets and made them available to residents and partners through a car-sharing system for municipalities in the region. The electric vehicle-sharing system reduces emissions and generates revenue.

Studies have shown that in Plessisville alone, three-quarters of the municipality’s fleet was used less than 3.5 hours per day, 50 percent of the time. Most of the vehicles (87 percent) were used for trips shorter than 40 kilometres. The other five participating municipalities showed similar patterns, with fleets sitting idle in the parking lot for long stretches of time.

The success of this project has inspired other municipalities to follow the example. Since 2018, more than 10 municipalities have joined to program.

Speaker

Johanne Ouellet, Vice-President YHC Mobility at YHC Environnement

Read the transcript

For the sake of quality, the video is available in its original language with the possibility of adding English subtitles.

Additional resources:

• Explore our Transportation Funding offer.
• Check out the complete case study of this transportation project.
• This video is extracted from the webinar "How to adapt green municipal projects to stand the test of time" presented on March 30, 2021. Watch the full webinar.

When structural issues forced the closure of Iqaluit’s municipal pool, the city’s 7,740 residents were left without a central community space to get healthy, active and connect with each other. The City of Iqaluit envisioned a bigger and better replacement. Amy Elgersma, CAO of the City of Iqaluit tells the story of what could be a model for sustainable building practices for the city and other Northern communities.

In her presentation Ms. Elgersma discusses overcoming challenges of construction in Northern communities, including transportation, energy, historical contamination and permafrost.

Some highlights and results include:

Triple bottom line benefits: The centre created 38 jobs, and is expected to reduce Co2 emissions by 794 tonnes annually and  reduce water consumption by 30%, while also providing a location for community members to connect and improve their physical and mental health.

Stakeholders / Community engagement: The City of Iqaluit developed a need-based fund to ensure Inuit Children and their families can access all the benefits of the aquatic centre and its programs.  The Jimmy Kilabuk Childrens Recreation Fund is named after an elder, former councillor and mayor who passed away before he could see his dream of building the Aquatic Centre through to completion.

Capacity building: Over 2500 swim lessons have been taught through learn to swim programs and school swim programs which has resulted in the certification and subsequent hiring of local youth as lifeguards and swim instructors.

Financing: GMF opened the door to allow the City of Iqaluit to secure financing for its energy efficient Aquatic and Fitness Centre.

Critical partnerships: The City of Iqaluit and Qulliq Energy Corporation demonstrated a unique multi-level government partnership with its district heat agreement realize green-house gas emission reductions and cost-savings.  The success of the partnership led to a commitment to connect an additional three City of Iqaluit facilities to the District Heat System.

Speaker

Amy Elgersma, Chief Administrative Officer, City of Iqaluit

Read the transcript

Learn more 

• Check out the complete case study of the City of Iqaluit's new LEED Silver Aquatic Centre.
• Explore our core energy funding offer and the GMF’s Municipal Energy Roadmap.
• This video is extracted from the webinar "The 5 keys to a green municipal business case" presented on February 2 , 2021. Watch the full webinar.

Gordon Szaszi, Project Manager Housing Development, shares Niagara Regional Housing (NRH) experience creating the business case for a 67-unit affordable housing development for seniors. This modern and welcoming building is a boon to the community, a great example of urban intensification integrating much-needed community housing, and a wonderful new place for seniors to call home.

Other project highlights include:

Triple bottom line benefits: This project contributed an estimated $9 million to the Welland economy; the building achieved a 51% reduction in typical energy consumption,  and eliminates 44 tonnes of GHGs annual

Critical partnerships: Achieving LEED Silver certification required strong relationships with designers, consultants, planners, Municipal and Regional departments.

Capacity building: The implementation of this project brought new sustainable knowledge and practices to NRH, the City of Welland, and the Region as a whole.

Stakeholders / Community engagement: The Fitch Street development is an example of sustainable affordable housing providing a high quality of life to local residents.

Speaker

Gordon Szaszi, Project Manager Housing Development at Niagara Regional Housing

Read the transcript

Learn more on driving efficiency in community housing projects!

Check out the Case Study on this initiative.
Explore our Sustainable Affordable Housing Funding initiative.
This video is extracted from the webinar "The 5 keys to a green municipal business case" presented on February 2, 2021. Watch the full webinar.

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.

