We’re pleased you’re interested in securing a grant from us to help lower carbon emissions or air pollution in the region.
Priorities
Our granting programs focus on the two biggest sectors for carbon emissions: the building sector and the transportation sector.
In the building sector, we are looking to provide grants to scalable projects that:
- Demonstrate new approaches to significantly reduce the carbon intensity and increase the energy efficiency of existing buildings, especially multi-unit residential buildings, aiming to reduce the average GHG intensity of large buildings in the GTHA by 35% by the year 2030
- Support the transition of new construction in the GTHA to be near net-zero carbon emissions and energy consumption by the year 2030
- Advance policy and financing approaches to facilitate and scale energy-efficiency retrofits
- Pilot demonstrations of promising energy efficiency and zero-emissions building technologies and management approaches
- Deepen tenant engagement to support behaviour-related energy efficiency practices
- Work with diverse collaborators to demonstrate the co-benefits of energy efficiency such as improved indoor environmental quality and local job creation
- Quantify and describe the workforce and training gaps that need to be filled to serve a scaled-up energy efficiency retrofit sector, informing the creation of the TransformTO Workforce for High-Performance Building Campaign
In the transportation sector, we are looking to provide grants for scalable projects that:
- Speed up the transition to electric vehicles to help achieve our 2030 vision of electric vehicles making up 40% of new passenger vehicles in the GTHA
- Address key barriers and opportunities associated with the electrification of transportation such as grid capacity, refuelling infrastructure, resilience, and equitable access to affordable low-carbon mobility options
- Work with diverse collaborators to examine the co-benefits of clean transportation solutions including job creation, equitable access to mobility, and public health improvements
- Advance policy and financing approaches to achieve our provincial and municipal targets, for example ensuring that 100% of our transportation network is fueled by low-carbon energy sources by 2050
- Create new models for mobility service that improve efficiency and reduce emissions, such as first and last mile solutions, and shared mobility
- Reduce distances travelled (vehicle-kilometres travelled) through improved transportation options or avoided trips across the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area
Eligibility Criteria
- Your application must demonstrate the project’s potential to reduce carbon emissions in the GTHA and/or air pollution in Toronto.
- Only registered charities, not-for-profit organizations and municipalities in the GTHA are eligible to apply for TAF grants.
- Project applications can be single-year or multi-year requests. The requested funds should be in line with the project’s scope and timeframe.
Process
- Once you have reviewed our granting streams and recent recipients, get in touch with TAF’s grantmaking team via grants@taf.ca to discuss your idea.
- Fill out an expression of interest form and submit it before the deadline.
- Fill out the appropriate application form and submit it before the grant intake deadline.
- TAF will assess each application against the pre-set evaluation criteria outlined in our application forms.
- The Grants and Programs Committee reviews each application and makes a funding recommendation to our Board of Directors.
- The Board then makes a final decision on each grant proposal. Grant proponents may request an opportunity to address the TAF Board directly concerning their grant, should they wish to dispute the Committee’s recommendation.
2021 Grant intake schedule:
- Winter 2021: Expressions of Interest are due January 15, full grant applications are due February 19.
- Spring 2021: Expressions of Interest are due April 1, full grant applications are due May 7.
- Summer 2021: Expressions of Interest are due July 16, full grant applications are due August 27.
FAQ
- Winter 2021: Expressions of Interest are due January 15, full grant applications are due February 19.
- Spring 2021: Expressions of Interest are due April 1, full grant applications are due May 7.
- Summer 2021: Expressions of Interest are due July 16, full grant applications are due August 27.
TAF will not fund:
- Partisan political activities
- Projects where the primary activity is an event such as a conference, workshop, or training session
- A request that builds on, or is another phase of, a project by the same proponent currently being funded by TAF. However, TAF can provide concurrent funding to the same proponent for different projects
Grants can be used to fund all project-related costs, including project evaluation and third-party advisory services. Funding can also be used to offset operating costs and a portion of administrative costs directly linked to a TAF-funded project.
