From Granite to Green: Nudging Homeowners towards Energy Efficiency

Inspiring collaborations between environmental groups and Indigenous Nations in southern Alberta set to receive a large portion of $500K+ in local grants.

Groups leading climate solutions in Calgary and Edmonton receive funds to advance new approaches

New Partnership Provides Funding Support to Alberta Businesses for Energy Retrofits

Embedding Equity in Energy Efficiency Financing Programs

Unlocking GHG Reductions and Lowering Utility Bills at the Same Time 

Is working from home more climate-friendly than commuting? 

The City of Edmonton, with support from Alberta Ecotrust, are partnering to deliver research grants to help advance knowledge about how Edmonton can become an energy sustainable and climate resilient city.

Cities IPCC Legacy Research Grant | Alberta Ecotrust

We know that Calgary and Edmonton need support to effectively reduce greenhouse gas emissions. That is why we offer funding to a variety of organizations for local low-carbon solutions.

Climate Innovation Fund Grant Program | Alberta Ecotrust Foundation

See your home’s digital energy score to understand how energy efficient a property is. This program is under development. More details will be provided in 2022.

Digital Residential Energy Score | Alberta Ecotrust Foundation

The City of Edmonton, with support from Alberta Ecotrust, are partnering to deliver grants to  invest in citizen-led urban solutions to climate change. This grant is no longer available.

EcoCity Edmonton Grant | Alberta Ecotrust

Get funding for projects that are working on Alberta’s most pressing environmental issues.

Environmental Grant Programs | Alberta Ecotrust Foundation

Environmental impact grant

Maureen’s passion and commitment to giving back and making an impact in her community stemmed from growing up in rural eastern Nigeria with parents that had similar beliefs.  

Calgary at a Crossroads Polling Report- Final (2).pdf

Alberta_Ecotrust_Climate_Innovation_Fund_What_We_Heard.pdf

Alberta_Ecotrust_Climate_Innovation_Fund_Stakeholder_Avatars.pdf

Alberta_Ecotrust_Climate_Innovation_Fund_Landscape_Analysis_Updated_Feb_2021.pdf

Alberta_Ecotrust_Climate_Innovation_Fund_Best_Practice_Research.pdf

Reducing emissions and addressing climate change will require many different approaches working together. One approach that's been used for decades in other jurisdictions but is not currently used in Alberta is to invest into Demand Side Management (DSM) through the utility system. DSM initiatives support consumers in all sectors and all financial abilities to reduce their energy bills and shift their energy use during times of high prices. This improves affordability for consumers while reducing emissions at the same time by supporting significant investments in energy efficiency, enabling demand response and reducing the cost of adding distributed energy resources to the system. 

DSM will become even more important as Alberta transitions to new technologies such as renewable energy and other low emission energy sources, and as the uptake of electric vehicles and heat pumps progresses. This is because DSM also helps to increase the flexibility of the utility system to better match increasingly dynamic supply and demand technologies while reducing costs at the same time. 

This project will engage key stakeholders in the DSM conversation to gather input on how Alberta should move forward to further explore DSM opportunities in the province and ultimately implement it within the utility system in a way that is complimentary to other emission reduction efforts in the province.

Alberta Energy Efficiency Alliance

The Engaging Tenants in Apartment Retrofits Resource Guide will set the stage for ACORN to maximize the community benefits gained by apartment retrofits, and to create policies that will enable those retrofits to be brought to scale.  

ACORN is a national community union of low-to-moderate income people that has won significant policy victories over its 18-year history in Canada. From rent control victories in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, to the development of cutting-edge anti-tenant displacement policies in Burnaby, ACORN has developed a near unparalleled track record of tangible policy changes that benefit its constituency of low-to-moderate income tenants. New to Alberta, ACORN has established groups of tenants in Calgary's Eastside and the Beltline. 

The Engaging Tenants in Apartment Retrofits Resource Guide, and the process to develop it, will allow Calgary ACORN to meld its burgeoning campaigns for affordable and livable housing with campaigns for energy efficiency apartment retrofits.  In doing so we will connect the dots between popular affordable and livable rental housing and GHG reduction campaigning. 

Engaging tenants is at the core of this project.  Through direct dialogue and door to door surveying of tenants, ACORN will quickly engage and develop an understanding of Calgary's tenant community and the issues they face. ACORN's national reach will enable us to learn from lessons already taught in cities like Toronto and Montreal where ACORN is working with other Low Carbon Cities Canada (LC3) partners on developing strategies to scale up and engage tenants into apartment building projects. 

