Communities
Moving key players toward net zero
Communities are a pivotal player in the global energy transition, collectively responsible for over 50% of carbon emissions affecting the world’s climate. Thankfully, most communities have a goal to be net zero by 2050.
There are enormous opportunities create plans with the necessary analytical rigour and to implement the deep private and public structural changes that will be needed to reach this goal. The key policy and enabling roles of municipalities in leading communities to net zero can be clarified, as well as the roles of public vs. private stakeholders.
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Local Colleges are a valuable resource when teamed with their host communities to accelerate the development of effective plans and support sustained implementation efforts of net zero goals.
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There are a myriad of economic, social and environmental benefits that can accrue when the visionary goals of communities are delivered rapidly and consistently.
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Garforth International have supported many communities and their municipal offices that have embraced these opportunities, often in collaboration with local colleges, by designing and establishing frameworks for successful and rapid community-wide implementation of energy transition plans.
Case Studies
Please explore some examples of our work with communities below.
In 2017, the Town of Oakville teamed with Sheridan College and Garforth/Baumann, to develop a comprehensive Community Energy Strategy (CES) to support its reputation of being “The Most Livable Town in Canada”. The CES was approved by Town council in February of 2020
In late 2017, the City of Brampton teamed with Sheridan College and their strategic partner, Garforth International, to develop a comprehensive Community Energy and Emissions Reduction Plan that would support their “Brampton 2040 Vision”. The Heritage Heights CEP was also commissioned to identify a pathway to achieving a near net zero future for the Heritage Heights Community, Brampton’s last undeveloped area.
The Town's Community Energy Plan provides a vision for sustainable energy that would allow the community to manage energy resources and use, while contributing to economic development. The subsequent Residential Energy Efficiency Retrofit Strategy lays a plan for existing residential homes to have deep energy efficiency retrofits, yielding efficiency gains between 30% and 50%.
In 2017, Windsor City Council unanimously approved the City’s Community Energy Plan. One of the CEP strategies called for retrofitting 80% of Windsor’s 60,000 existing homes by 2041 to meet the City’s energy and climate goals. This led to the development of the Residential Deep Energy Efficiency Retrofit Business Case.
One key strategy in Guelph's Community Energy Plan was the development of comprehensive district energy services to both reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase energy efficiency. The resulting District Energy Strategy has a long-term goal to serve approximately 50% of the City’s heating and cooling needs using district energy.
Garforth International and the Northern Virginia Regional Commission developed the Community Energy Plan for Loudoun County, Virginia. The plan was guided by a task force representing all key public and private stakeholders in the community. It was approved by the County Board as their pathway to economically viable breakthrough greenhouse gas emissions reductions. The plan covers all aspects of energy supply, distribution and use by all sectors in the community. This included the unique energy related aspects of Loudoun County’s concentration of world-class data centre operations.
Garforth International and the Northern Virginia Regional Commission developed the Community Energy Plan for Arlington County, Virginia. The CEP was developed with the guidance of an influential task force representing all key public and private stakeholders in the community. It was unanimously approved by the County Board as their pathway to economically viable breakthrough greenhouse gas emissions reductions. The plan covers all aspects of energy supply, distribution and use by all sectors in the community.
Garforth teamed with the City of Holland and the Holland Board of Public Works to develop a long-term Community Energy Plan covering all sectors energy use, distribution and supply. The Plan called for cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 60%. Measure including state-of-the art new generation, a community hominy retrofit program, and even an innovative downtown snow-melt system, have already made significant cuts. The City recently reaffirmed its commitment to the CEP and to meet its climate targets early.