Once you have discussed your idea with our grants team, you can complete and submit an application form to grants@taf.ca together with the following information:
- Completed budget spreadsheet
- Evidence of legal status as a registered charity or not-for-profit organization
- Most recent financial statements (audited where possible)
- Names and affiliations of Board directors
We may request additional materials to support your grant proposal. These could include references, confirmation of other sources of funding, CVs/LinkedIn profiles of project team members, etc.
We fund initiatives at different stages of the project cycle, from concept development to project implementation. Please use our standard application form for proposals that are fully-developed. If you seek support to refine early-stage ideas and demonstrate their feasibility, please use our concept development application form. These grant requests tend to be smaller (e.g., $10,000 to $20,000) over a shorter time period (e.g., 6 months). If you’re not sure which form is best suited to your project, please contact us.
TAF analyzes each project’s emissions reduction potential with the help of its in-house emissions quantification expert. We base our analysis on the details you provide regarding how you will design your project and what the anticipated scale-up opportunities are across the region. As part of our technical analysis, we may get in touch with you to clarify your key assumptions or to request further research to support our calculations.
Here is a list of leading Canadian funders that support projects related to climate change and air pollution: George Cedric Metcalf Charitable Foundation The Metcalf Foundation’s Environment Program has three areas of focus:
- Carbon Landscapes
- Climate Blueprints
- Cycle City
Independent Electricity System Operator The IESO offers several funding programs that support the design and delivery of renewable energy and conservation initiatives in Ontario. Federation of Canadian Municipalities FCM’s Green Municipal Fund provides funding for municipal environmental initiatives that improve air quality and reduce emissions. This funding stream provides support for plans, feasibility studies, pilot projects, and capital projects. Ontario Trillium Foundation The Trillium Foundation has a Green People action area with two priority outcomes:
- More ecosystems are protected and restored
- People reduce their impact on the environment
McConnell Foundation McConnell Foundation emphasizes a balance between social, economic, and environmental priorities. Applications are taken on a rolling basis; there are two environment-focused granting streams:
- RENEW: Energy and Economy
- Sustainable Food Systems
Ontario Centre for Excellence OCE’s TargetGHG program helps large industrial plants to adopt leading-edge technology and supports Ontario’s entrepreneurs to develop creative new cleantech solutions. TD Friends of the Environment Foundation The TD Friends of the Environment Foundation supports a wide range of environmental initiatives, with a primary funding focus on:
- Environmental education
- Urban green space programs
Ivey Foundation The Ivey Foundation’s Economy and Environment program supports the development of projects that integrate the economy and the environment. All proposals must be from a registered Canadian charitable organization. Government of Canada The Low Carbon Economy Challenge leverages Canadian ingenuity to reduce emissions and generate clean growth, aligned with the Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change goals. The Challenge can fund provinces and territories, municipalities, Indigenous communities and organizations, businesses and not-for-profit organizations. The EcoAction Community Funding Program funds projects across Canada to encourage Canadians to take action to address clean water and climate change, and to build the capacity of communities to sustain these activities into the future. Funders’ Network for Smart Growth and Liveable Communities The Funder’s Network Partners for Places matching grant program invests in partnerships between local government sustainability offices and place-based foundations to promote a healthy environment, a strong economy, and well-being of all residents. Additional resources:
- Natural Resources Canada curates a Directory of Energy Efficiency and Alternative Energy programs in Canada.
- City of Toronto provides a number of energy efficiency incentives, such as the High Performance New Construction Program or the Home Energy Loan Program (HELP), to help achieve our TransformTO climate goals.
- Here’s a list we compiled of grants and incentives for home energy retrofits in Ontario.
Examples of current grants
A list of select in-progress grants, to help you understand the sort of work we fund.