The Engaging Tenants in Apartment Retrofits Resource Guide will be released in the Spring of 2023 and will include a made-in-Alberta tenant engagement model, researched proposals for policy reforms that would enable more apartment retrofits, and a strategic organization plan to enable Alberta ACORN to assist in large-scale apartment retrofits.

Acorn Institute

Engaging Tenants in Apartment Retrofits Resource Guide

Common Ground - Mobilizing School Jurisdictions as Active Transportation Leaders aims to inform and guide Edmonton school jurisdictions through the Active School Travel Policy and Practice Recommendations for Alberta School Jurisdictions resource, while applying these recommendations and best practices in six Edmonton area schools. With Edmonton Public Schools' and Edmonton Catholic Schools' leadership and the support of Ever Active Schools and other community and municipal partners, school communities will be better equipped to position active transportation as the preferred mode choice for the school journey, thus supporting the City of Edmonton’s Community Energy Transition Strategy and Action Plan through the avoidance of GHG emissions. 

Ever Active Schools

Common Ground - Mobilizing School Jurisdictions as Active Transportation Leaders

Most high school students get to school by car. At Youth En Route we know this from over 2,500 student travel surveys at 10 schools. The data shows us what needs to change to impact behavior. Our city can make big inroads into cutting greenhouse gas emissions if we are able to move those short trips to active travel. Our mission is to make Active Travel the preferred mode for youth, and we have a data-driven strategy, and track record of stretching funds to make it happen. 

Youth En Route

Calgary High School Active Transport Project

ECO Canada has partnered with Alberta Ecotrust Foundation to improve accessibility of financing and/or incentive programs for emission reductions for underserved small and medium size enterprises. 

SMEs have a key role in meeting Canada’s commitment to Net Zero goals. However, many SMEs are often challenged with lack of enough resources and subject knowledge to pursue climate action on their own. ECO Canada will work in collaboration with minority-owned SMEs to understand the barriers small businesses encounter to reduce their GHG emissions, access resources such as government funding and incentive programs, and information on new and updated regulations.

To help alleviate climate action barriers, ECO Canada will work with minority-owned SMEs and subject matter experts for the creation of GHG Reduction toolkit for SMEs and promotion of sustainable procurement practices. The toolkit will provide resources on reduction strategies for a range of common emission sources, funding, financing, and incentive programs, as well as potential regulatory and process barriers.

Primary partners of this project will be minority-owned SMEs in Calgary, particularly black, Indigenous, people of colour (BIPOC), and/or women. Through this project, ECO Canada aims to support the SMEs in Calgary adopt practices that will not only help mitigate climate change, but also be beneficial to the long-term success of their business.

From this project, ECO Canada aims to accomplish three main benefits for communities:

-             Reconciliation and EDI

Environmental Careers Organization of Canada

Improving Accessibility to Emission Reductions for BIPOC and/or Women owned SMEs in Calgary

The Calgary Climate Hub with support from Alberta Ecotrust is working with community partners to plant tiny forests using the Miyawaki Method. We will plant up to 10 forests with a focus on areas with a low tree canopy. There are many benefits of urban forestation, including eliminating the heat island effect, increasing property values, providing recreation spaces and improved mental health and wellness. This work will result in a 'How to Plant a Tiny Forest in Calgary' handbook which can be used by individuals and community groups.

Calgary Climate Hub

This project will see a team composed of low-carbon transportation experts from Pollution Probe, RFS Energy, and Southland Transportation conduct the first ever electric school bus pilot project in the City of Calgary. The fully electric bus will see regular service in Southland's fleet throughout the 2022-2023 school year. Data related to bus's energy consumption, maintenance, and fueling costs will be gathered and analyzed, with a focus on performance during cold weather operations. Findings will be summarized in a business case for electric school bus adoption that will be shared with school bus fleet operators and key stakeholders throughout Alberta and Canada. A technical brief will also be developed to help fleet managers and technicians efficiently navigate the process of electric school bus adoption. Zero emission buses provide substantial benefits not only for Canada's climate, but for the health of the students who ride them every day. 

