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GDI secures $100M CIB loan to cut carbon footprint of aging Canadian buildings

July 2, 2024 – Canada Infrastructure Bank (CIB) has reached financial close on a $100-million loan to GDI Integrated Facility Services Inc. to support deep energy retrofits in aging buildings across Canada and accelerate their decarbonization.

“This partnership will enable GDI to accelerate the implementation of turnkey retrofit solutions designed to improve the efficiency of our country’s inventory of aging buildings […]” said Ehren Cory, CEO, Canada Infrastructure Bank.

GDI has formed a special purpose vehicle (SPV) to finance the capital costs of retrofits, which will include CIB’s investment; the remainder will be funded through an equity investment by GDI and third parties.

The company’s wholly owned subsidiary Ainsworth, and its subsidiary Énergère, will source energy projects and provide complete turnkey design/build services. The companies will offer initial energy audits, energy modelling, system design, installation, commissioning, measurement and ongoing energy management, data analytics and energy optimization.

Carbon-reduction measures include fuel switching, HVAC upgrades, transitioning to “clean” and renewable power, and energy storage facilities.

Once all retrofits are complete, it is estimated that about 44,000 tonnes of GHG emissions will be reduced annually. The projects are also expected to support roughly 500 jobs in the trades.

“We are very excited to work with CIB on their financing program that we can offer to our clients across Canada,” said Claude Bigras, president & CEO, GDI. “We will be performing turnkey solutions for clients’ buildings to reduce the carbon footprint while enhancing overall energy efficiency.”

CIB’s loan is part of the Building Retrofits Initiative, in which CIB has committed over $1.2 billion toward financing sustainable retrofits.