Community Buildings Retrofit initiative

Canadian communities own and operate a large and diverse portfolio of aging buildings in need of upgrades – including facilities that contribute to strong, vibrant community culture, like arenas, pools and recreation centres. 

The Green Municipal Fund’s (GMF) Community Buildings Retrofit (CBR) initiative supports local governments and not-for-profit organizations in retrofitting public buildings to improve energy performance, lower operating and maintenance costs, and transition to cleaner energy solutions over time.

The CBR funding offer supports all stages of project development, helping communities of all sizes to significantly reduce GHG emissions, while extending their asset’s life cycle. CBR can help your municipality achieve the following:

• Improve energy performance and significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions
• Create local jobs in your municipality and reduce operating costs
• Better building quality and greater community use

About CBR funding

GMF offers support throughout the life cycle of a community building retrofit project through the following funding options:

Community Building Monitoring and Analysis grant: Collect data on existing buildings to improve energy performance.

Community Building Recommissioning grant: Ensure building systems operate at optimal levels while saving energy and improving occupant comfort.

GHG Reduction Pathway Feasibility Study grant: Determine the best approach to integrating energy and GHG reductions into longer-term management plans.

Capital funding: Retrofit a local facility for higher energy performance and significant GHG emissions reduction.

• GHG impact retrofit capital project: Retrofit a building to achieve a minimum 30% reduction in GHG emissions; ideal for shovel-ready projects.
• GHG reduction pathway retrofit capital project: Retrofit a building using an outcomes-oriented approach to achieving (near) net zero carbon buildings over time.