About 20% of Edmonton’s greenhouse gas emissions come from large buildings (Industrial, Commercial, and Institutional). To reach our climate change targets as a city, including those laid out in the Edmonton Declaration, we must address this sector. 

There are some unique challenges regarding energy use in large buildings. Just thinking about the way many of these buildings are designed, you can imagine some of them - for example, keeping a hockey rink freezing cold, while at the same time heating the air that is touching the ice.

Big open spaces covered in glass, such as City Hall, are amazing, inspiring public gathering spaces. However, from an energy perspective, nobody would ever make the choice of insulating their attic by replacing their roof with a giant glass pyramid.

And at the new Royal Alberta Museum, the light, temperature, and humidity must be maintained at pristine quality in order to preserve the precious artifacts.

However, as the saying goes, “With great power, comes great responsibility.” Because these large buildings have such a large impact, small changes in the way they are built can have an oversized impact on emissions reductions. And they can impact the local community by providing services like bike rooms, water storage, education, and leadership. 

Not only are these measures good for the environment, they are the right moves from comfort, aesthetic, and economic perspectives. Key sustainability leaders in Edmonton’s downtown community have recorded audio tours of their buildings, in order to shed light on some of the great work they have done. 

See the full list of audio tours. You can listen from home, or take a walk through downtown while you listen through your favourite podcast app. 

Looking Ahead

While we celebrate the achievements of these buildings, as compared to how we have historically designed buildings, we must also look to the future! The following graph shows that we must reach net zero global emissions by 2050 in order to keep warming below 1.5 degrees. 

This is why the City is pushing forward on many other projects, including the new Windermere Fire Station, which is our first attempt at a Net Zero Fire Station.

Further, it is important that the electricity grid is greened, and that innovative solutions like the Zero Carbon Building Certification are pursued. Other innovative solutions including geothermal energy and low carbon district energy systems are also underway.

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