Blog

Focus group session at Vaughan City Hall

Getting to know the region: Climate action in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area

11/2017 - Following our new $17-million endowment from the Province of Ontario, TAF has been actively engaging key stakeholders to better our regional granting process and hear about climate action initiatives throughout the Greater Toronto and Hamilton area (GTHA).

COMPASS: Better buildings through streamlined energy reporting and benchmarking

10/2017 - Energy modelling helps gauge and improve a building’s energy performance before it’s actually built. TAF recently supported the development of a new tool that will help compare and share such energy modelling data across Ontario.

TransformTO Steps: Toronto moves towards Zero Emissions Buildings

10/2017 - As Toronto continues to grow quickly, we need to get emissions from new construction under control if we want to reach our 2050 climate target. That’s Council approval for the Toronto Green Standard 3.0 for new buildings is such an important step.

No buildings left behind: A near-zero emissions future for Canada’s existing buildings

10/2017 - Canada has to include existing buildings in its transition to a low-carbon future. Research from The Atmospheric Fund and the Pembina Institute outlines a comprehensive national strategy to make our existing building stock energy efficient.

Net-Zero Toronto Laneway Housing Concept Wins International Design Competition

9/2017 - Climate innovation made in Toronto: Students from Ryerson University and the University of Toronto recently took the grand prize at the U.S. Department of Energy’s fourth annual Race to Zero Design Competition — with a design for a net-zero laneway house.

New TAF research reveals carbon impact of electricity conservation

8/2017 - Quantifying the emissions impact of electricity consumption - and conservation efforts - is crucial for planning climate actions, whether it's a government policy or upgrades and behaviour shifts at home. TAF's latest research greatly improves such quantifications.

Left in the dark: Ontario municipalities need energy data for meaningful climate action

8/2017 - A proper carbon emissions inventory is a crucial starting point for city-level climate action. But unfortunately, many cities in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA), don't have gas and electricity consumption data - but utilities do. That's why TAF asked the Ontario government to make this data public.

The power of the neighbourhood approach

7/2017 - When it comes to public projects, does our big-thinking habit get in the way of excellence implementation as we fail to consider local-level impacts and aspirations? Our VP Mary Pickering looks at best practices from recent transit projects in Ontario.

TAF CEO receives Ministerial Award for Environmental Excellence

7/2017 - Julia Langer, CEO of The Atmospheric Fund recently received the Ontario Minister's Award for Environmental Excellence. The award for the life-long environmentalist comes at the heels of last year's award for TAF's TowerWise project.

A big thank-you for TransformTO advisors as Council vote nears

6/2017 - Just one year ago, a diverse set of experts started working together to advise the TransformTO project - the Modelling Advisory Group. As the climate plan nears a vote by City Council, it was time to say thank-you.

New Pembina research suggests how to put the brakes on rising freight emissions

6/2017 - Carbon emissions from Canada's freight sector are on the rise, especially trucks. A new report lays out policy tools to bring down emissions from a sector that's not on the radar of many policymakers when it comes to climate action.

Green building summit pushes the envelope on net-zero carbon buildings

6/2017 - TAF's Building Research Manager Ekaterina Tzekova recently attended the CaGBC's annual conference in Vancouver. Here are her key takeaways. This year’s conference focused on actionable solutions to climate change and included the unveiling of the new Zero Carbon Building standard.