The Canadian Infrastructure Bank (CIB) and Efficiency Capital have partnered to provide $50 million CDN in loans to help small- to medium-sized Canadian building owners decarbonize their facilities. Energy retrofit solutions are to expected to help reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by at least 30 percent in each building. Examples of connected upgrades include EV chargers, smart lighting, heat pumps, automation systems, and solar panels.

Buildings account for 18 percent of Canada’s GHG emissions, and Efficiency Capital stated that modernizing aging buildings is critical for Canada to meet its climate change goals. Three projects are already underway in Alberta, Ontario, and New Brunswick that are expected to reduce CO₂ emissions by 10,000 tons over their lifetime.

Efficiency Capital is an energy-as-a-service (EaaS) provider that works with building owners to deliver fully funded retrofit solutions designed to reduce energy use and GHG emissions. CIB claims it has invested more than $1.2 million CDN toward modernizing building across Canada. Efficiency Capital is an aggregator under the CIB’s Building Retrofits Initiative (BRI), which provides long-term investments for building retrofits to modernize and improve the energy efficiency of existing buildings.

“Reducing greenhouse gas emissions in buildings across the country will contribute significantly to the reduction of Canada’s carbon footprint,” said Ehren Cory, CIB’s CEO. “With the Canada Infrastructure Bank’s $50 million investment, Efficiency Capital will provide turnkey retrofits to decarbonize commercial, industrial and multi-residential buildings. The Canada Infrastructure Bank’s Building Retrofits Initiative will help Canada reach its goal of net-zero by 2050.”