We are excited to share that this fall, we will be launching Alberta Ecotrust Retrofit Accelerator: A new program designed to help building owners and managers reduce emissions from their buildings.

Commercial and residential buildings are a major source of carbon emissions across Canada, accounting for 40 to 60 percent of emissions in Calgary and Edmonton alone.

To address this, we created the Alberta Ecotrust Retrofit Accelerator program that will launch this fall. This program aims to reduce emissions from existing buildings in Alberta by providing free coaching services to building owners and managers, guiding them through the process of undertaking sustainable building upgrades, known as “deep retrofits.”

Deep retrofits are a comprehensive approach to upgrading a building's systems and infrastructure with the goal of reducing emissions, energy consumption and operating costs. This process has the potential to minimize the overall impact that buildings have on the environment, and in many cases, reduce the costs associated with their operations.

Free Coaching Services

We recognize that many building owners and managers face challenges when it comes to prioritizing sustainable building upgrades. Our program will provide free coaching services to help overcome these barriers and guide participants through the entire retrofit process.

Our services will include:

• Day-to-day assistance throughout retrofit planning, design and implementation.

• Developing retrofit plans tailored to unique needs, barriers and budgets.

• Identifying ways to integrate retrofits into a building’s regular upkeep schedule.

• Uncovering the benefits and potential cost-savings associated with retrofits.

• Exploring various funding, financing and grant options.

• Providing partial funding for studies like energy assessments and business case development.

While we will not offer grants or rebates for capital costs, we will assist with funding applications and navigating the funding process. The program and its coaches will also not provide any financial or professional engineering advice, but can provide guidance and connect participants to other supports as needed along their retrofit process.

Building a Sustainable Retrofit Network

We are committed to making deep retrofits more attainable and creating an environment where they can become an ordinary part of building management and maintenance. The Retrofit Accelerator program will support the development of Alberta’s sustainable retrofit industry to help reduce emissions from existing buildings on a larger scale. This will be done through capacity building, training, peer-to-peer networking and research.

The program will also support the continued expansion of our Emissions-Neutral Buildings Information Exchange (ENBIX) to include findings and information about deep retrofits and conduct market assessments and research.

Thank You to Our Funders

Alberta Ecotrust Retrofit Accelerator is funded by Natural Resources Canada under the Deep Retrofit Accelerator Initiative.

This program is also made possible by funding from RBC Foundation’s Tech for Nature program.