The City of Calgary partners with Ecotrust and City of Edmonton to advance emissions-neutral buildings in Alberta
Professionals in the building, construction and renovation industries now have a resource with the Emissions-Neutral Buildings Information Exchange (ENBIX) to support information sharing on reducing emissions from buildings in Alberta. It’s an Alberta-born effort in partnership between The City of Calgary, City of Edmonton and Alberta Ecotrust. The three partners gathered in Edmonton today to announce the launch.
“We are creating momentum for action with ENBIX that will build over the next several years and beyond,” says Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek. “Building capacity for emissions neutral construction across the whole development ecosystem – from construction to manufacturing, supply, training, operating and more - is critical in getting us to net-zero buildings by 2050.”
Over the next four years ENBIX will be developing a variety of platforms to enable the local building industry to share knowledge and build capacity for low-carbon building and renovation practices across Alberta. In early 2024, the Calgary Community of Practice will launch, providing a forum for Calgary-specific collaboration, while still learning from experiences across Alberta. With funding now committed to the program, ENBIX will continue to expand the ways in which it shares market research, industry experience and training, including webinars, site visits, communities of practice, technology demonstrations, training sessions and more.
“Collaboration initiatives like ENBIX will help us go faster towards net zero, together,” says Claire Beckstead, Leader of Community Energy, The City of Calgary. “With building code standards moving rapidly toward net-zero standards, the industry needs support to get ahead of new regulations. And in Calgary, reducing the GHG emissions from buildings means we are making progress toward our goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.”
The City of Edmonton and The City of Calgary are the main funders of ENBIX, with a contribution of $1.7 million and $1.4 million respectively. In addition to serving as the driving force behind ENBIX, Alberta Ecotrust is providing a $600,000 contribution from the organizations’ Climate Innovation Fund.
Commercial and residential buildings are a major source of greenhouse gas emissions across Canada. In Calgary, buildings account for about two-thirds of our total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Our greatest opportunity to see immediate greenhouse gas reductions is in retrofitting existing buildings, and developing new buildings to net-zero standards.
“We have heard from industry leaders the need to build better for commercial and environmental reasons, and to prepare for the adoption of higher tiers of building code in Alberta,” said Andrea Linsky, Director, Emissions-Neutral Buildings, Alberta Ecotrust Foundation. “ENBIX is here to work with industry to advance more affordable emissions-neutral buildings, by sharing information, fostering innovation and strengthening collaboration.”
As founding partners, the Calgary Construction Association and Smart Sustainable Resilient Infrastructure Association (SSRIA) have been significantly involved in developing the Exchange. These founding partners will continue to advise the startup and initial operations as leaders in the industry and will participate in the Exchange’s Executive Advisory Committee.
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About Alberta Ecotrust Foundation and the Climate Innovation Fund The Alberta Ecotrust Foundation is an environmental charity working to create a healthier environment for all Albertans.
Alberta Ecotrust is a founding member of the Low Carbon Cities Canada (LC3) network. LC3 supports cities and communities in reaching their carbon emissions reduction potential. This initiative is implemented in partnership among seven local centres and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM). Funded by a Government of Canada endowment through FCM, LC3 is part of a national investment in municipal climate action to accelerate urban climate solutions and to help achieve Canada’s climate goal of net-zero by 2050.
As an LC3 Centre, Alberta Ecotrust received a $43.4 million endowment from the federal government to create the Climate Innovation Fund. The Fund provides programming in Calgary and Edmonton, taking on a nimble, accelerator role, complementing and advancing the climate leadership work undertaken by the municipalities.
For more information, visit albertaecotrust.com.
Media contacts:
Calgary-based interviews available Dec. 7 between 3:30 – 4:45 p.m. MT
Katie Gusa, Communications Strategist
Climate & Environment, City of Calgary
katie.gusa@calgary.ca
403.312.7413
Edmonton-based interviews available Dec. 7 after 4:45 p.m. MT
Andrea Soler, Communications Director
Alberta Ecotrust
a.soler@albertaecotrust.com
403.209.2245
Join the launch event via the livestream on Dec. 7 at 5 p.m. MT available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zfur9c5zmy4