Events
While governments, investors, and building owners continue to commit to ambitious emissions reduction targets, commercial and institutional building retrofits are falling short of the pace and depth needed to align with these goals. Retrofits remain limited in number and scope, often focused on minor upgrades rather than comprehensive changes. Indeed, according to the International Energy Agency, to avoid the worst impacts of climate change, an escalating path of deep retrofits is needed—20% of buildings by 2030, 50% by 2040, and 85% by 2050. This necessitates a threefold increase in retrofit rates, along with a significant shift in focus toward deeper, more impactful retrofits.
Retrofitting to meet emissions targets will require significant capital investment. Estimates range from $6 billion per year for commercial and institutional buildings (Pembina Institute) to $20–32 billion per year across all building types (Efficiency Canada). Despite the slow progress, promising developments are emerging, including new Deep Retrofit Accelerator Initiative (DRAI) accelerators, innovative financing models from financial institutions, and leadership by governments and utilities.
This panel will delve into these emerging initiatives and discuss the critical actions required to scale up commercial and institutional retrofits. Our expert panelists will share insights on how financing is enabling building owners to decarbonize their assets to to meet the growing needs of Canadians seeking low-carbon building solutions.
This session will be moderated by Matt Poirier, Director of Policy Building Decarbonization Alliance with presentation from Erin Ellis, Senior Director, Development at Efficiency Capital and James Burrow, Director, Sustainable Finance at BMO North American Commercial Bank.
About the Moderator
Mathieu Poirier
Director of Policy
Matt prides himself on translating research findings into actionable solutions to support the clean energy transition. He brings more than a decade of experience working to decarbonize the built environment via positions in—and engagements with—governments, utilities, and industry. Before joining the Building Decarbonization Alliance, Matt held consulting roles at Dunsky Energy + Climate Advisors and Deloitte, and worked in industry and non-profit organizations focusing on green building design and legal analysis. He holds degrees in mechanical engineering and psychology from the University of Waterloo, and a law degree from Dalhousie University. He also earned an MBA from Saint Mary’s University. Matt also co-authored The Case for Building Electrification in Canada, our foundational position paper.
About the Panelists
Erin Ellis
Senior Director, Development, Efficiency Capital
Erin Ellis is Director, Development at Efficiency Capital (EC). Previous to joining Efficiency Capital’s team, Erin was the Director of International Market Development at the World Trade Centre, Toronto and the Strategic Partnerships & Communications lead at the Brookfield Institute for Innovation + Entrepreneurship.
With a professional background spanning Public Policy, International Trade and Commercial Real Estate, Erin brings 15+ years of cross-sectoral business development experience to Efficiency Capital’s team. With a reputation for conceptualizing, funding, and successfully delivering on programs and partnerships aimed at improving economic, social and environmental outcomes for all Canadians, Erin’s passion and expertise help drive EC’s ambitious market and segment expansion activities across Canada and beyond in our ongoing pursuit of a net-zero future.
James Burrow
Director, Sustainable Finance, BMO North American Commercial Bank
James Burrow is Director, Sustainable Finance, BMO North American Commercial Bank. Prior to his appointment, James was part of the Capital Markets Sustainable Finance team, where he identified opportunities to grow sustainable finance products across BMO Financial Group as a whole. His work there included launching BMO’s high-profile retrofits partnership with the Canada Infrastructure Bank; supporting the acquisition of Radicle Group and it’s post-merger integration into BMO; scoping early-stage real-estate decarbonization opportunities with the U.S. Department of Energy; and publicly advocating for BMO’s climate ambition via thought leadership spanning national media, conferences and podcasts.
James started at BMO in 2019, joining the Office of Strategic Management where he supported the bank’s Executive Committee by developing an updated enterprise climate strategy, announced in March ’21. He also played a key role drafting the bank’s Ambition 2025 strategy. Prior to joining BMO, James lived in the UK, where he was a management consultant with The Boston Consulting Group, and a military intelligence officer.