Building Up - $300,000
Building a Green Construction Workforce in Toronto
Building Up will develop and implement a 16-week pre-apprenticeship training program that will equip participants with low-carbon construction and retrofit skills. Through the program, participants will gain competencies in green construction practices related to efficient building enclosures and the installation of low-carbon heating, cooling and ventilation systems. Designed for individuals who face barriers to employment in the trades industry, participants will receive both in-class instruction and on-site experience, in addition to support securing employment upon graduation.
City of Mississauga - $125,000
Building the Case for District Energy in Mississauga’s Downtown
The City of Mississauga will complete a business case analysis to demonstrate the feasibility of building a renewable district energy system in downtown Mississauga. To be completed in consultation with internal and external stakeholders, the business case will seek to identify current and projected energy supply and demand, estimated costs to build and operate the system, and potential governance structures for managing the system.
Clean Air Partnership - $122,000
Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Costing Study and Consultation
Clean Air Partnership will study the costs to install electric vehicle charging stations and management systems in new multi-unit residential buildings in the GTHA. The goal is to demonstrate to municipalities, building owners, and construction industry stakeholders the advantages of adopting EV Ready parking and charging requirements into existing building standards for new construction projects across the region. (One year)
Durham Region Transit - $195,890
Scaling-up to Zero Emission Transit in the Region of Durham
This project will support Durham Region Transit (DRT) in securing the necessary capacity and data to plan the effective transition of their bus fleet to zero-emission technologies, and to design a dedicated bus depot for zero-emission buses. To achieve this outcome, DRT will gather information while piloting eight electric propulsion buses and four charging technologies.
Environmental Defence - $240,000
Climate Accountability in Ontario
Environmental Defence will track the provincial government’s progress in meeting greenhouse gas emission reduction targets as outlined in the Made-in-Ontario Environment Plan. In doing so, this project seeks to create conditions for more ambitious climate actions in the province by mobilizing community members through outreach and awareness-building activities.
Harbord Village Residents’ Association - $16,050
HVRA Electric Vehicle Project: Phase 1
HVRA will develop the framework for a neighbourhood-based electric car and bicycle bulk purchase program and promotional campaign that will accelerate electric vehicle purchases and can be scaled to other communities across the region. HVRA will also engage key stakeholders and prepare a strategy to install a public electric vehicle charging station in their neighbourhood.
Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Institute of Canada (HRAI) - $32,000
Overcoming Implementation Barriers to HVAC-led Building Retrofits
Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) contractors have strong potential to act as advocates for enhancing building performance. This TAF-funded project aimed at identifying barriers and exploring strategies to transform this sector into champions of building energy efficiency and carbon reduction. After consulting industry stakeholders, the research showed a lack of in-field experience among practitioners, uncertainty about risks, and an incomplete understanding of the potential benefits. The final report recommends next steps to increase industry comfort and knowledge including the creation of a Peer-Exchange-Process Committee, improving access to existing training, and creating low-risk opportunities for hands-on learning. HRAI has applied for federal funding to implement a national communications campaign to overcome the barriers recognized in the report.
Mohawk College - $27,450
Home Energy Retrofit Delivery Centre for the Hamilton-Burlington Region
This project seeks to support the implementation of a regional retrofit delivery centre which will provide a concierge-like service to support homeowners in implementing deep energy retrofits. Together with their partners in the Bay Area Climate Change Council, Mohawk College will engage local homeowners and industry stakeholders to develop a business plan and identify core services, a governance model, and implementation plan for the delivery centre.
Ontario Geothermal Association - $26,050
Geothermal Drilling and Aquifer Protection Guideline
This project seeks to provide municipal staff and policy makers in the GTHA with a tool to help guide their assessment of development applications that involve geo-exchange drilling, and to identify measures that need to be taken to ensure the protection of local aquifers and water supply systems.
