Building to Net-Zero Project
Building to Net-Zero Project
Supporting small to mid-sized municipalities in the adoption of frameworks that advance local building energy performance.
Local governments across Canada are adopting ambitious high-performance and net-zero-ready building energy frameworks. This is a crucial component of local climate action as the building sector is a substantial contributor of national greenhouse gas emissions. While adopting building energy performance frameworks presents challenges for any municipality, smaller, rural, and Northern municipalities face heightened barriers and constraints. With this in mind, the Building to Net-Zero (BNZ) project aims to support small to mid-sized municipalities by building local capacity and helping to overcome barriers along these municipalities’ journey to a net-zero future.
About the Project
BNZ is a four-year training and capacity-building project designed to support municipalities in the adoption of building energy performance frameworks. BNZ will support framework adoption in consideration of the National Energy Code for Buildings, the National Building Code of Canada 2020, and will also help prepare for other high performance buildings codes, including Alterations to Existing Buildings (AEB) and upcoming net-zero emissions codes. Through the BNZ project, municipalities, community partners, and industry experts will work collaboratively to identify and overcome municipalities’ unique adoption challenges, outlining a clear pathway towards net-zero building energy.
BNZ Collaboration Cohort
A collaboration Cohort of small to mid-sized municipalities working to adopt energy performance frameworks that align with national model energy codes will help cohort members develop and adopt building energy performance frameworks for new and/or existing buildings. Through the BNZ Cohort, municipalities will participate in one-to-one meetings, group sessions, and will have access to guidance from subject-area experts and leaders in advancing high energy performance buildings. Cohort members will work collaboratively with ICLEI Canada to identify needs, barriers, and capacity gaps that will inform the development of tailored resources, including a building energy performance roadmap that will outline a clear path towards net-zero buildings. Ultimately, Cohort members will identify challenges and devise strategies to tackle them head-on with support from ICLEI staff.
Participating Municipalities
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BNZ Community of Practice (CoP)
As part of the BNZ project, a Canada-wide BNZ CoP will support the broader adoption of building performance frameworks in municipalities across the country. Cohort members along with municipal staff, subject matter experts, industry leaders, and other professionals working in the net-zero building space are invited to participate in CoP activities. These will include trainings, workshops, and peer-to-peer networking, all of which will be informed by and/or complement BNZ Cohort activities. The resources and deliverables created through the BNZ Cohort will also be disseminated through the CoP.
BNZ Advisory Committee
The BNZ Advisory Committee consist of subject matter experts and leaders in advancing high energy performance buildings. The Advisory Committee will provide guidance, insights, advice, and feedback to support Cohort members and ensure the BNZ project remains relevant and connected to ongoing market and industry developments.
Advisory Committee Members
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BNZ Project Resources
Community of Practice (CoP)
The Canada-wide BNZ CoP is designed to support the broad adoption of building performance frameworks in municipalities across the country by providing a platform for knowledge exchange, resource sharing, and collaboration. The Community of Practice is open for any municipality to join and learn from municipal staff, subject matter experts, industry leaders, and other professionals.
Database
The BNZ Database provides examples of local government initiatives across Canada that advance building energy performance as well as other local social, economic, and sustainability objectives. The database is a publicly available resource hub that is designed to evolve over time. Its aim is to support local governments across Canada develop and implement building energy performance frameworks.
Jurisdictional Scan
Although many local governments are interested in advancing and supplementing provincial and territorial building energy requirements, varied regulatory contexts across Canada create a limited and uncertain landscape for local governments, where many are uncertain of their legal authority to implement initiatives in their communities. With these gaps in mind, the BNZ jurisdictional scan aims to provide a clearer understanding of jurisdictional realities across Canada and to demonstrate how local governments are supplementing and advancing provincial and territorial building energy requirements.
The BNZ project is funded by Natural Resource Canada’s Codes Acceleration Fund.
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We respectfully acknowledge that ICLEI Canada’s work happens across Turtle Island which has traditionally been and is home to many diverse First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples since time immemorial.