The Pollution Probe Foundation

Alberta Electric School Bus Deployment Project

The aim of Iron & Earth's Net-Zero Pathways project is to provide career transition options from a carbon-dependent economy to a net-zero economy, and to communicate the corresponding benefits of this transition to communities across Canada. Edmonton has a variety of strong province-wide assets for clean energy transition, and Edmontonians are open to the discussion and the potential benefits, with 70% agreeing that the transition towards net-zero provides job opportunities. With this in mind, Iron & Earth is launching our Net-Zero Pathways program with Edmonton as its pilot region. This is a capacity-building plan that supports local workers with the skills needed for these climate solution projects, and directly addresses the challenges employers experience in trying to recruit skilled workers by providing a workforce solution from an inclusive and diverse pool of local talent. Net-Zero Pathways jobs are long-term, sustainable positions that keep workers in their communities, therefore are less polluting and contribute to the development of resilient, net-zero communities. Our pilot program is designed to offer participants an upskilling program of 10 days, and a 6-week experiential learning opportunity with local net-zero employers. The program will be particularly relevant to post-secondary students, fossil fuel industry workers, Indigenous community members and business owners. We aim to create more than a project. We envision an environment where this kind of reciprocal relationship between community, its workers, training organizations, and employers is fully implemented in regions across Canada. 

Iron and Earth

For over 120 years Edmonton's Polish community has created lasting legacies in all facets of our community: churches, schools, community halls, government, medicine. As Edmonton grew from a small community to the thriving metropolis it is today, members of our Polish families settled in all corners of the city and surrounding areas. Over 72,000 Edmontonians now identify as Polish. Our community is large and proud and now we have the opportunity to share and showcase the Polish experience for all Edmontonians, to create a place where we can be proud of our roots and celebrate and share our culture. 

This 18,000 square foot  CentrePolonia , will rise as a beacon to our vibrant community; a community hub that the Polish community will call home. With an authentic Polish restaurant, cafe and bar, classrooms, dance studio, and meeting rooms for community groups. CentrePolonia will be a destination not only for our community but for all Edmontonians. We are proud to be leaders in zero emission building development that will see the construction of a zero-emission building, highlighted by an all-electric induction kitchen, geothermal heating and green electricity throughout the structure.

Polish Heritage Society of Edmonton

Creating a Carbon Emission Free Commercial Kitchen in the new Centre Polonia

Telling the stories of Albertans protecting our environment.

See our latest annoucements, resources to help elevate your work, and how we support Albertans across the province.

Telling the stories of Albertans protecting our environment.

Featured

Inspiring collaborations between environmental groups and Indigenous Nations in southern Alberta set to receive a large portion of $500K+ in local grants.

Groups leading climate solutions in Calgary and Edmonton receive funds to advance new approaches

Latest News

From Granite to Green: Nudging Homeowners towards Energy Efficiency

Inspiring collaborations between environmental groups and Indigenous Nations in southern Alberta set to receive a large portion of $500K+ in local grants.

New Partnership Provides Funding Support to Alberta Businesses for Energy Retrofits

Pollinators of Changemaking

Groups leading climate solutions in Calgary and Edmonton receive funds to advance new approaches

“What if nature WAS our economy?”

Embedding Equity in Energy Efficiency Financing Programs

Unlocking GHG Reductions and Lowering Utility Bills at the Same Time

Is working from home more climate-friendly than commuting?

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Resources

Calgary at a Crossroads Polling Report

Climate Innovation Fund What We Heard

Climate Innovation Fund Stakeholder Avatars

Climate Innovation Fund Landscape Analysis

Climate Innovation Fund Best Practice Research

Alberta Narratives Project

Supported Project Stories

Priming the Pump for DSM

Climate Change

Engaging Tenants in Apartment Retrofits Resource Guide

Calgary

Climate Change

Common Ground - Mobilizing School Jurisdictions as Active Transportation Leaders

Edmonton

Climate Change

Calgary High School Active Transport Project

Calgary

Climate Change

Improving Accessibility to Emission Reductions for BIPOC and/or Women owned SMEs in Calgary

Calgary

Climate Change

Miyawaki Forest

Calgary

Land Use

Alberta Electric School Bus Deployment Project

Calgary

Climate Change

Net-Zero Pathways Program

Calgary

Climate Change

Creating a Carbon Emission Free Commercial Kitchen in the new Centre Polonia

Edmonton

Climate Change

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