City of Calgary announces partnerships to build more emissions-neutral buildings

The City of Calgary is partnering with two local organizations to launch the Calgary Community of Practice to advance emissions-neutral construction.

The partnership with Alberta Ecotrust and the Calgary Construction Association is part of the Emissions-Neutral Buildings Information Exchange (ENBIX). It aims to provide a space for local professionals to share information about emissions-neutral construction and accelerate the construction of new emissions-neutral buildings and retro-fitting of existing commercial buildings.

“Our greatest opportunity to see greenhouse gas reductions is through our buildings,” said Mayor Jyoti Gondek in an emailed statement. “ENBIX is an investment in Calgary-made solutions, building capacity and momentum for emissions-neutral construction that will grow over the next several years and beyond.”

According to a Wednesday afternoon release, commercial buildings account for two-thirds of greenhouse gas emissions in Calgary. The city said ENBIX will share market research on greenhouse gas emissions and emissions-neutral constructions through webinars, site visits, technology demonstrations and training sessions over the next four years.

“ENBIX is here to work with the building industry to identify Calgary-specific challenges and opportunities for emissions-neutral buildings, overcome barriers, foster innovation and share success stories,” said Andrea Linsky, ENBIX team lead and buildings director at Alberta Ecotrust Foundation.

“Collaboration initiatives like the ENBIX Community of Practice will help us go faster towards net zero, together,” said Claire Beckstead, leader of community energy for the City of Calgary. “This initiative will help us develop made-in-Calgary solutions to achieve high-performance buildings, and will accelerate progress toward our goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.”