Guide: Taking your indoor ice rink to net zero
Learn how to develop an actionable roadmap to net zero ice rinks
Are you planning a net zero retrofit to reduce energy use and GHG emissions in your local arena? Our guidebook Taking your indoor ice rink to net zero is filled with practical information to help you get started.
This guidebook was developed through a pilot project on indoor ice rinks, but the lessons and approaches in this guidebook can be applied to other buildings in your municipal portfolio.
In this guide, you’ll learn:
- what you’ll need to collect to prepare for developing net zero measures
- information on putting together your internal team and guidance on making a business case
- typical low-carbon measures implemented in ice rinks
- where to find additional resources, including funding and other support
Featured resources
Guide: Taking your indoor swimming pool to net zero
Key measures and lessons learned to help you build a net-zero plan
Read moreFactsheets: Community Buildings Retrofit initiative
How to retrofit existing community buildings to lower GHG emissions and extend their life cycle.
Read moreGuide: Equity and non-energy benefits of community building retrofits
Explore how retrofits can build more equitable and resilient municipalities.
Read moreRelated Resources
See AllGuide: Equity and non-energy benefits of community building retrofits
Explore the equity and other non-energy benefits of retrofitting community buildings.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
Factsheets: Community Buildings Retrofit initiative
Learn how to retrofit existing community buildings to lower GHG emissions and extend their life cycle.
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.
Webinar recording: Energy efficiency for reaching net zero
Learn how municipalities can advance energy efficiency initiatives to reach net-zero targets.
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.
Video: Durham Region, ON launches novel financing model
A video showcasing innovative and accessible financing options for home-energy upgrades.
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.
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 market guide
Guide to help Canadian municipalities assess potential home energy upgrade programs
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.
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.
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.
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.
Webinar: Transitioning ice rinks to net-zero
Learn the basics of building retrofits for facility buildings
Resource library: Community Buildings Retrofit
Find practical case studies and guidance for planning your local community building retrofit.
Webinar recording: Introduction to local home-energy financing programs
Learn the basics on delivering local financing programs for home-energy upgrades.
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.
Resources: Community Efficiency Financing
Read guidebooks and case studies to see how municipalities are designing home upgrade financing programs.
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.
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.
Factsheet: Governance strategies for deep decarbonization
This factsheet provides senior municipal leaders with governance strategies for achieving deep emissions reductions in each decarbonization pathway.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
GMF’s Municipal Energy Roadmap
Solutions for Canadian communities to achieve significant GHG emissions reductions in buildings and meet long-term sustainability objectives.
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.
Regional Energy Coaches
Regional Energy Coaches help affordable housing providers plan energy efficiency retrofits and new builds.
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.
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.
Factsheets: Community Efficiency Financing
Learn how to design, deliver and market a home upgrade financing program for your community.
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.
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.
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 Funding
See AllCapital project: Retrofit of existing municipal buildings
Available funding: Retrofit a municipal building or portfolio of municipal buildings for higher energy performance and significant GHG emissions reduction.
See Funding OpportunityCapital project: Construction of new sustainable municipal and community buildings
Available funding: Commission and construct a new high-efficiency municipal or community building.
See Funding OpportunityStudy: Retrofit pathway for municipal buildings
Available funding: Outline the design of a proposed retrofit of an existing municipal building or portfolio of existing municipal buildings.
See Funding OpportunityStudy: Net-Zero Transformation
Available funding: Assess new approaches and solutions to bring your community closer to net-zero.
See Funding OpportunityPilot: Net-Zero Transformation
Available funding: Evaluate innovative GHG reduction solutions in real-world conditions.
See Funding OpportunityCapital project: Net-Zero Transformation
Available funding: Deploy a full scale best-in-class GHG reduction solution.
See Funding OpportunityBusiness case: Organic Waste-to-Energy
Available funding: Assess viable waste-to-energy systems and business models for your project.
See Funding OpportunityStudy: Organic Waste-to-Energy
Available funding: Outline the design of a proposed organic waste-to-energy system.
See Funding OpportunityCapital project: Organic Waste-to-Energy
Available funding: Construct, commission and begin operation of an organic waste-to-energy system.
See Funding OpportunityStudy: New construction of municipal and community buildings
Available funding: Outline the design of a proposed new high-efficiency municipal or community building.
See Funding OpportunityPlan: Net-Zero Transformation
Available funding: Conduct integrated planning exercises to support the municipal transition to net zero.
See Funding OpportunityCapital project: Community Energy Systems
Available funding: Construct, commission and rapidly deploy a community energy system.
See Funding OpportunityStudy: Community Energy Systems
Available funding: Outline the design of a proposed community energy system.
See Funding OpportunityBusiness case: Community Energy Systems
Available funding: Assess viable community energy projects and their business models.
See Funding OpportunityStudy: GHG reduction pathway feasibility
Determine the best approach to integrating energy and GHG reductions into longer-term management plans.
See Funding OpportunityCapital project: GHG impact retrofit
Retrofit a building to achieve a minimum 30% reduction in GHG emissions; ideal for shovel-ready projects.
See Funding OpportunityCapital project: GHG reduction pathway retrofit
Retrofit a building using an outcomes-oriented approach to achieving (near) net zero carbon buildings over time.
See Funding OpportunityStudy: Assess options for a local home-energy upgrade financing program
A feasibility study for an initiative that explores and assesses options for a financing program for home energy upgrades that can achieve triple-bottom-line benefits within your community.
See Funding OpportunityStudy: Evaluate an existing local home-energy upgrade financing program
A program evaluation that helps municipalities with existing financing programs for home-energy upgrades to assess the historical performance of those programs and identify opportunities to improve them.
See Funding OpportunityStudy: Design a local home-energy upgrade financing program
A feasibility study for an initiative that lays the groundwork for a home-energy upgrade financing program by documenting the details needed to obtain approval from your local government.
See Funding OpportunityPilot project: Local home-energy upgrade financing program
A pilot project for an initiative that supports implementation of a small-scale version of a local financing program for home energy upgrades.
See Funding OpportunityCapital program: Loan or credit enhancement for local home-energy upgrade financing program
A capital project for an initiative that capializes a local financing program for home-energy upgrades.
See Funding OpportunityCapital project: New construction of sustainable affordable housing
A capital project for an initiative that constructs new affordable housing projects to a higher environmental performance standard.
See Funding OpportunityPilot project: Retrofit or new construction of sustainable affordable housing
A pilot project for an initiative that supports the integration of leading-edge deep energy efficiency measures and onsite renewable energy generation in existing affordable housing retrofit and new build projects.
See Funding OpportunityCapital project: Retrofit of sustainable affordable housing
A capital project for an initiative that supports the integration of leading-edge deep energy efficiency measures and onsite renewable energy generation in existing affordable housing retrofit and new build projects.
See Funding OpportunityStudy: Retrofit or new construction of sustainable affordable housing
A feasibility study for an initiative that supports the integration of leading-edge deep energy efficiency measures and onsite renewable energy generation in existing affordable housing retrofit and new build projects.
See Funding OpportunityPlanning: Early support grant for sustainable affordable housing projects
The development of deliverables required in pplications for additional funding (e.g., GMF’s Sustainable Affordable Housing (SAH) study grant or the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s (CMHC) Seed Funding program) as you progress through the next stages of energy-efficient affordable housing projects.
See Funding Opportunity