Ontario Home Builders’ Association - $170,000
Multi-family Air Tightness Testing Pilot
This project will develop a standardized approach to air tightness testing for multi-family buildings, and will increase industry capacity to perform these tests. The project team will identify logistical barriers faced by builders and testers, and then identify solutions to overcome these challenges. The best practices will be demonstrated through case studies at two buildings, and lessons learned will be captured in an Air Tightness Testing Manual.
Passive Buildings Canada - $90,325
Benchmarking Materials Emissions for Low-Rising Housing
Using a consistent accounting methodology, Passive Buildings Canada and partners quantified the embodied carbon emissions of materials used in the construction of residential buildings in the GTHA. This comprehensive data set is intended to guide municipalities in the development of low-carbon building policies and regulations, and to inform material selections made by building industry professionals. Read report.
Passive House Canada - $40,000
Zero Emissions Buildings Exchange Concept Development
Through this project, Passive House Canada was able to develop a better understanding of what it would take to establishment a Zero Emissions Buildings (ZEB) Exchange in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA) to support local municipalities in meeting their building-related carbon reduction and economic development objectives. Local stakeholders and organizations leading similar programs were consulted to identify potential program priorities, partners, recommended governance structures, and staff resource needs. Passive House Canada’s Concept Development Report puts forward these best practices and makes a strong case for market readiness and demand for coordinated services of a ZEB Exchange in the GTHA.
Pembina Institute - $175,000
Coalition for Clean Fuels and a Clean Fuel Standard
This project will enable Pembina Institute to continue ongoing efforts to ensure that Canada adopts a strong Clean Fuel Standard, which will reduce the lifecycle carbon intensity of fuels used in Canada and aims to reduce annual carbon emissions by 30 megatonnes by 2030. Pembina will achieve this by convening stakeholders, providing leadership on policy solutions, producing research, and coordinating engagement strategies with key decision makers.
Pembina Institute - $99,000
An Action Plan for Urban Freight Electrification in the GTHA
The GTHA’s urban freight sector is one step closer to low-carbon last-mile alternatives like microhubs (logistics facilities for micro-consolidation, which is the bundling of goods at a location near the final delivery point) and cyclelogistics. These innovative freight solutions can result in reduced emissions, improved operational efficiency, curbside demand management benefits, and improved cost-effectiveness. Pembina’s feasibility study found that microhubs and electric-assist cargo bikes can be viable alternative goods delivery models here in the GTHA. Businesses and municipalities can also foster supportive conditions for low-carbon alternative delivery, thanks to the policy and action guides Pembina developed as part of this project. Next steps: mobilize resources and leaders to pilot these models with a view towards scaling up where possible.
Smart Freight Centre, University of Toronto - $92,000
Expanding an Off-Peak Delivery Program in the GTA
This project seeks to create a supportive environment for off-peak delivery (OPD) in the GTHA, and for retailers to adopt OPD in their freight operations. This work builds on the TAF-funded Peel Region OPD pilot project, which demonstrated emissions reductions and improved delivery efficiency among participating retailers. The University of Toronto will lead a multi-sector partnership to expand the pilot project to 23 retail participants, then monitor the emissions reductions associated with the program. The results of this project will be used to build support for a permanent, multi-region OPD program in the GTHA.
Sustainable Buildings Canada - $114,824
Compass Energy Modelling Reviews for Municipalities
This project will support Sustainable Buildings Canada in updating the Compass energy modelling software, a free online tool that enables building industry stakeholders to benchmark performance and access building energy use and carbon emissions data. The updates will further support non-technical users of the software in reviewing building energy models to ensure compliance with municipal energy performance requirements.
Sustainable Buildings Canada - $114,824
Compass Energy Modelling Reviews for Municipalities
This project will support Sustainable Buildings Canada in updating the Compass energy modelling software, a free online tool that enables building industry stakeholders to benchmark performance and access building energy use and carbon emissions data. The updates will further support non-technical users of the software in reviewing building energy models to ensure compliance with municipal energy performance requirements.
