The Infrastructure Bank of Canada is committing $100 million to a new partnership with GDI Integrated Facility Services Inc. designed to deliver deep energy retrofits in aging buildings across Canada. This investment represents part of the efforts to massively reduce greenhouse gas emissions while creating jobs in the trades sector, all in support of net-zero emissions by 2050 in Canada.
Integrated Solutions for Low-Carbon Buildings
GDI will be responsible for managing the retrofit projects with a dedicated entity. This investment will leverage the investment from the CIB against GDI’s own funds and those of other partners. Two GDI subsidiaries, Ainsworth and Énergère, will offer integrated turnkey solutions, including energy audits and modeling, system design and installation, long-term energy management with data analysis, optimization for long-term efficiency, etc.
These will be building-specific upgrades focused on deep renovations that drastically reduce carbon emissions. This could include changing the fuel source, upgrading the HVAC systems, and clean energy solutions such as solar panels and EV charging stations.
Environmental and Economic Benefits
These retrofits will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by about 44,000 tonnes per year aggregate. Besides the major environmental gains, it will also offer at peak up to approximately 500 jobs in the trade sector—stimulating the economy.
Supporting Canada’s Climate Goals
This initiative complements and builds off the current CIB’s Building Retrofits Initiative, already committed to more than $1.2 billion in sustainable building upgrades. Buildings account for about 18% of Canada’s GHG emissions, so these retrofits will prove to be an integral part of the country’s overall climate change strategy.
The collaboration of CIB-GDI epitomizes the role of public-private tie-ups in furthering sustainability initiatives. It is envisaged that this project will retrofit older, less energy-efficient buildings in a way that makes communities more resilient and sustainable, reducing Canada’s carbon footprint.
Source: CIB