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“About.” Green Communities Canada,
http://greencommunitiescanada.org/about/.

“Foundation.” Green Communities Canada,
http://greencommunitiescanada.org/foundation/.

“Green Communities Canada’s Home Energy Retrofit Incentive and Home Visit
Program.” Tools of Change,

http://www.toolsofchange.com/en/case-studies/detail/638/.

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Green Communities Canada. An introduction.

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Green Communities Canada. An introduction.

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Green Communities Canada (GCC) was founded in 1995 in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada. It works with different member organizations and partners to provide advanced, original, and reasonable community programs. Currently, GCC is focusing on benefiting the environment, health, the economy, and infrastructure. More specifically, their programs revolve around energy efficient housing, environment friendly infrastructure that helps with storm water management, active school travel etc. Even though GCC was founded in Ontario, it is now a world-wide non-profit organization. There are staff in Ottawa, Toronto and Hamilton. There are 12 members in the national board of directors, and 15 member organizations in Canada that work together. Lastly, GCC receives donations through the Green Communities Foundation.

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Green Communities Canada has a variety of programs that are constantly changing. Their current focus is tackling climate change by focusing on water, transportation and energy efficient housing.

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The Home Energy Solution Program helps homeowners turn their home into an energy-efficient house. Member organizations provide many local programs they themselves have created. Improved home energy efficiency reduces our ecological footprint (reduces Greenhouse Gases), is more affordable and healthier for the residents of the house. For 25 years, GCC and its members have provided 200,000+ professional energy house inspections. GCC also uses cash incentives to help homeowners overcome problems like the up-front cost for energy efficient homes, which can be up to $5000. To put this into perspective, from 2003-2006 homeowners saved 31.8 GJ in average per year with the help of the Home Energy Solutions Program.

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GCC's Programs: RAIN Community Solutions & Canada Walks.

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GCC's Programs: RAIN Community Solutions & Canada Walks.

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RAIN Community Solutions:

The RAIN Community Solutions Program was the Minister’s Award for Environmental Excellence, 2015 award winner. It controls rain and where it falls. It  is more affordable, there is a smaller flood risk, and there is better water protection. The program helps community groups, home owners and cities!

Canada Walks:

The GCC knows that sustainable communities need pedestrians walking, not driving to get around! Canada Walks encourages walking and promotes the importance of walkability in municipalities in Canada. GCC works with partners to help make walk-friendly roads and communities, to lower GHGs by using cars less and walking more!

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Like mentioned above, GCC has made a lot of progress throughout the years. Like the fact that the Home Energy Solutions Program has provided 200,000 and more professional energy house inspections, helping homeowners use a lot less electricity, and more efficiently. Also, that program “[s]erved as a model for many other home visit programs throughout the world” ("Green Communities Canada’s Home Energy Retrofit Incentive"). Furthermore, from 1998-2001, GCC was the only delivery agent in Ontario for Natural Resources Canada (NRCan)’s EnerGuide for Houses. The GCC’s incentive program was successful, so the NRCan launched a national EnerGuide for Houses incentive program in 2003. “It rewarded homeowners for improving the energy rating of their houses” ("Green Communities Canada’s Home Energy Retrofit Incentive"). GCC basically made the EnerGuide as popular as it is today because of the program's success. Although, maybe they have not yet completed their goals of making Canada have a reduced ecological footprint. That does not stop them from being an Agent of Change, however. They are still an Agent of Change because they have shown what is possible with the help of people. They have had a great start that has helped many, and they have not stopped and probably never will, until their goal is reached.

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Green Communities Canada has done many things. The first type of action is Education. When they delivered the audits to homeowners about high efficiency housing, they educated them, and told them what was needed to change, in order to be more energy efficient. Next, using their website, they communicate. GCC's website includes information about climate change-related problems. Lastly, Green Communities Canada also donates to other programs. GCC has a foundation, the Green Communities Foundation (GCF). The GCF "fund[s] programs to reduce pollution and restore natural filtration to keep water safer" ("Foundation").