The Regional Municipality of Durham - $35,890
Durham Deep Energy Efficiency Program
This concept development project seeks to design a residential home retrofit program for the Regional Municipality of Durham, and to develop a multi-year implementation plan for the program based on market analysis and input from target audiences and key stakeholders. This program will support Durham’s long-term objective to retrofit all existing residential buildings in the region by 2050.
Town of Halton Hills - $25,000
Halton Hills Green Development Standards Training Workshops
The Town of Halton Hills will facilitate a series of workshops for development industry professionals to increase their awareness of the Town’s updated Green Development Standards (GDS) and to provide guidance on how to comply with these new regulations. The Town will also facilitate GDS information sessions for community members, and will share the workshop content and outcomes with municipal staff across the GTHA.
Volta Research - $150,000
Residential Takeoff and Analytics Tool for Low Carbon Retrofits
Volta Research will develop an easy-to-use software that will simplify and streamline the energy modelling process for low-rise residential buildings. Their web-based tool will also present energy efficiency retrofit options that increase the emission reduction potential of retrofit projects. Responding to challenges identified by industry stakeholders, this project seeks to lower the cost of energy modelling and increase industry capacity to implement energy efficiency retrofits in residential buildings.
Canada Green Building Council - $198,372
Building Regional Capacity for Complying with and Leveraging Energy and Water Benchmarking and Reporting
Ontario’s mandatory Energy and Water Reporting and Benchmarking (EWRB) regulation for large buildings is a critical policy tool in supporting the achievement of provincial and municipal carbon reduction targets. Canada Green Building Council will support enhanced compliance with the provincial EWRB regulation through a combined strategy of awareness building, education and evaluation across the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area.
Canada Green Building Council - $300,000
Workforce Transformation Initiative: Building a Green Future
This 28-month project will establish a coalition that can champion policy, business and regulatory actions that result in the establishment of an Ontario low-carbon building workforce for deep retrofits and new construction. The CaGBC will act as the secretariat of the initiative, providing project management services for goal setting, activity implementation, progress measurement, and funding mobilization.
Efficiency Canada - $290,000
Energy Efficiency Policy: Leading the Advocacy Charge
The 29-month project will support engagement in Ontario and federal processes related to key energy efficiency policies. Efficiency Canada will promote strong energy efficiency policies, focusing on building codes, energy performance standards, and a provincial conservation framework which features support for energy efficiency to compete as a low-cost system resource for electricity and natural gas.
Environmental Defence - $75,000
Impact of Vehicle Pollution in the GTHA
The goal of this project, led by Environmental Defence in partnership with health-focused organizations, is to draw attention to the local health benefits of electrifying transportation, and to present recommendations for accelerating vehicle electrification through a public-facing report and interactive online elements.
Toronto Environmental Alliance - $155,459
Accelerating Neighbourhood Climate Solutions through Community Hubs
Community hubs are well-positioned to serve as launch points for wider community engagement to develop low-carbon neighbourhoods and create tangible community benefits across the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area – according to the findings from a collaborative feasibility study by Enviromentum, the Toronto Environmental Alliance (TEA), and the Toronto Community Benefits Network. Resources offered by community hubs – such as supportive staff, engaged residents, and physical space – can be further developed and leveraged to support climate action. Since the completion of this study, TEA has used a TAF follow-on grant to engage more deeply with a smaller sample of community hubs to support them in achieving significant carbon reductions in their local neighbourhoods, and in so doing, generate prototypes and tools that can be used to activate the large network of GTHA hubs.
Toronto Environmental Alliance, on behalf of Toronto Climate Action Network (TCAN) - $21,700
TCAN and TransformTO Community Website
The goal of this two-year project is to create a website that supports information and event sharing, fostering collaboration and coordination among member groups and external organizations, and supporting new and existing groups to engage with climate action in Toronto. The site will also serve as an online community hub for fostering public engagement and a sense of community ownership and shared responsibility for TransformTO’s long-term plan.
