Montreal-based investment fund SOFIAC will invest $10.5 million into decarbonization initiatives at Quebec educational institutions Collège Bourget and Campus Notre-Dame-de-Foy.

The investments are aimed at slashing the greenhouse gas emissions of Collège Bourget, a private grade school in Rigaud, and Campus Notre-Dame-de-Foy, a college in Saint-Augustin-de-Desmaures.

Collège Bourget is aiming for an 87 per cent cut to its annual greenhouse gas emissions - approximately 1,200 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) - with a $4.8-million investment.

Campus Notre-Dame-de-Foy will be targeting an over-40 per cent reduction in CO2 per year - a cut of over 600 tonnes of CO2 - courtesy of a $5.7-million investment.

“Realized in record time, this decarbonization project will hold a prominent place in SOFIAC’s investment portfolio for the next 15 years and beyond,” Christian Brosseau, president and CEO of SOFIAC, said in an announcement about the Collège Bourget project.

SOFIAC is co-founded and jointly managed by Econoler and Fondaction with the support of the Quebec government. Founded in 2020, it funds efforts to reduce carbon emissions and increase the energy efficiency of buildings across Canada. It raised $185 million in 2022 to finance retrofits of commercial, industrial and multiresidential buildings.

The fund covers all of the investment and is repaid through the energy savings, Brosseau told Sustainable Biz Canada in an email exchange.

SOFIAC's investments into the two schools

Founded in 1850, Collège Bourget has approximately 2,000 students. According to Brosseau, the investment from SOFIAC will cover:

• optimization of the main ventilation unit and heating water production through the addition of heat pumps and an electric boiler;
• recommissioning mechanical systems;
• power demand management; and
• upgrading the kitchen hood.

As a result, energy consumption is forecast to drop 37 per cent and save the school $180,000 per year in energy costs. The work started December and will finish February 2026, Brosseau said.

C-Nergie, SOFIAC’s technical partner, will be implementing the energy efficiency measures. Additional financial support will come from Environnement Québec, Énergir and Hydro-Québec.

A college of seven buildings and over 1,200 students, Campus Notre-Dame-de-Foy will undergo a deep energy retrofit aiming to reduce annual energy consumption by 33 per cent. Johnson Controls will support the effort by designing and implementing the project. The retrofit started in April 2024 and is scheduled to finish in July.

The college will be electrifying its heating, incorporating LED lighting, recommissioning and optimizing building controls, guaranteeing power demand management, and renewing its assets such as boilers and hoods.

“As a subsidized private college recognized in Quebec, Campus Notre-Dame-de-Foy must be a model of social and environmental responsibility,” Caroline Roy, general director of the , said. “This major decarbonization initiative is a strategic step that positions our college as a proactive player in the transition to a more sustainable society.”

SOFIAC has invested over $13 million into collegiate institutions, Brosseau said.

SOFIAC's decarbonization projects

SOFIAC’s aim is to help the Quebec government meet its 2030 energy policy, a plan that sets out to boost energy efficiency by 15 per cent, reduce reliance on fossil fuels and use more alternative energy sources like renewable energy and bioenergy.

The fund’s investments, which SOFIAC said would be dispersed over five years from its founding, will cut 20,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions per year. A goal with every project is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 30 to 50 per cent.

In 2024, SOFIAC participated in:

• a strategic partnership with the Montreal Port Authority to support an energy efficiency project aimed at reducing planet-warming pollution from its operational buildings by over 60 per cent;
• a $3.3-million investment into adMare BioInnovations in Saint-Laurent, Que. aimed at shrinking greenhouse gas emissions by almost 60 per cent; and
• supporting RA Centre in Ottawa in slashing carbon emissions by 40 per cent through upgrading its heating distribution, adding a modern heating plant, converting the lighting to energy efficient variants, and implementing a building automation system to optimize energy use.