Our Impact

Home Upgrades Program (Foundation Initiative)

To help make energy costs more affordable for low-income households, we partnered with Kambo Energy Group and a coalition of funders to launch the Home Upgrades Program. The Home Upgrades Program offers free energy efficiency education and home upgrades to qualified families in Calgary and Edmonton. We identify and install home upgrades based on each household’s unique needs, such as new windows, furnaces, and insulation. This program will reduce energy costs and improve the comfort, safety, and efficiency of the homes of hardworking Albertans.

Carbon Capture for Nonprofits (Foundation Initiative)

Finding ways to reduce energy use in buildings can take time and effort, making it difficult for nonprofits to lower operating costs. With support from Cenovus, we partnered with CleanO2 to install their micro-carbon capture CarbinX units in nonprofit buildings to lower utility bills and reduce GHGs in the community. The first unit was installed in the Excel Society building in Edmonton in March 2023.

Electric Ride Sharing in Apartments and Condos - (Direct Investment)

The Atmospheric Fund (TAF), Alberta Ecotrust Foundation, and Greater Montreal Climate Fund (FCGM) jointly invested $1 million in Kite Mobility, a Canadian startup expanding its "mobility as an amenity" service. Kite's innovative model provides electric vehicles for rent or subscription within centralized sharing platforms in multi-family buildings. This investment aligns with our mission to lower urban transportation emissions and enhance housing affordability by reducing infrastructure needs and promoting a sharing economy.

Improving Accessibility to Emission Reductions for BIPOC and/or Women owned SMEs in Calgary (CIF Grant Project)

ECO Canada's project focuses on enhancing the accessibility of financing and incentives for emission reductions for underserved small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). By collaborating with minority-owned SMEs, particularly those led by Black, Indigenous, People of Colour (BIPOC), and women, the initiative seeks to understand barriers these businesses face in reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The project aims to develop a GHG Reduction toolkit, offering resources on emission reduction strategies, funding, and regulatory information.

Kainai Iinnii Rematriation Project (Environmental Impact Grant Project)

The Kainai Iinnii Rematriation Project (KIRP) is an ecological and cultural restoration project supporting the reintroduction of plains bison to their ancestral native grasslands on Kainai (Blood Tribe), restoring native grassland ecosystems and traditional Blackfoot culture and way of life. The Iinnii (Blackfoot for "bison") will provide food security, independence, and cultural revival. At the same time, the grasslands will provide carbon storage and safeguard biodiversity while also providing plants and animals essential to cultural practices, traditional stories and ceremonies, and medicines for members of Kainai, which will vastly improve mental and community health.

Watershed Connectivity Planning in the Berland-Wildhay (Environmental Impact Grant Project)

Through a partnership between the Athabasca Watershed Council (AWC), Canadian Wildlife Federation (CWF), Alberta Environment and Protected Areas (EPA), and local Indigenous and community groups, this initiative will restore freshwater connectivity in the Berland-Wildhay watershed. Project partners will use spatial modelling and field assessments to quantify the connectivity status of the watershed for target fish species, set goals to improve connectivity, prioritize barriers for assessment, and implement strategies and actions to remove or rehabilitate them.

Building Capacity for Community Aquatic Biomonitoring on Alberta's Eastern Slopes (Environmental Impact Grant Project)

This grassroots project will develop the first CABIN reference model - an invaluable aquatic monitoring tool - for Alberta’s Eastern Slopes that will benefit First Nations and community biomonitoring groups, academic researchers, and all levels of government. By developing a robust model and building capacity for biomonitoring in local First Nations communities and watershed stewardship groups, this multi-year initiative will reduce economic barriers, increase social capital, and improve aquatic biomonitoring across the headwaters of Alberta.

Community Resilience and Knowledge Sharing

The Building Resilience and Knowledge Sharing Project, a collaborative effort between the Oldman Watershed Council, Blood Tribe Land Management, Piikani Nation Land Management, and Cows and Fish, aims to promote restorative action. Focused on cultural revival, climate change resilience, improved water access, and enhanced biodiversity, the initiative will restore vital grassland and riparian ecosystems.

Circular IC&I Food Recovery and Waste Diversion Pilot (Environmental Imapct Grant Project)

Through food rescue and food waste processing, this pilot project will consolidate and connect food and food waste collections between neighbouring businesses and institutions and develop an affordable, cost-shared collective financial model. The Circular Innovation Council will create a solution that will rescue nutritious food for community agencies addressing food insecurity, reduce food waste and greenhouse gas emissions, produce valuable compost, and reduce organic diversion costs for businesses and institutions.

Goodwill@Work in Calgary (Environmental Impact Grant Project)

Through their Goodwill@Work program, Goodwill hopes to replicate their successful Cleaning Cloth and Repair for Good programs at their impact centre in Calgary. Both programs will upcycle and recycle damaged or undesirable items they received through donations that cannot be sold at their thrift stores, diverting material from landfills.