YWCA Hamilton - $70,000
Passive House Affordable Housing Project
The goal of this two-year project is to demonstrate the energy efficiency and savings in operating costs that can be achieved in a pre-cast midrise affordable housing project and disseminate relevant information that would encourage and assist others in utilizing a similar approach in the development of affordable housing projects of this nature.
This grant provides an opportunity to capture the outcomes from a YWCA affordable housing project in Hamilton. The building is designed according to Passive House Design principles in order to achieve an extremely high level of energy efficiency and sustainability while supporting the needs of people living and working in the building.
ACORN Institute Canada - $30,000
Co-Creating Co-Benefits through Tenant Engagement
Engaging tenants in building energy efficiency retrofits just got easier, thanks to the best practices developed by ACORN Canada, a leading non-profit focused on low-income tenant engagement. Research findings indicated early engagement of tenants in the retrofit design process, as well as ongoing communication and support, help to maximize co-benefits for tenants and improve building performance due to changes in tenant behavior. In speaking to tenants in Hamilton, Peel Region, and Toronto, the project team found co-benefits like local jobs, training opportunities, and better indoor air quality can help to increase public support; other recommendations include increasing tenant protections to prevent above guideline increases. Following the project, ACORN worked with Toronto’s Tower Renewal team to explore scaling up its tenant engagement model. TAF’s own Retrofit team has learned from these findings to best engage tenants through our own retrofit activities.
City of Markham - $225,100
Berczy Glen Geothermal Community Energy System
The City of Markham will research, design and eventually build a net-zero neighbourhood of approximately 400 homes anchored by a district geothermal system. Executed in collaboration with Mattamy Homes and Enwave, the project will be the largest net-zero neighbourhood in Ontario. The best practices and lessons learned from this project will help advance geothermal community energy systems across the GTHA. See final report presentation.
City of Toronto Planning Division - $53,500
Zero-Emissions Buildings Training Program
With Toronto’s new Zero-Emissions Buildings Framework (co-developed by TAF) in place, capacity building for municipal staff and the building industry is essential to achieve zero-emissions construction. The City of Toronto Planning Division, with Passive House Canada, will develop a cross-sector training curriculum for new high-performance building concepts and how to apply them to the local context. 200 participants will participate in the training program over two years.
Hamilton Chamber of Commerce - $189,500
GHG Reductions Through Industrial Waste Heat Diversion
According to TAF’s emissions inventory for the GTHA, 68% of Hamilton’s carbon emissions come from the industrial sector. To help tackle these emissions, the Hamilton Chamber of Commerce will map out the sources of waste heat along Hamilton’s industrial waterfront and determine the best uses for this heat. The aim of this initiative is to accelerate the adoption of future waste heat to energy applications in Hamilton’s industrial sector, which could significantly lower carbon emissions, save costs and promote local business competitiveness.
Labour Education Centre - $29,923
Working Green: Leveraging Worker Knowledge
With rising public support for climate actions, especially from youth, school boards across the GTHA are well-positioned to adopt measures that drive emission reductions in the numerous buildings they operate. The Labour Education Centre’s Working Green project employed a “labour and management joint environmental committee” as a collaborative model to accelerate low-carbon initiatives in the Toronto District School Board. The committee included school board management, trustees, union representatives, parents and environmental non-profits with a shared interest in enabling energy efficiency measures and future climate actions.
Mohawk College Centre for Climate Change Management - $46,000
Strategic planning
Mohawk College has developed the Bay Area Climate Change Office (BACCO) to break down municipal and community silos, and create a collaborative, regional approach to climate action across the cities of Hamilton and Burlington (also known as the Bay Area). Mohawk College will work with partners from multiple sectors to develop a three-year strategic plan to guide BACCO’s activities.
