Published: July 2024
Organization: Pembina Institute
Format: Report
Estimated Reading Time: 15–20 minutes (Full report: 25 pages — see audience-specific sections below for recommended reading)
Why We Recommend It?
This report highlights the urgent need to retrofit existing buildings to protect Canadians’ health and safety. Buildings designed for past climate conditions are increasingly vulnerable to extreme weather events—such as heat waves, flooding, and wildfire smoke—which are growing in both frequency and severity. Well-planned retrofits can deliver multiple benefits, including reduced safety risks, improved asset resilience and insurability, and long-term energy cost savings. The report also recognizes high upfront costs as a major barrier and calls for coordinated efforts from all sectors—including governments, utilities, insurers, and investors—along with building owners to proactively future-proof Canada’s building stock for generations to come.
Audience specific
For Building Owners & Developers
Key Takeaways:
- Extreme weather events (heat waves, flooding, wildfires) are worsening, posing increased risks to residents in aging buildings.
- Proactively addressing climate risks reduces liability, operational costs, and insurance premiums.
- Building owners can maximize capital renewal planning by integrating building and occupant resilience objectives.
Recommended Reading:
- Page 1 – Executive Summary
- Pages 6–12 – Increased Climate Risks and Retrofit Strategies to Mitigate Them
- Pages 15–16 – Building Owner Actions
- Pages 22–25 – Building design strategies that provide climate resilience
For Designers & Consultants
Key Takeaways:
- Underscores the importance of climate-resilient retrofits as a growing market trend driven by health and safety concerns.
- Provides practical design strategies to address key climate risks in the Canadian context.
- Supports professionals in making the case to clients that high-performance retrofits deliver multiple benefits—social, environmental, and financial.
Recommended Reading:
- Page 1 – Executive Summary
- Pages 6–12 – Increased Climate Risks and Retrofit Strategies to Mitigate Them
- Pages 22–25 – Building design strategies that provide climate resilience
For Builders & Contractors
Key Takeaways:
- Underscores the importance of climate-resilient retrofits as a growing market trend driven by health and safety concerns.
- Highlights actionable strategies—like envelope upgrades, ventilation improvements, and passive cooling techniques—that can reduce occupant risks during extreme weather events.
- Equips builders with design-aligned insights to support clients in achieving healthier, more future-ready buildings.
Recommended Reading:
- Page 1 – Executive Summary
- Pages 6–12 – Increased Climate Risks and Retrofit Strategies to Mitigate Them
- Pages 22–25 – Building design strategies that provide climate resilience
For Government & Utilities
Key Takeaways:
- Extreme weather events are increasing, with particularly severe impacts on marginalized communities.
- Deep retrofits make homes healthier, safer, more resilient to climate extremes, and more affordable to heat and cool.
- Scaling up retrofits requires action from governments and utilities, including incentives, concierge services, and integrating resilience measures into codes and standards.
Recommended Reading:
- Full Report: Learn why and how governments and utilities can promote deep retrofits for health and resilience.
Next Steps & Related Reading...
- Understand the full value of deep retrofits: See our Business Case and Case Studies sections for additional rationales and examples.
- Leverage deep retrofit-specific financing incentives: Explore our Funding & Financing Resources to locate support that can help offset your project costs.