Minutes To be Confirmed

This meeting of the Board of Directors of the Toronto Atmospheric Fund was conducted with members participating in person and remotely.

The Board of Directors of the Toronto Atmospheric Fund received the item for information.

The Chief Executive Officer gave an overview of the Chief Executive Officer's Report.

This report provides an update on the Toronto Atmospheric Fund initiatives with regard to Governance Matters, Staff and Operational Matters, and Strategic Programs.

The Board of Directors of the Toronto Atmospheric Fund:

1. Received the report (February 3, 2025) from the Vice President, Impact Investing, Toronto Atmospheric Fund for information.

The Chief Executive Officer, Peak Power Energy gave a presentation on Market Leading Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) Platform.

In 2021, along with other co-investors, the Toronto Atmospheric Fund made a direct investment in Peak Power based on due diligence that indicated the Toronto Atmospheric Fund’s investment would enable this local company with a strong mandate alignment to realize its growth potential. A presentation by Peak Power’s Chief Executive Officer, Derek Sim Loo, will showcase the company’s progress since the Toronto Atmospheric Fund’s initial investment and our work together to achieve mutual objectives.

The Board of Directors of the Toronto Atmospheric Fund:

1. Received the report (February 3, 2025) from the Vice President, Strategy and Partnerships, Toronto Atmospheric Fund for information.

The Vice President, Strategy and Partnerships, the Director, Research and Innovation, the Seniors Grant Manager, the EV Charging Program Manager, the Retrofit Services Manager, the Senior Manager, Climate Policy, the Director, Clean Energy, the Senior Manager, Campaigns and Communications, and the People and Operations Manager gave a presentation on Year in Review 2024.

The attached report presents the outcomes achieved on the objectives set out in the Toronto Atmospheric Fund’s 2024 Annual Plan.

The Board of Directors of the Toronto Atmospheric Fund:

1.  Approved the 2025 Annual Plan as set out in Attachment 1 to the report (February 3, 2025) from the Chief Executive Officer, Toronto Atmospheric Fund.

The 2025 Annual Plan is presented for Board consideration and approval. The plan is guided by the Toronto Atmospheric Fund’s Strategic Directions 2024-2030 and organized into four focus areas which account for the largest sources of carbon emissions in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area: accelerating deep retrofits, accelerating uptake of electric vehicles, advancing net-zero ready new construction, and accelerating clean electrification.

The Board of Directors of the Toronto Atmospheric Fund:

1. Appointed Councillor Dianne Saxe as Vice Chair of the Board of Directors.

This report recommends appointment of Vice Chair of the Toronto Atmospheric Fund Board of Directors.

The Board of Directors of the Toronto Atmospheric Fund received the item for information.

The unaudited financial results for twelve months ended December 31, 2024 (Fourth Quarter) are presented for information.

The Board of Directors of the Toronto Atmospheric Fund received the item for information.

Minutes of the Grants and Programs Committee meeting held January 30, 2025.

The Board of Directors of the Toronto Atmospheric Fund:

1. Approved an allocation of $733,162 to support the Toronto Atmospheric Fund programs in 2025 as outlined below, to be funded from the Canada, Ontario, and Toronto endowments except where otherwise indicated: 

a.  Accelerating EV Uptake: $56,250 to expand the availability of affordable public EV charging;

b. Accelerating Net-Zero-Ready New Construction: $75,000 to progressively strengthen codes and standards across the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area and advance supportive policy frameworks to ensure all new construction is net-zero ready by 2030;

c. Accelerating Clean Electrification: $127,500 to scale adoption of local energy solutions and clean electricity supply in support of the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area’s transition to a net-zero grid;

d. Retrofit Accelerator: $190,875 to build the market for deep retrofits by collaborating with building operators and leading industry solutions providers to deliver deeper retrofits faster and more cost effectively;

e. Impact Investing: $63,750 to make prudent investments in impact-first projects or companies that are aligned with focus area initiatives and strategic directions, and to maintain management and compliance of TAF’s investment portfolio;

f. Climate Policy: $37,500 (from Canada and Toronto endowments only) to be an effective and influential advocate for climate policy with all three levels of government;

g. Grants: $25,125 to build the internal and community capacity needed to support effective design and delivery of TAF-funded initiatives;

h. Research and Innovation: $42,000 to deliver critical insights and evaluation to support advancement of climate priorities, and to provide research leadership and support to TAF teams;

i. Communications and Campaigns: $27,000 to increase audience reach while maintaining high engagement levels towards all focus area priorities;

j. Program Development: $7,500 to identify new insights and opportunities for TAF programming; and

k. Program Support: $80,662 to ensure programs have sufficient operational and administrative resources for delivery.

