All One Sky aims to increase the familiarity and ability of social housing providers to mainstream ambitious levels of energy efficiency into planned upgrades of existing buildings and to adopt higher building standards for new construction.

This project addressed the barriers to deep energy and greenhouse gas (GHG) saving retrofits in the social and affordable housing sectors of Edmonton and Calgary. They partnered with three social housing providers, performed energy assessments of four buildings and built an energy model for each building. They identified two critical barriers to the kind of retrofitting required to meet the cities' net-zero emission targets: a poor understanding of the business case for deep energy retrofits and a lack of awareness of available financing options.

They hosted a workshop of 35 people in government, environmental and social housing sectors to explore the results of the case studies and financing options. Project outcomes include two briefs: the first builds the financial case, based on four case studies of affordable housing properties, the second explores financing solutions. A third output is a DIY simulation tool that enables housing providers to perform a cost-benefit analysis of a retrofit project (if certain data are available for a property) and simulate the impacts of some financing options on the project.

The briefs underscore the transformative potential of addressing financing and funding barriers, highlighting the economic, environmental and social benefits of deep retrofits. By seizing this opportunity and incorporating deep energy and GHG-saving measures, the social and affordable housing sectors can play a crucial role in achieving a low-carbon future while improving the quality of housing, reducing energy poverty and fostering economic growth.