Ontario Public Health Association (OPHA) - $103,632
Linking health and climate change in the GTHA
Health practitioners and health-concerned community members increasingly make the connections between climate change and health impacts; with the leadership of the Ontario Public Health Association (OPHA), local public health professionals are leveraging this opportunity to grow the base of support for low-carbon solutions in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area. OPHA convened a diverse health steering committee, consisting of local health organizations representing asthma, lung disease, nursing and other health constituencies, to design a communications strategy. Execution of the strategy was initiated in 2019 with the #MakeItBetter campaign. Mobilizing key health champions has helped to change the conversation by focusing on the health benefits, and the avoided health costs, of bold and urgent climate action.
Quality Energy Systems of Tomorrow (QUEST) - $50,000
Renewable Natural Gas Handbook for Municipalities in the GTHA
As interest in renewable natural gas (RNG) grows, project proponents need access to the right tools, knowledge and resources to effectively implement new projects. QUEST will help to build this capacity in the GTHA by facilitating knowledge-sharing roundtable discussions with multiple sectors (e.g., municipalities, utilities, technology service providers) and developing an RNG handbook to help practitioners take full advantage of this renewable energy source.
Toronto Community Benefits Network (TCBN) - $19,050
Evaluation Strategy for Low-Carbon Construction Training Program for Black youth
Working at the intersections of climate action and community benefits, the Toronto Environmental Alliance, Social Planning Toronto, and CEE Centre for Young Black Professionals developed a collaborative theory of change to tackle existing socio-economic challenges through increased demand for building retrofits in marginalized neighbourhoods. With TAF funding, the collaborative hired a developmental evaluation coach to map out the shared goals and strategic approaches among its partners and develop a theory of change, strategy and evaluation plan for a joint project. TEA and its partners aimed to focus community engagement efforts on relevant socio-economic challenges such as the urgent need for capital repairs and improvements in affordable housing and schools, rising energy prices contributing to poverty (e.g. energy poverty), and unemployment levels in marginalized communities. With a slightly shifted focus, TEA continued this kind of intersectional, co-benefits approach through its subsequent TAF-funded community hubs project.
Toronto Green Community (TGC) - $26,696
Community Futures
The success of TransformTO, the City of Toronto’s climate plan, will require engagement of new constituencies across the entire city. As part of TAF’s Low-Carbon Neighbourhoods granting stream, TGC will create two new neighbourhood-based community green groups in Etobicoke and Scarborough, and will develop new climate-related engagement strategies with existing pillars of the community such as Business Improvement Areas, urban Indigenous groups, faith communities, and newcomer groups.
Environment Hamilton - $112,458
Multi-Sector Collaboration for Public Transit in Hamilton
Establishment of a strong collective of diverse organizations, working towards greater municipal investment in public transit in the City of Hamilton.
University of Toronto - $112,011
Assessing the Impact of Energy Retrofit Strategies for Contemporary and Post-war MURBs
The aim of this project was to analyze the energy intensity of multi-unit residential buildings constructed in the 1960s and 1970s and examine the potential emissions reductions and cost savings resulting from their retrofits. The project assessed the impact of two retrofit approaches: ‘light’ energy retrofits for contemporary buildings, and ‘deep’ energy retrofits for post-war buildings.
YMCA of Greater Toronto - $30,000
Embodied Carbon in Construction Materials
Without a better understanding of the impact of embodied carbon emissions in building materials, we do not have a full picture of the climate impacts from our built environment. Recognizing this gap, TAF funded YMCA of Greater Toronto to commission a life cycle analyses on two new YMCA community centres and model design cases with different materials (conventional concrete, low-impact concrete, and timber). Timber showed the greatest potential for embodied carbon emission reductions but also commanded price premiums and its widespread adoption required significant changes to Ontario’s design and construction sector. YMCA applied the findings from this work to inform designs for additional community centres. This project served as a catalyst to spark these conversations in the GTHA.