The Financement innovateur pour des Municipalités Efficaces (FIME) program (Innovative Financing Mechanism for Efficient Municipalities),  supports energy-efficient solutions like heating, lighting and insulation. The pilot program also included personalized coaching services.

The benefits of this pilot program have extended beyond Plessisville, Varennes and Verchères. By the end of the pilot in 2017, plans were set in motion to deploy the program to the rest of the province, with 10 more municipalities joining.

Learn how your municipality can implement a similar model to remove barriers to energy efficiency and lower GHGs

Speaker

Marie-Pierre Paquette, Director, Civic Life Department of the City of Plessisville

Read the transcript

For the sake of quality, the video is available in its original language with the possibility of adding English subtitles.

Find out more about community efficiency financing programs!

• Explore our Community Efficiency Financing offer.
• Check out the Case study for this project.

This video is extracted from the webinar "Take your project from study to capital" presented on March 2, 2021. Watch the full webinar.

Increasing energy efficiency in Canadian homes can go a long way in helping homeowners reduce their GHG emissions, lower operating costs and increase home comfort.

Municipalities can make this easier and more affordable for residents by offering local financing programs for home energy upgrades.

Wondering how to get started in your community? Watch this video to learn:

• What home energy upgrade programs are and how they work
• The different types of programs you can offer your residents
• Ways to secure financing to implement a local program

Read the transcript

Our Sustainable Affordable Housing initiative supports local affordable housing providers – including municipal, not-for-profit organizations and housing co-ops – to retrofit existing affordable housing units, or construct energy efficient new builds that emit lower greenhouse gas emissions. 

This list of curated resources provides useful information on your affordable housing retrofit or new build project. It is focused on the different project stages including: discovery; planning; study; pilot and capital projects; and operations and maintenance. Learn more about:

• the most effective and energy efficient methods to make buildings more sustainable
• various operations and maintenance recommendations for efficient buildings
• the steps required to begin the retrofit of an existing multi-unit residential building
• how to select different energy efficient technologies for your housing project
• energy efficient methods to make buildings more sustainable
• and much more

We will continue to update this page with additional resources as they become available.

Please note: all files appear in the language in which they were provided, and are organized by category: retrofit, retrofit and new build and new build.  

Understanding energy efficiency

• Retrofits and new builds: Understanding energy efficiency: A guide for affordable housing providers (Federation of Canadian Municipalities) 
• Retrofits: Green Building Guide to Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (Green Building Canada)
• Retrofits: Why undertake energy-efficiency retrofits (Federation of Canadian Municipalities) 
• Retrofits: Heritage Buildings: Introduction (NAIMA Canada) 
• Retrofits and new builds: Keeping the Heat In (Natural Resources Canada) 
• Retrofits and new builds: What is Embodied Carbon? Understanding its Impact on the Built Environment (cove.tool)
• Retrofits and new builds: Developer's Guide to Passive House Buildings (Passive House Canada)
• Retrofits and new builds: Toolkit: Navigating energy-efficient affordable housing projects (FCM’s Green Municipal Fund) 

Energy conservation measures

• Retrofits and new builds: Heat Pump Basics (Natural Resources Canada)
• Retrofits: Checklists of Energy-Saving Measures (ENERGY STAR©) 
• Retrofits: Top 5 Energy-Saving Measures for Housing Co-ops (The Agency for Co-operative Housing)
• Retrofits and new builds: A Window into Energy Efficiency (Housing Services Corporation [HSC]) 
• Retrofits and new builds: Balconies - How Do They Impact Wall Performance? (EQ Building Performance)
• Retrofits and new builds: Thermal Bridges — A Path to Energy Waste (Housing Services Corporation [HSC]) 
• Retrofits: Harvesting Heat with Heat Pumps: Retrofit Guide for Ontario’s Electrically-Heated Multi-Family Buildings (The Atmospheric Fund [TAF])
• Retrofits: Heat Pump Retrofit Guide for Strata and Co-op Buildings (Green City Solutions with the City of Vancouver and H.W Flesher Housing Co-op)
• Retrofits and new builds: Smart Thermostats: Technology Assessment and Field Test Findings in Multi-Unit Residential Buildings (The Atmospheric Fund [TAF]) 
• Retrofits: Guide to Energy-Efficiency Windows (U.S. Department of Energy)
• Retrofits and new builds: Ventilation Strategies for High-Performance Multi-Units Residential Buildings (ZEBx)
• Retrofits: Decarbonization Roadmap for Multifamily Affordable Housing (Building Energy Exchange)
• Retrofits and new builds: Project Cash Flow Calculator (FCM’s Green Municipal Fund) 

