ENBIX Community of Practice Launched for Calgary

Key Takeaways:

• The Calgary community of Practice provides a space for local professionals working in the building, construction and renovation industry to share information about emissions-neutral construction.
• The effort is a partnership between the Calgary Construction Association, the City of Calgary and Alberta Ecotrust.
• The first Communities of Practice event took place Feb. 28.

The Whole Story:

Professionals in Calgary’s building, construction and renovation industries celebrated the launch of a Calgary Community of Practice that enables information sharing on reducing emissions from buildings. 

The Calgary Community of Practice, part of Emissions-Neutral Buildings Information Exchange (ENBIX), provides a space for local professionals working in the building, construction and renovation industry to share information about emissions-neutral construction. The effort is a partnership between the Calgary Construction Association (CCA), the City of Calgary and Alberta Ecotrust, who all want to accelerate the transition to an emissions-neutral built environment for new and existing buildings across Alberta. 

“The launch of the ENBIX Calgary Community of Practice marks a pivotal moment in our industry’s commitment to high performance buildings, especially in terms of long-term energy consumption and carbon footprint,” said Bill Black, president and CEO, CCA. “By focusing on realistic solutions, and through collaboration and knowledge sharing, the leaders in our construction industry are taking proactive steps to mitigate our carbon footprint and contribute to a greener, cleaner future for Calgary.”

Officials explained that commercial and residential buildings are a major source of greenhouse gas emissions across Canada. In Calgary, buildings account for about two-thirds of the city’s total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

“Our greatest opportunity to see greenhouse gas reductions is through our buildings,” said Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek. “ENBIX is an investment in Calgary-made solutions, building capacity and momentum for emissions-neutral construction that will grow over the next several years and beyond.”

Over the next four years, ENBIX will continue to expand the ways in which it shares market research, industry experience and training, including webinars, site visits, technology demonstrations, training sessions and more. 

“Collaboration initiatives like the ENBIX Community of Practice will help us go faster towards net zero, together,” said Claire Beckstead, leader of community energy, City of Calgary. “This initiative will help us develop made-in-Calgary solutions to achieve high performance buildings, and will accelerate progress toward our goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.” 

Officials noted that crucial to ENBIX’s success is industry support from founding partners, the CCA and the Smart Sustainable Resilient Infrastructure Association.

Calgary professionals interested in joining the ENBIX Calgary Community of Practice can do so by visiting enbix.ca/get-involved

The first Community of Practice event took place Feb. 28.