Imagine having $50 billion dollars over 5 years to make Canada a more sustainable country. That’s what the Task Force for a Resilient Recovery is asking the government for with the goal to get Canadians back to work while also building a low-carbon economy.[i]
One of the primary recommendations includes retrofitting Canada’s buildings, estimated to cost a whopping price tag of $27 billion. Intuitively this makes sense because buildings account for 11% of Canada’s overall greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, however, under the umbrella of retrofitting, the task force should consider more specific investments like cleantech.
Here’s why:
- Already existing homegrown tech that exists and can be incorporated into this strategy.
- Smart building investment grew to $340 million in 2019.
- Smart building start-ups made up 7.4% of all start-up funds in 2019
- Not to mention focusing on accelerating these existing smart building technologies would create jobs for the economy, result in healthier environments for tenants and workers, and increase property value for owners.
- Venture capitalists have already seen the value and put money behind start-ups in these areas because they believe in the solutions being developed. It would make sense for the government to follow suit.
- These markets have shown to be resilient in an economic downturn; technology-driven companies offering software solutions are less affected because the product nature allows companies to operate at full capacity with remote working capabilities.
Smart building solutions make turning buildings into green, dynamic environments a much easier process and while also contributing to our climate goals which bring us back to the whole point of the proposed $50 billion calls-to-action.
If there is to be any recommendation on where to get the most bang for our buck from government funding to make a real ecological impact, smart buildings are where it’s at.
