Building Owners Partner with the City of Toronto’s Green Will Initiative to Accelerate Reduction of GHG Emissions

The City of Toronto’s Green Will Initiative (GWI) was launched in an effort to partner with private commercial and institutional organizations to make great strides in meeting the city’s net zero emission goal by supporting building portfolio owners in enhancing their internal energy and carbon management practices.

All commercial, institutional, industrial and multi-unit residential building portfolios in Toronto are eligible to enroll in the free program. 

CIET has worked with municipalities over the years on initiatives that support building owners in their efforts to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across building portfolios. In working with the GWI, CIET, via expert training, has been able to provide organizations in Toronto with the skills to monitor and audit GHG emissions, as well as to enable these organizations to contribute to the City of Toronto’s overall strategy and Net Zero by 2024 target.

Understanding that each building portfolio will have a distinct journey toward its goal, GWI offers support in a number of ways.

What To Expect As A GWI Member

The GWI will offer you resources, training and connections to support your efforts in reducing your buildings’ GHG emissions to net zero. Based on your unique portfolio, city staff will help you create a plan to accelerate emission reductions and achieve targets.

“The Green Will initiative is an exceptional resource for organizations at any stage of their carbon reduction journey. The opportunity to connect with other organizations facing similar challenges is incredibly valuable. Through Green Will, we've been able to take courses with CIET, which have been instrumental in laying the groundwork for our oven use optimization carbon reduction project. I highly recommend Green Will to any organization, regardless of sector, committed to achieving carbon reduction goals."
- Darcy Curran, FGF Brands

Benefits

Green Will Initiative members will:

• Build a Pathway to Net Zero: Members will receive support and resources to help prioritize net zero planning and implementation, including access to the City’s Strategic Carbon Management (SCM) workshops and expert training from CIET.

• Be Recognized: The City will showcase and recognize members’ accomplishments and best practices. Members will be featured on the GWI webpage and other City of Toronto channels.

• Receive Peer Learning: The GWI provides a forum for collaboration and shared learning between members to achieve mutually beneficial goals.
  - greenwillto.ca

Gain Free Access To Expert Level Training

GWI has partnered with CIET to offer advanced and expert level training. This level of training is for members with mature building portfolios with existing carbon management plans or ongoing emissions reduction work.

For example, CIET’s Energy Efficiency for Building Operators and Maintenance Staff (EEBO) has enabled organizations to identify energy savings opportunities. The EEBO’s Energy Hunt activity walks participants through examining a building’s daily operations and turning their observations into savings opportunities.

Here are some examples of GWI members’ findings and savings potential ($122,546 in savings per year in one case!).

The tangible outcomes and savings opportunities identified in this type of expert training lends itself to the organization’s individual pathway to net zero emissions as well as the City’s TransformTO climate strategy and net zero by 2040 target.

CIET has also supported GWI members with a suite of training sessions including RETScreen® Expert, Existing Building Commissioning (EBCx), Building Automation Systems (BAS), Certified Energy Manager (CEM), Certified Measurement & Verification Professional (CMVP), and many more.

How to Join

Applications are open for the next cohort of the Green Will Initiative. You can learn more about the program at greenwillto.ca. If you are interested in becoming a member and receiving all the benefits of the GWI, contact greenwill@toronto.ca.

Green Will Initiative Members

One of the benefits of becoming a member of the GWI is that you gain access to other members, their insights and best practices, what they have accomplished and how they did it, and therefore a valuable avenue for collaboration and shared learning.

 View all GWI members here and explore their accomplishments.