Item - 2021.TA11.11

The Board of Directors of the Toronto Atmospheric Fund:

1.  Approved the following grant requests to be funded jointly from the Canada, Ontario and Toronto endowments except where otherwise indicated:

a.  $35,000 over 12 months to the City of Brampton to update the sustainability score thresholds that support the Sustainability Metrics Program in Brampton, Vaughn, Markham, and Richmond Hill, and to create resources that will enable municipal staff to implement the program (funded from the Canada and Ontario endowments only). Approval to be subject to the following conditions:

i.  Submit for Toronto Atmospheric Fund (TAF) approval a stakeholder engagement strategy outlining how and when building industry stakeholders, including home builders, designers, and trades associations, will be consulted throughout the process.

ii.  Submit for TAF approval an analysis of the feasibility of completing this project before 2023, including a revised project timeline (if feasible) or an explanation for maintaining the initial timeline (if not feasible).

iii.  Prioritize carbon emissions reductions in the updates to the sustainability score thresholds, and report back on the estimated emission reductions that will be achieved once the updated Sustainability Metrics Program is implemented.

iv.  Demonstrate, in the form of a signed letter, support from at least one Councillor in each of the four municipalities for adopting updates to the Sustainability Metrics Program, including their commitment to participating in a project advisory committee and/or other relevant mechanisms for engaging. stakeholders and advancing the updates.

b.  $86,000 over 12 months to the City of Pickering to consult with internal and external stakeholders to inform updates to their Sustainable Development Guidelines, and to develop staff training tools and building industry resources to support implementation (funded from the Canada and Ontario endowments only). Approval to be subject to the following conditions:

i.  Submit a stakeholder engagement strategy for TAF approval outlining how and when building industry stakeholders, including home builders, designers, and trades associations, will be consulted throughout the process.

ii.  Submit a revised workplan for TAF approval clarifying the project timeline and scheduled completion dates of project activities and deliverables.

iii.  The City of Pickering will provide funding for the Project Manager position and will eliminate the associated salary from the TAF funding request.

vi.  Prioritize carbon emissions reductions in the updates to the Sustainable Development Guidelines, and report back on the estimated emission reductions that will be achieved once the updated Sustainable Development Guidelines are implemented.

c.  $150,320 to the City of Toronto over 12 months to benchmark embodied carbon emissions for the construction of Part 3 buildings in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA), and to use the results to inform updates to the Toronto Green Standard. Approval to be subject to the following conditions:

i.  Submit a detailed knowledge transfer strategy for TAF approval outlining how lessons and project outcomes will be shared with building industry and municipal stakeholders in the GTHA.

ii.  Submit a stakeholder engagement strategy for TAF approval outlining how industry stakeholders representing building materials manufacturers and the development community will be consulted throughout the project.

d.  $30,040 to Pollution Probe over 8 months to convene and coordinate GTHA municipalities in advancing their interests to inform the Ontario Energy Board’s review of the next multi-year natural gas demand side management plan (funded from the Canada and Toronto endowments only). Approval to be subject to the following condition:

i.  Various approaches to municipal representation are explored.

e.  $141,565 to QUEST over 20 months to complete feasibility studies to conduct deep energy retrofits on two municipally-owned seniors centres using prefabricated exterior panels and new mechanical systems, and to share lessons learned with municipal and building industry stakeholders across the GTHA. Approval to be subject to the following conditions:

i.  Funding requested from Natural Resources Canada is confirmed.

ii  The City of Burlington and Town of Oakville each contribute $10,000 to offset costs associated with the feasibility studies exploring deep energy retrofit options in the two municipally-owned seniors centres.

f.  $30,000 to the Town of Caledon over 16 months to develop sustainability metrics and an implementation framework for a local Green Development Standard in consultation with internal and external stakeholders (funded from the Canada and Ontario endowments only).

g.  $250,000 to the Town of Whitby over 36 months to measure the costs and benefits of integrating the three voluntary tiers of the recently adopted Whitby Green Standard at the design, construction, and occupancy stages, and to share the methodology and results with municipal and industry stakeholders across the GTHA (funded from the Canada and Ontario endowments only). Approval to be subject to the following condition:

i.  Submit a revised project budget for TAF approval which requires no more than $250,000 in funding from TAF over the three-year project timeline, and reduces TAF’s contribution to project costs associated with equipment, materials, building performance evaluation, and homeowner incentives.

ii.  Funding for project materials and equipment is contingent on a qualified professional's written and signed assessment showing the estimated incremental costs of constructing to the Whitby Green Standard, and on the Town of Whitby demonstrating that total material and equipment funding from all funders is no more than 75 percent of the total incremental costs incurred by the builders.

iii.  Submit memoranda of understanding, signed by authorized representatives from the Town of Whitby and the home builder project partner(s), outlining the home builder’s commitment to making all relevant costing information publicly available and to allowing Town of Whitby staff oversight during the design process to ensure compliance with the Whitby Green Standard tiers.

2.  Declined one grant request with a total value of $243,714, as set out in Confidential Attachment 1 to the report (April 12, 2021) from the Grants Manager.

3.  Approved the following project allocation requests to be funded jointly from the Canada, Ontario and City of Toronto endowments:

a.  $24,000 over 24 months to support TAF’s policy activities through the engagement of subject matter experts as consultants on key policy files, through adequate internal resourcing and the hiring of a Policy Analyst, and through relevant travel, communications, and events.

b.  $300,000 over 36 months to provide TAF with the resources to hire a full-time program manager to oversee the day-to-day operations of TAF’s planned program which will facilitate the implementation of EV charging infrastructure. Funding will also support the hiring of expert consultants to support the outreach and engagement effort and development of a ‘turnkey’ option for this program. The allocation for this program is conditional on Natural Resources Canada’s approval of TAF’s funding application to the Zero Emission Vehicle Infrastructure Program.

c.  $0 over 24 months for TAF to hire a Communications Coordinator who is responsible for managing the TAF social media communities; tracking and reporting communications metrics; and coordinating website and other content updates. In addition to these core responsibilities, the Coordinator will support the Communications Manager in new content production, project management, liaising with internal teams, event coordination and other special projects.

4.  Directed that the confidential information contained in Confidential Attachment 1 to the report (April 12, 2021) from the Grants Manager remain confidential in its entirety, as contains financial information supplied in confidence to the Toronto Atmospheric Fund, which, if disclosed, could reasonably be expected to prejudice significantly the competitive position or interfere significantly with the contractual or other negotiations of a person, group of persons, or organization.

At its April 7, 2021 meeting, the TAF Grants and Programs Committee recommended that the Board approve seven grants with a combined value of $722,925 and three internal program allocations with a total value of $324,000. This report provides recommendations from the Committee meeting.