BQCL is working in concert with Edmonton Federation of Community Leagues (EFCL) and their Net Zero Pathways initiative (Net Zero Pathways – Edmonton Federation of Community Leagues (efcl.org), a program to help community leagues improve their building infrastructure while aligning with the City of Edmonton’s goals to reach carbon neutrality by the year 2050.
The goal of EFCL Net Zero Pathways is to support Community Leagues to apply for Infrastructure Canada’s grant program, the Green and Inclusive Community Buildings program (Infrastructure Canada – Green and Inclusive Community Buildings Program (infc.gc.ca)) for deep green energy retrofits on their halls. This five-year $1.5 billion program will support green and accessible retrofits, repairs or upgrades of existing public community buildings and the construction of new publicly-accessible community buildings that serve high-needs, underserved communities across Canada.
BQCL was excited to apply for and honored to be selected to participate in the program. Since 2018, BQCL has completed three key infrastructure upgrades with a vision to reduce our overall carbon footprint. These included:
- a 54kw solar microgeneration array (BQCL-Solar-Stats (solaredge.com)
- a building-wide “legacy” to LED lighting replacement
- a complete high efficiency furnace and boiler replacement
An opportunity to explore options leading to net-zero emissions aligned well with the Board’s sustainability vision.
BQCL has just completed the initial phase of the NetZero Pathways initiative. Working with a local company called Carbon Busters (Carbon Busters – Carbon Busters), BQCL has recently completed a comprehensive hall inspection, which will lead next to an energy assessment and the production of as ASHRAE Level 2 Energy Audit (Understanding the 3 Types of ASHRAE Audits | Enpowered Solutions) which will be used as support material in grant application.
More information to come.
