The Canadian government’s newly released green buildings strategy contains little that is actually new for commercial real estate or public sector facilities.

Once complete, it will serve as an inspiration for others pursuing deep retrofits of existing buildings, an endeavour that offers the most hope for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in Halifax.

Private multifamily buildings make up the largest share of projects set to demonstrate decarbonization technologies and procedures through Toronto’s deep retrofit challenge.

Sustainable finance products, are expected to increasingly come into play as building owners/managers pursue decarbonization and look to bolster the climate resiliency of their properties.

The Dream group of companies has obtained $136.6 million in financing from Canada Infrastructure Bank’s commercial buildings retrofit program, aligned with a 2035 target for a net-zero portfolio.

A new report by the Pembina Institute concludes that a national renovation wave of deep building retrofits could generate more than $48 billion in economic development.

BC Housing, the City of Vancouver, the BC Non-Profit Housing Association and the Pembina Institute announced they are launching an initiative called the Reframed Lab to demonstrate retrofit projects on multi-unit residential buildings.