Getting inspired on energy efficiency

• New builds: Best Practices and Innovative Approaches to Energy Reduction in MURBs (Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation [CMHC])
• Retrofits: First phase of a first-of-its-kind energy efficiency retrofit project completed at eight of WoodGreen Community Housing's buildings (WoodGreen)
• Retrofits: Research Insight: Identification of Best Practices in Northern MURBs (Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation [CMHC])
• Retrofits: Case study: Raising the bar on community housing retrofits (Federation of Canadian Municipalities) 
• New builds: Case study: New build achieves financial sustainability, social and environmental benefits  (Federation of Canadian Municipalities) 
• Retrofits: Case study: Brownfield redevelopment incorporates affordable housing (Federation of Canadian Municipalities) 
• New builds: Case study: Consultation and innovation improves performance (Federation of Canadian Municipalities) 
• Retrofits: Case study: Energy retrofit delivers multiple benefits (Federation of Canadian Municipalities) 
• New builds: Bois Ellen Co-operative Residence, Laval (Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation [CMHC])

Developing a business case for an energy efficiency retrofit

• Retrofits: Developing a business case for an energy-efficiency retrofit (Federation of Canadian Municipalities) 
• New builds: Planning high-performance affordable housing (Federation of Canadian Municipalities) 
• New builds: Why build high-performance affordable housing? (Federation of Canadian Municipalities) 
• Retrofits: Research Insight: Comprehensive Retrofit of an Existing Multi-Unit Residential Building (Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation [CMHC]) 
• Retrofits: The Case for Deep Retrofits (The Atmospheric Fund [TAF])
• Retrofits: Robert Cooke Co-op Case Study: A TowerWise Retrofit Project (The Atmospheric Fund [TAF]) 
• Retrofits: The Heights: Multi-Unit Residential Passive House (ZEBx)
• New builds: Achieving High Performance Multi-unit Residential Buildings: The Opportunities (Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation [CMHC])
• New builds: Video & Playbook: Low Carbon Energy Systems (ZEBx)
• New builds: Evaluate the Economics of Energy Efficiency Projects (ENERGY STAR©)
• Retrofits: How to undertake deep energy retrofits (Federation of Canadian Municipalities) 

Working with consultants

• Retrofits: Multifamily Housing (ENERGY STAR©)
• Retrofits and new builds: Hiring + Working with Development Consultants: A Guide for Non-Profit Housing Providers (BC Non-Profit Housing Association [BCNPHA])
• Retrofits and new builds: A Guide for the Selection of Energy Efficiency Technologies (Saskatchewan Energy Management Task Forces)
• Retrofits and new builds: Question & Answers: Energy Audits (The Agency for Co-operative Housing)
• New builds: Planning High-Performance Buildings (ZEBx)
• Retrofits: Steps for Creating and Implementing an Energy Management Plan (Housing Services Corporation [HSC]) 
• Retrofits: Pre-Energy Audit Document Checklist (Housing Services Corporation [HSC])
• Retrofits and new builds: Toolkit for air source heat pump sizing and selection (Natural Resources Canada [NRCan])
• Retrofits and new builds: Canadian Sustainable Energy Practitioner (CSEP) (CIET Canada)
• Retrofits and new builds: Funders list for sustainable affordable housing (FCM’s Green Municipal Fund)
• Retrofits: Find a Contractor (Clean BC and British Columbia)

Engaging residents in energy efficiency projects

• Retrofits: A Field Guide to Retrofits in Occupied Buildings (Tower Renewal Partnership)
• Retrofits: Sustainability at Home: A Toolkit For Your Co-op (The Co-operative Housing Federation of Canada) 
• Retrofits: Energy Saving Competitions: Activity Kits (ENERGY STAR©) )
• Retrofits: Tenant Engagement Sustainability, Guide (BC Housing)
• Retrofits: Tenant Engagement Sustainability, A Supplementary Guide (BC Housing)
• Retrofits: Tenant Engagement on Sustainability, Facilitators Handbook (BC Housing)
• Retrofits : ACORN Tenant Engagement Report – Retrofits (ACORN Canada)
• Retrofits: Retrofitting with Tenants in Place (Pembina Institute)
• Retrofits: H.W. Flesher Housing Co-op — Case Study (City of Vancouver and Greenest City)

