KITCHENER, ON, June 24, 2024 /CNW/ - Across the country, Canadians are looking to live in sustainable communities: places with clean air, affordable homes and good employment opportunities. Building sustainable communities means that as a federal government, we are continually investing in our environmental and economic health.

Today, the Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, announced four projects in the Kitchener-Waterloo region that will support community sustainability through investments in more efficient and affordable energy systems and greener transportation options.

Through its Codes Acceleration Fund program, Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) is investing $538,730 toward High-Performance Development Standards for Waterloo Region. This multi-partner initiative will help advance higher performance new constructions in the region, reducing costs and improving energy efficiency in the buildings where people live, work and play.

In addition, NRCan is investing $380,235 through its Energy Efficiency program to help the Waterloo Region District School Board implement an energy management system in accordance with the latest ISO 50001 standard to reduce costs, improve energy performance and, in turn, improve energy efficiency for school buildings across the region.

And finally, through the Zero Emission Vehicle Infrastructure Program, NRCan is supporting the deployment of a coast-to-coast-to-coast network of charging stations, including new charging stations in the Kitchener-Waterloo region, specifically:

• Chargers for tenants and visitors at residential buildings owned by Drewlo Holdings Inc. through a $103,622 investment that will help install four chargers in buildings across Kitchener and 30 more in other Ontario cities.
• Chargers for commercial fleets, which will be installed by Grand River Energy Solutions through a $910,000 investment, which will result in nine new chargers in Kitchener-Waterloo and five more in other Ontario cities.

These investments are injecting more money and green jobs into the Region of Waterloo. They demonstrate the federal government's commitment to building green community infrastructure through EV chargers, greener buildings and the energy systems that support them.

Making the switch from fossil fuels to clean electricity is key in lowering climate changing greenhouse gas emissions, cleaning the air we breathe and putting the country on track for a new, sustainable jobs economy. 

"We are investing in more than just energy-efficient projects — we are helping to build greener, more energy-efficient, economically prosperous communities for living, working, travelling and playing, across Ontario and across Canada. The investments we are making today in the Region of Waterloo speak to our government's commitment to more sustainable, more affordable communities where you and your family can charge your car for less, enjoy reliably energy-efficient buildings and benefit from green community infrastructure at all stages of life."

 The Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson
Minister of Energy and Natural Resources

"We are grateful for this funding that will support a truly collaborative effort to create High-Performance Development Standards. All eight municipalities in Waterloo Region are working together with WR Community Energy and various community stakeholders to improve the energy performance and sustainability of new buildings. This will help us reach our goal of reducing GHG emissions by 80% percent by 2050."

Karen Redman
Regional Chair, Regional Municipality of Waterloo

• The ISO 50001 Energy Management Systems Standard is an internationally recognized standard that gives organizations a structured framework to improve energy performance by making better use of energy-intensive assets.
• The Codes Acceleration Fund seeks to accelerate the adoption and implementation of the highest feasible energy performance tiers of the national model energy codes or other high-performance building codes, promote higher rates of compliance with adopted codes, and build capacity and support market preparedness for ambitious codes adoption.
• On-road transportation accounts for about 18 percent of Canada's total greenhouse gas emissions.
• Phasing in 100 percent new electric vehicle sales by 2035 is projected to reduce over 360 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, avoiding almost $100 billion (about $310 per person in the U.S.) in global damages.
• The Government of Canada's incentives for Zero-Emission Vehicles (iZEV) program has helped over 300,000 drivers make the switch through incentives of up to $5,000.
• Before hitting the roads, Canadians can easily map out their route by consulting Natural Resources Canada's electric charger and alternative fuelling stations locator.

• Energy efficiency for buildings
• Codes Acceleration Fund
• ZEV Resource Hub
• Zero-emission vehicle infrastructure funding
• Charging and Hydrogen Refuelling Infrastructure initiative

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SOURCE Natural Resources Canada