This report recommends approval of the balance of the Toronto Atmospheric Fund’s endowment-funded program budget for 2025.   

The Board of Directors of the Toronto Atmospheric Fund received the item for information.

Draft Minutes of the Investment Committee meeting held December 12, 2024.

The Board of Directors of the Toronto Atmospheric Fund received the item for information.

Draft Minutes of the Direct Investment Committee meeting held January 23, 2025.

The Board of Directors of the Toronto Atmospheric Fund received the item for information.

City Council on December 17 and 18, 2024, adopted Item CC24.2 as amended and, in so doing, has:

1.  Adopted the Policy Framework - City Response to Demonstrations in Attachment 1 to the report (December 10, 2024) from the City Manager and direct the City Manager to update the Framework as necessary to ensure the Framework remains current and responsive to the City's needs and priorities.

2.  Requested City agencies and corporations to refer to the Policy Framework - City Response to Demonstrations in Attachment 1 to the report (December 10, 2024) from the City Manager as a model and align applicable policies and procedures to be consistent with the City’s approach where appropriate.

The Board of Directors of the Toronto Atmospheric Fund:  

1.  Appointed Councillor Dianne Saxe to the Investment Committee.

This report recommends appointment of a Councillor Board member to the Toronto Atmospheric Fund’s Investment Committee.

Announcements

The Chair acknowledged that the Board of Directors of the Toronto Atmospheric Fund was meeting on the traditional territory of many nations including the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee and the Wendat peoples and is now home to many diverse First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples. The Chair also acknowledged that Toronto is covered by Treaty 13 with the Mississaugas of the Credit.

The Chair thanked Councillor Shelley Carroll for her contributions to the Board and welcomed Councillor James Pasternak to the Board.

Where the Members of the Board of Directors of the Toronto Atmospheric Fund listed in the attendance for this meeting participated remotely, they were counted for quorum, as permitted by Section 189(4.2) of the City of Toronto Act, 2006 and the Board's Procedures.

Also Present - Non-Members:

Julia Langer, Chief Executive Officer, Toronto Atmospheric Fund

Fatima Crerar, VP, Strategy and Partnerships, Toronto Atmospheric Fund

Jamie Klein, Senior Manager, People and Operations, Toronto Atmospheric Fund

Clifford Goldfarb, Lawyer, Toronto Atmospheric Fund

Bryan Purcell, VP, Strategy and Partnerships, Toronto Atmospheric Fund

Rob Wotten, Director, Finance, Toronto Atmospheric Fund

Kristian Knibutat, Vice President, Impact Investing, Toronto Atmospheric Fund

Julie Leach, Senior Manager, Campaigns and Communications, Toronto Atmospheric Fund

Aakash Harpalani, Director, Clean Energy, Toronto Atmospheric Fund

Evan Wiseman Senior Manager, Climate Policy, Toronto Atmospheric Fund

Ekaterina Tzekova Director, Research and Innovation, Toronto Atmospheric Fund

Amanda Mosca Manager, EV Charging Program, Toronto Atmospheric Fund

Sadia Khan, Senior Manager, Grants, Toronto Atmospheric Fund

Sandra Dosen, Communications and Campaigns Coordinator, Toronto Atmospheric Fund

Kaitlin Carroll, Manager, Retrofit Services, Toronto Atmospheric Fund

Uzoma Erondu, Senior Manager, Impact Investing, Toronto Atmospheric Fund

Sachin Sethi, Operations Manager, Toronto Atmospheric Fund

Colleen Mahaffie-Nixon, Communications and Campaigns Lead, Toronto Atmospheric Fund

Maryam Shekarrizfard – Manager, Research and Innovation, Toronto Atmospheric Fund

David Manzo, Analyst, Impact Investing, Toronto Atmospheric Fund

Louise Lam – Retrofit Accelerator Analyst, Toronto Atmospheric Fund

Natasha Mathew, Building Environmental Researcher, Toronto Atmospheric Fund