Operations and maintenance

• Retrofits: Guide to Building Condition Assessments and Reserve Fund Studies (The Agency for Co-operative Housing)
• Retrofits: Operation and Maintenance Best Practices for Energy-Efficient Buildings (ENERGY STAR©) 
• Retrofits: E-learning course: Building Operators Training (Federation of Canadian Municipalities) 

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.

The Financement innovateur pour des Municipalités Efficaces (FIME) program (Innovative Financing Mechanism for Efficient Municipalities),  supports energy-efficient solutions like heating, lighting and insulation. The pilot program also included personalized coaching services.

The benefits of this pilot program have extended beyond Plessisville, Varennes and Verchères. By the end of the pilot in 2017, plans were set in motion to deploy the program to the rest of the province, with 10 more municipalities joining.

Learn how your municipality can implement a similar model to remove barriers to energy efficiency and lower GHGs

Speaker

Marie-Pierre Paquette, Director, Civic Life Department of the City of Plessisville

Read the transcript

For the sake of quality, the video is available in its original language with the possibility of adding English subtitles.

Find out more about community efficiency financing programs!

• Explore our Community Efficiency Financing offer.
• Check out the Case study for this project.

This video is extracted from the webinar "Take your project from study to capital" presented on March 2, 2021. Watch the full webinar.

How do you ensure your projects last?

Long term vision is key to building projects that maximize their potential, especially when it comes to climate impacts and emissions. These projects require careful planning and a management approach that can adapt to changing circumstances.

Watch this webinar recording and explore how to build and adapt projects to make them truly sustainable in the long term. The presentations draw on 20 years of GMF-supported initiatives to showcase the possibilities. Plus, you’ll learn from sustainability champions who explain how they overcame changes to staff and systems to maintain their projects over time.

This webinar recording includes how to:

• Convert current costs into opportunities for future development
• Measure environmental, social and economic benefits
• Retain those benefits after project completion
• Take advantage of GMF funding and capacity building opportunities

Speakers

• Bryan Purcell, The Atmospheric Fund, Toronto Community Housing energy retrofits
• Johanne Ouellet, Regional electric car-sharing system implementation (SAUVéR) pilot project
• Michael Hay, Hybridizing public transit in the unique Town of Banff
• Jim Wren, Advisor, Programs Outreach, Community Efficiency Financing, GMF
• Anne-Charlotte Olivier, Project Coordinator, Capacity Development, GMF

Read the transcript

For two decades, we’ve led the way in supporting innovative municipal sustainability projects across Canada. Through GMF’s unique mix of training, resources and funding, municipalities have improved their air, water and soil quality, and tackled the impacts of climate change. With our help, municipalities and their partners have brought more than 1,310 sustainable projects to life.

Learn how to take your study or pilot to the next level

How does a feasibility study or pilot project pave the way to a capital project? Watch this webinar recording and discover how others have successfully converted studies into a capital project that provides social, economic and environmental benefits. You’ll learn about sustainable initiatives that have made the transition at various stages in the process, how each stage fits in the big picture, and the types of support GMF can provide from start to finish.

This webinar recording includes how to:

• Convert a planning or feasibility study into a capital project
• Prioritize the right solutions for your municipality
• Take advantage of GMF funding and capacity building opportunities

Speakers

• Glenda Holmes, City of Yorkton’s water treatment plant
• Marie-Pierre Paquette, innovative financing for efficient municipalities
• Megan (Walsh) Lohmann, Head of Community Energy Management of the Regional District of of East Kootenay
• Tara Tran, Greenwich Mohawk brownfield remediation
• Patrick Kehoe, Programs Outreach Advisor, Green Municipal Fund

Read the transcript

For two decades, we’ve led the way in supporting innovative municipal sustainability projects across Canada. Through GMF’s unique mix of training, resources and funding, municipalities have improved their air, water and soil quality, and tackled the impacts of climate change. With our help, municipalities and their partners have brought more than 1,310 sustainable projects to life.