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Toronto Community Housing has established a designated Conservation team to help the organization lead the way to a more sustainable future. The Conservation team focuses on developing and implementing green initiatives that promote behaviours to help our communities reduce water, energy, and natural gas and engage in proper waste diversion.
We will reduce our environmental impact through several sustainability strategies and make conservation a central component of TCHC's identity, culture, and operations. While leading by example through clear, concise and transparent conservation initiatives, we hope to inspire both tenants and staff to adopt environmentally-friendly habits.
In light of the ever-increasing effects of climate change and the pressures facing the City of Toronto, City officials have developed an ambitious climate action strategy; TransformTO sets bold greenhouse gas emission reduction targets.
- Thirty percent reduction by 2020
- Sixty-five percent reduction by 2030
- Net-zero by 2050
Toronto Community Housing is the second-largest social housing provider in North America and one of the largest employers in Toronto. This puts us in a unique position to help support the City's climate change goals. We are doing everything we can to work towards a legacy of positive change within our organization and help the City reach its targets.
Check out this video below to learn more about the priorities of the Conservation team.
What we do
The Conservation Team is part of the Facilities Management Smart Buildings and Energy Management Division. The team was established in the spring of 2020 to help TCHC meet its conservation targets and goals and help build and develop strategies and programs to be implemented across the organization.
The team currently has four Conservation program streams:
- Staff education
- Tenant education
- Green office
- Waste program
Staff education
- Leadership in conservation educational sessions
- Checklists for responding to tenants' utility-related complaints
- Building utility reports
Tenant education
- In-suite electricity use and monitoring and education
- Conservation bulletin boards installation
- Thermostat use education
- Conversation communication and materials for tenants
- Community-specific programming
Green Office
- Green office performance ratings for tenant service hubs and TCHC offices
- Collaborate with vendors to promote the purchase of eco-friendly office supplies
- Green office educational programs
Waste program
- Illegal dumping monitoring
- Create a standard of procedures for the waste management program
- Waste enclosure signage
- Waste kits distributed to tenants
- Sharps disposal program
To foster a culture of conservation at Toronto Community Housing, the Conservation team is implementing several initiatives and programs.
These initiatives and programs will help:
- Toronto Community Housing meets its commitment to reduce energy consumption by 25 per cent by 2028
- Support the organization in water consumption, electricity, natural gas and waste reduction
- Educate tenants and staff on behaviours that will improve tenants' quality of life while also decreasing utility consumption
- Educate tenants and staff about how to utilize new energy-efficient equipment and capital upgrades
- Ensure all tenant-facing capital investment measures include conservation education and training opportunities
- Limit savings erosion of capital investments through training and education
- Engage tenants in incorporating conservation into the community
Resources
We offer a collection of conservation education and engagement materials for tenants. To request a printed or a translated copy for your building or community, please contact the Client Care Centre at
416-981-5500 or email
help@torontohousing.ca.
A list of tenant resources:
- Thermostat user guide (model-specific)
- Guide to using water upgrades (e.g., tap aerators, showers, toilets)
- Tips for energy-efficient lighting
- Door hangers with conservation messaging Waste kits
- Conservation Program handout
Check out the conservation resource library page (coming soon) for a list of conservation materials available for you to download or print.
Conservation videos
We have developed a series of videos to help you get more tips and tricks on how you can be more eco-friendly. Check out our series of videos below.
Click to expand the conservation videos ▼
Let's conserve together
Toronto Community Housing continues to provide upgrades to our building to increase tenants' comfort, health and wellness. Many of these upgrades will also increase the building's energy efficiency.
What can you do to go green?
To reach our conservation targets, we have engaged tenants and staff with useful tips to incorporate daily practices to reduce their environmental impact. Tips such as putting food waste in the organics bins and carrying a reusable water bottle or a grocery bag can have a significant impact over time. Check out the following pages for tips and tricks to reduce your environmental impact. Please continue to check these pages for new and updated tips.
Waste program
The Conservation team works with the on-site staff and the City to improve our waste diversion rates at our buildings. We have also distributed waste kits to several sites to provide tenants with the tools to participate in proper waste diversion. We also have several waste programs currently taking place. Visit the
Clean Buildings page to learn more about TCHC's commitment to providing clean buildings for tenants.
Water conservation
The Ontario government's investment in the Social Housing Apartment Retrofit Program (SHARP) and SHAIP Social Housing Apartment Improvement Program (SHAIP) allows TCHC to make capital repairs, upgrades and retrofits (i.e., energy-efficient boilers, windows, lighting, low-flow water installations) to buildings – improving the sustainability and quality of life for tenants.
Check out our
water brochure (PDF) to learn more about water conservation at TCHC.
Green office
To help our employees lead by example, the Conservation Team is implementing a new Green Office program. We have developed a new Green Office Manual and green Procurement Guide. We continue to assess our staff offices and tenant services hubs to find ways to reduce waste and make our workplace more sustainable.
City of Toronto resources
To learn more about the City of Toronto's conservation efforts, check out the following links:
