Research

Evolv1 is Canada’s first commercial net-positive multitenant office building. The core research objectives of this interdisciplinary and multi-sector project are:

1. Explore how a Culture of Sustainability (CoS) develops over time and can be fostered.
2. Understand how the use of and experience in evolv1 changes over time and how this relates to wellbeing and organizational success.
3. Develop and evaluate a state-of-the art building management and feedback system.
4. Assess the impact and value of evolv1 on and for the local community.

EVOLV1: Closing the performance gap in high-performance green buildings by cultivating a culture of sustainability 

Co-Leads: Manuel Riemer, Joel Marcus, Simon Coulombe, Paul Parker, Noam Miller, Sean Geobey 
 
Rationale and Objectives:

The building sector accounts for 40% of global energy use and 38% of global greenhouse gas emissions, and while green-certified buildings attempt to reduce the impacts of the building sector, these buildings tend to miss their emission and energy-use performance targets due to the “performance gap” (Fedoruk et al., 2015). The performance gap occurs when occupant interaction with the building is not sufficiently considered. This project leverages evolv1, Canada’s first commercial net-positive multi-tenant green office building, owned and operated by the Cora Group, to explore how a CoS develops and is fostered over time. The goal of this project is to develop, test, and commercialize a transferable evidence-based engagement strategy for the development of a culture of sustainability in green office buildings that can close the performance gap and help realize the full potential of green buildings, contribute to organizational success and support occupant wellbeing.  
 
What are we doing? 

Using evolv1 as a living lab, our team at VERiS is using a longitudinal mixed-method case study design to study the development of a CoS and its impacts on the performance of evolv1 and its occupants. Yearly surveys, a national comparison survey, focus groups, interviews with key informants, photovoice, workshops, behavioural observations, participant observations, as well as physical elements, such as sensor data, building data and waste audits are have been conducted to measure CoS, wellbeing outcomes and building performance over time.

Current and Past Partners

Private Sector Partners: 

• Blackwell
• BOMA
• BorealisAI
• City of Waterloo
• Cora Group
• Eleven-X
• EY Canada
• Integral Group
• McKenzie-Mohr Consulting
• National Research Council
• Recollective
• Red Cedar PM Services Inc.
• REFOCUS
• Scius Innovations Inc. 
• St. Paul’s Greenhouse
• Sustainable Societies Consulting Group
• Sustainable Waterloo Region
• TextNow
• The Accelerator Centre 

Institutional Partners: 

• Wilfrid Laurier University
• University of Waterloo
• York University

Funders

• Ontario Research Fund – Research Excellence (ORF-RE)
• Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) - Partnership Development Grant (PEG)
• Canadian Foundation for Innovation (CFI) – John Evans Leaders Fund (JELF)

Publications 

Riemer, M., Marcus, J., & Reimer-Watts, B. K. (2025). Organizational Journeys Toward Strong Cultures of Sustainability: A Qualitative Inquiry. Frontiers in Psychology, 16, 1508818. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1508818

Geobey, S. (2022). Reckoning with Reality : Reflections on a Place-Based Social Innovation Lab. Sustainability, 14(3958), 1–18. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.3390/su14073958

Abel, E., Reimer-Watts, K., Riemer, M., Coulombe, S. (2022). The crossroads of sustainability and wellbeing: Investigating factors impacting employee wellbeing in a green office building [Manuscript in preparation]. Department of Psychology, Wilfrid Laurier University. 

Reimer-Watts, K., Abel, E., Coulombe, S. et al. Co-creating cultures of sustainability and co-imagining the teaching green building: the use of a participatory Photovoice process in a HPGB context. Sustain Earth 5, 2 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1186/s42055-022-00047-y

Dreyer, B. C., Riemer, M., Spadafore, B., Marcus, J., Fernandes, D., Taylor, A., ... & Dennett, A. (2021). Fostering cultures of sustainability in a multi-unit office building: a theory of change. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 1569. doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.624311

Presentations

Marcus, J. & Riemer, M. (2025). Initial Findings from a Longitudinal, Multiorganization Study of Environmental Culture in the Workplace. Paper presented at ASAC (Administrative Sciences Association of Canada) Annual Conference, Waterloo, ON, May 2025.

Riemer, M., Reimer-Watts, K., Marcus, J., & Palaschuk, N.  (2023). Developing Cultures of Sustainability in Companies and Organizations. Presented at the Society for Community Research and Action Biannual conference, Atlanta, June 2023.

Riemer, M., Marcus, J., Palaschuk, N. & Reimer-Watts, K. (2023). Organizational Journeys Towards Strong Cultures of Sustainability. Administrative Sciences Association of Canada - ASAC 2023 Toronto conference in the Social Responsibility (SR) Division

Palaschuk, P. (2019, November). Exploring a new role of organizational culture in reducing carbon footprints. Presented at Behaviour, Energy & Climate Change 2019 Conference, Sacramento, CA. 

Riemer, M. (2019, November). Transitioning to highly sustainable office buildings: The role of occupants and managers. Presented at Behaviour, Energy & Climate Change 2019 Conference, Sacramento, CA. 

Reimer-Watts, K. (2019, June). The use of participatory arts-based symbolism to support a culture of sustainability. Paper presented at the 2019 Biennial Conference of the Society for Community, Research, and Action, Chicago, USA. 

Riemer, M., Harre, N., Pellman, J., & Trott, C. (2019, June). Community Psychology and cultures of sustainability. Roundtable presented at the 2019 Biennial Conference of the Society for Community, Research, and Action, Chicago, USA. 

Riemer, M., Harre, N., Trott, C., & Reimer-Watts, K. (2019, June). Creating Cultures of Sustainability Through Community and Organizational Partnerships. Case Study presented at the 2019 Biennial Conference of the Society for Community, Research, and Action, Chicago, USA. 

Riemer, M., Whitney, S., Dreyer, B., Coulombe, S., & Marcus, J. (2019, June). Creating a culture of sustainability in Canada’s first net-positive and carbon neutral multitenant office building.  Paper presented at the 2019 Biennial Conference of the Society for Community, Research, and Action, Chicago, USA. 

Spadafore, B. (2019, June). Reducing Meat Consumption: A group exploration into understanding what it takes to reduce the amount of meat you consume. Paper presented at the 2019 Biennial Conference of the Society for Community, Research, and Action, Chicago, USA. 

Parker, P. (2019, May) Collaboration for Change Zero Carbon or Low Carbon Buildings Presented at Canadian Society for Ecological Economics CANSEE  2019: Engaging Economies of Change Conference. Waterloo, ON. 

Whitney, S., Markvart, T., & Riemer, M. (2019, May) Creating Cultures of Sustainability within Green Office Buildings. Presented at Canadian Society for Ecological Economics CANSEE 2019: Engaging Economies of Change Conference. Waterloo, ON. 

Title: Fostering Cultures of Sustainability in K-12 Schools: Building an Evidence Base 

PI: Manuel Riemer

Funding: SSHRC Partnership Engagement Grant

Research Manager: Jennifer Dobai

Project Manager: Kaitlyn Ashmore

Rationale and Objectives

The unprecedented number of environmental events in 2023 is a powerful reminder that urgent action on climate change and sustainability is needed. Young people are increasingly worried about their futures and often experience climate-related distress, such as eco-anxiety. Schools have a vital role to play—not only in educating students about sustainability but also in helping them cope with these emotions and leading broader societal change. To do this effectively, schools must become sustainability centres, where learning about sustainability is woven into everyday life. This approach, known as the Whole Institution Approach, emphasizes the importance of strong cultures of sustainability (COS)—shared values, symbols, and practices that shape how schools operate and evolve. Our project aims to deepen understanding of how COS can be fostered in Canadian K–12 schools, addressing a gap in current research and practice.

What are we doing?

In collaboration with Learning for a Sustainable Future (LSF), our research team at VERiS is studying five schools that are part of LSF’s Sustainable Future Schools/École Pour Un Avenir Durable (SFS/EAD) initiative. Using a mixed-method, action-oriented case study approach, we are developing tools to measure COS, examining how the SFS/EAD model is being implemented. Our research includes surveys, interviews, focus groups, document analysis, and school visits. The insights we gain will be shared with educators, researchers, and policy-makers to help strengthen sustainability efforts in schools. This project also supports LSF by providing evidence to refine their programming, and it offers hands-on research experience to students working with us. Ultimately, we hope to contribute to a more sustainable and emotionally resilient future for young people and their communities.

Title: Building a Culture of Sustainability from the Ground Up: A Case Study of Harvest Oak Public School | 2025-2026

Supervisor: Manuel Riemer

MA Thesis: Brittany Palmer

Rationale and Objectives

Across education systems, sustainability often remains peripheral or added on rather than embedded in the everyday decisions that shape how people learn and work together. Research shows that this happens when sustainability is introduced through isolated programs or initiatives rather than integrated into a school’s shared values, relationships, and routines from the beginning. Harvest Oak Public School, a newly established elementary school in Oakville, Ontario, offers a rare opportunity to study these early moments of cultural formation. Because the school was designed with sustainability as a core value and priority before it opened, it allows researchers and the community to observe how commitments, decisions, and relationships are beginning to form a culture that supports long-term wellbeing for people and place.

The purpose of this study is to understand how a culture of sustainability develops beyond its initial emergence within a newly forming school. The project aims to follow this process in real time, document the choices and interpretations that shape it, and generate insights that can support both the school and the wider field. In doing so, it addresses a significant gap in current research, since there is little evidence about how sustainability culture takes shape in K through 12 schools during their earliest stages.

What are we doing?

This project uses a community-engaged research approach and an action-oriented case study design to follow the first year of Harvest Oak Public School as it begins to form its vision, routines, and relationships. Data will be gathered through interviews with school and board leaders, focus groups with teachers, students, and caregivers, review of planning and institutional documents, and fieldnotes from ongoing meetings. These methods allow the research team to capture both formal planning decisions and the everyday interactions that help shape the school’s early culture.

Analysis will combine content and template analysis to explore how sustainability is interpreted and enacted across different parts of the school community. The study is conducted in close collaboration with the principal and Learning for a Sustainable Future. This structure supports a process where knowledge is co-constructed and shared with the school community as the year unfolds. By studying the development of a culture of sustainability as it occurs, the project aims to generate insights that can inform other schools, community partners, and researchers who are working to embed sustainability in meaningful and lasting ways.

Title: Partnerships for Climate Justice: Amplifying the Voices of Marginalized Youth for Sustained Climate Activism and Societal Transformation

Funding: SSHRC Partnership Development Grant

Country Leads

• Canada: Dr. Manuel Riemer | Wilfrid Laurier University
• Canadian Country co-lead and Cross-Country Coordinator: Jennifer Dobai
• Brazil:  Dr. Alessandro Soares da Silva | University of São Paulo
• USA and Haiti: Dr. Carlie Trott | University of Cincinnati
• South Africa: Dr. Brendon Barnes | University of Johannesburg
• Uganda: Dr. Frank Mugagga | Makerere University
• UK: Dr. Maria Fernandes-Jesus | University of Sussex

Youth for Climate Justice (Youth4CJ) is a global, two-year research initiative that brings together marginalized youth, academics, and community partners to strengthen climate activism and wellbeing. Operating across six countries—including Brazil, Haiti, South Africa, Uganda, Canada, and the UK—the project explores how climate change intensifies social inequalities and how young people, especially those facing intersecting forms of marginalization, are responding through grassroots activism.

Title: A Design Thinking Approach to 21st Century Learning: School-Community Partnerships to Develop Leaders for Sustainability

PI: Elizabeth Kurucz (U of Guelph)

VERiS Co-Investigator(s) - Manuel Riemer and Ehaab Abdou

Funding: SSHRC PDG

Rationale and Objectives

Education in Canada is at a crossroads. Traditional models of secondary schooling often fail to equip students with the sense of purpose, agency, and practical skills needed for today’s rapidly changing world. At the same time, complex social, economic, and ecological challenges threaten individual well-being and the sustainability of our communities. To address this gap, schools and communities must work together to create learning environments that foster resilience and leadership for a sustainable future.

This project brings together researchers, educators, and community organizations in a Canada-wide partnership to co-design and study innovative approaches to education. Our objectives are threefold:

1. Co-design and analyze school-community partnership experiments at all educational levels.
2. Generate insights that strengthen student learning and teacher training for 21st-century competencies.
3. Facilitate dialogue and social learning across an interdisciplinary network to build leadership capacity for sustainability.

What are we doing?

We are using a design-thinking approach to co-create and scale educational innovations that connect schools with their communities. Working with partners at local, provincial, and national levels, we are developing and analyzing experiments in education aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals. These experiments focus on five key themes: Youth Engagement and Well-Being, Community Development, Educational Innovations, Educational Leadership, and System Interrelationships.

To share and amplify these insights, we are building two communities of practice: the Innovation COP, which will produce practical toolkits for students and teachers, and the Knowledge Stewarding COP, which will lead Canada-wide storytelling and knowledge-sharing initiatives. Through these efforts, we aim to create a social learning network that drives systemic change and supports social-ecological resilience across Canada.

Title: Awareness to Action (Phase 1): Qualitative Understandings of Employers Motivations for Building Disability Confidence

PI: Alexis Buettgen

Funding: Mitacs Accelerate 

Rationale and Objectives

More than one-quarter (27%) of working age adults in Canada have a disability and are consistently employed at rates lower than those without disabilities (Hébert et al., 2024). This represents an estimated 741,000 people in Canada with potential to work, but who are unemployed, while labour-related challenges with retention and recruitment of workers are major challenges experienced by businesses in Canada - the majority of whom are small and medium sized (SMEs). The proposed project addresses this mismatch between the supply of potential workers with disabilities and the needs of employers through an investigation of facilitators of disability inclusion among Canadian SME employers. This community based participatory research project seeks to understand the motivational, capability, and opportunity factors that enable SMEs to hire people with disabilities, to engage them in environmental sustainability efforts and to investigate what kinds of messaging strategies are effective in encouraging employers to develop their capacity for disability inclusive hiring.

What are we doing?

This project is conducted in collaboration with the Canadian Council on Rehabilitation and Work (CCRW – a national disability employment non-profit service provider) to enhance their advocacy efforts by informing effective communication strategies, including how to design messages that are persuasive to employer audiences. Methods include a literature review, in-depth qualitative interviews with disability inclusive SME employers across Canada and co-designing recommendations for the development of employer-informed marketing and communication tools for CCRW to use to motivate disability inclusive hiring and engagement in environmental sustainability efforts among other SMEs across Canada. The findings from this research will allow the organization to reach new employers by communicating the value of disability inclusion, and the benefits of engaging CCRW for support and resources on workplace inclusion. The findings from this project will benefit Canada by developing evidence-informed employment service provision to help close the gap between the employment demands of SMEs and the supply of potential workers with disabilities.

Title: Awareness to Action (Phase 2): Advancing Employers Motivations for Building Disability Confidence. 2025-2026

PI: Alexis Buettgen

Co-Investigator: Manuel Riemer

Funding: SSHRC PEG

Rationale and Objectives

Despite ongoing legislative efforts to promote equity in employment, Canadians with disabilities continue to face significant barriers to workforce participation. Over 27% of individuals aged 15 and older identify as having a disability, yet their employment rates remain consistently lower than those of their non-disabled peers. At the same time, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)—which constitute over 98% of Canadian businesses—are experiencing persistent labor shortages. This disconnect highlights a critical challenge: the underutilization of a capable and willing labor pool due to systemic gaps in employer engagement and inclusive hiring practices, particularly. This study seeks to fill a significant gap in research on disability and employment among SMEs including those in critical and emerging sectors of the labour market such as health and social care, digital technologies, clean energy and sustainability, agri-food, and creative industries sector. It will shed light on the capabilities, opportunities, and motivations that shape disability-inclusive hiring within this group of employers. The findings will contribute both theoretically and methodologically to the literature and support the development of sustainable recommendations relevant to CCRW and other service providers, as well as advocates/activists and other interested parties and communities in policy and practice.

What are we doing?

This project is being conducted in partnership with the Canadian Council on Rehabilitation and Work (CCRW) as the next phase of a qualitative study exploring motivating factors of 15 disability inclusive SME employers and identifying information to create employer-informed marketing and communication tools and strategies to promote disability inclusive hiring (See phase 1 above - Awareness to Action: Qualitative Understandings of Employers Motivations for Building Disability Confidence).

The objectives of this quantitative study and partnership are to:

1. Experimentally investigate messaging tools to engage and motivate disability inclusive hiring among Canadian SMEs, and
2. To develop theoretical and evidence-informed employer engagement strategies to help close the gap between the employment demands of SMEs and the supply of potential workers with disabilities. Together, CCRW and VERiS will co-create intervention materials, conduct randomized trials with approximately 300 SME employers, and jointly interpret findings to inform future employer engagement strategies.

Title: Canadian Disability and Climate Change Network and Strategy | 2024-2027

PI: Susan Hardie (Eviance Canada)

Partner: VERiS

Funding: Environment Canada SDG

Rationale and Objectives

The Canadian Disability and Climate Change Network and Strategy Project will fill the need for a Canadian approach to addressing the complex interaction between the SDGs related to disability and climate change. The project will catalyze a movement of stakeholders from multiple sectors from coast to coast to coast to localize the SDGs related to disability and climate change in a coordinated and networked approach.

Climate change is one of the most pressing challenges of our time, and its impacts are not experienced equally. People with disabilities often face disproportionate risks during extreme weather events, disruptions to infrastructure, and changing environmental conditions. Yet, disability perspectives are frequently overlooked in climate policy and planning. This project aims to close that gap by ensuring that climate strategies in Canada are inclusive, equitable, and responsive to the needs of persons with disabilities.

Our objectives are to:

• Build a national network of disability and climate advocates, researchers, and organizations.
  Identify barriers and opportunities for disability-inclusive climate action.
• Develop a coordinated strategy that integrates accessibility and resilience into climate policies and practices.

Read more.

What are we doing?

We are convening stakeholders from across Canada—including disability organizations, climate experts, policymakers, and community leaders—to co-create solutions that advance both climate resilience and disability inclusion. Through collaborative research, policy analysis, and knowledge-sharing, we are mapping the intersections of disability and climate change and identifying best practices for inclusive adaptation and mitigation.

Our work includes hosting national dialogues, producing evidence-based recommendations, and creating tools that help communities and governments embed accessibility into climate planning. By fostering a strong network and amplifying disability voices, we aim to ensure that Canada’s climate response is equitable, sustainable, and inclusive for all.

Title: Disability Justice in Urban Transitions to Decarbonization in Canada and the United States | 2025-2029

PI: Sebastian Jodoin (McGill University)

Co-Investigator: Alexis Buettgen

Funding: SSHRC Insight Grant

Rationale and Objectives

Wielding jurisdiction over urban planning, transportation, waste, and infrastructure, cities in Canada and the United States have taken a leadership role in the global effort to reduce carbon emissions. While the existing literature has addressed the distributive repercussions of urban decarbonization for racial and socio-economic inequalities, little is known about their implications for people with  disabilities. This gap in knowledge is problematic since climate mitigation efforts have the potential to both dismantle and reinforce the social, economic, and physical barriers faced by people with disabilities. As cities move forward with plans to decarbonize their economies and infrastructures, it is critical that we understand how this transition intersects with the unfinished project of recognizing and defending the agency and rights of disabled people in North America.

Our project builds upon theories and insights from the fields of disability studies, climate politics and governance, and social movement studies to achieve the following objectives:

• Objective 1: Assess whether and how urban climate mitigation initiatives in Canada and the United States have respected and advanced the human rights of persons with disabilities.
• Objective 2: Understand the distributive implications of urban transitions to decarbonization for people with disabilities in Canada and the United States. To achieve this objective we will develop qualitative case studies of the perspectives and lived experience of disabled people interacting with the concrete outcomes of decarbonization initiatives in Boston, Montreal, and Toronto.
• Objective 3: Explain the processes and factors that lead to the inclusion or exclusion of disabled persons and their rights in the multi-level governance of decarbonization in Canadian and American cities.

What are we doing?

We will facilitate research on the theme of disability and clean technologies and jobs, as well as lead the completion of fieldwork in partnership with organizations of persons with disabilities in Toronto, Canada.

Title: Disability Data Justice from the Ground Up: A Co-Design Approach to Building AI Search Engines and Data Repositories for Local, National, and Transnational Disabled People’s Organizations | 2025-2029

PI: Rachel da Silveira Gorman (York University)

Co-Investigator: Alexis Buettgen

Funding: SSHRC Insight Grant

Rationale and Objectives

This project offers a bold and critical examination of the intersections between artificial intelligence (AI) and disability justice. Rather than framing AI as a neutral or purely beneficial tool, this project interrogates how AI systems reproduce ableism, deepen systemic exclusions, and perpetuate colonial, neoliberal, and corporate power structures. It challenges the deeper social, political, and ethical dimensions of AI development and deployment. Through a disability justice lens, this project highlights the complex realities faced by disabled communities and emphasizes the need for approaches that dismantle ableism rather than superficially enhance accessibility. This participatory co-design project is working with local, national, and transnational Organizations of Persons with Disabilities (OPDs) to develop prototype databases with equity-focused AI search engines at the international and national levels.

This project will also support a few partner ODPs to develop community-led data justice strategies and co-design AI and data literacy curriculum for OPDs and self-advocates. OPD partners will also work on a national bilingual curriculum.

What are we doing?

More information coming soon.

Title: To be advised - Application submitted.

Please check back in 2026.

Title: Wele'g Dwennimmen Roots of Survivance Symposium| January 2026

PI: Ann Marie Beals

Funding: SSHRC Exchnage Grant

When: Friday, January 30th 2026 [find out more]

Rationale and Objectives

Wele’g Dwennimmen Roots of Survivance brings together Indigenous teachings from both Turtle Island and Motherland Afrika, honouring shared histories of resilience, creativity, and continuity. This symposium is grounded in the concept of survivance, which speaks to active presence, story, and cultural strength rather than narratives of absence. The gathering aims to create a shared space for Elders, Knowledge Keepers, scholars, community leaders, and youth to imagine what Wele’g Dwennimmen can become as an institute dedicated to Indigenous wellbeing, cultural revitalization, and relational ways of knowing. Our goal is to build a collective vision and identify priorities that honour the interconnectedness of Community, Culture, and Land.

What are we doing?

We are hosting a one-day, collaborative symposium that brings people from many communities together through ceremony, dialogue, and shared planning. The day includes a keynote on Indigenous knowledge and survivance, small-group sessions using World Café and workshop methods, and collective discussions about future directions for the institute. Participants will help shape a strategic framework for Wele’g Dwennimmen, including research pathways, community partnerships, and knowledge-sharing practices. These conversations will guide how the institute moves forward in supporting Indigenous Peoples across Turtle Island and in the Afrikan Diaspora, in ways that reflect balance, humility, and relational accountability.

Title: Municipal Net-Zero Action Research Partnership (N-ZAP); It is not Municipalities adapting to complexity.

PI: Amelia Clark, University of Waterloo

VERiS Co-Investigator(s) - Manuel Riemer

Funding: Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC)

Rationale and Objectives

The project mobilizes a multi-disciplinary collaborative of 11 universities, 9 national organizations and 10 municipalities to advance measurement and monitoring tools needed to reduce GHG emissions at the local level and a national monitoring system for community scale contributions. A link between municipal and federal emissions reductions efforts will remain absent without the undertaking of this project. The urgency for this collaboration is reflected in the nearly 50% leveraged contributions.   
Practitioners and researchers are combined in working groups and sounding boards to:

1. Determine the current state of GHG emission reduction targets, measurement, monitoring and planning in Canadian municipalities.
2. Advance standardized measurement systems and tools that can also be used to identify mitigation opportunities and further social equity.
3. Enhance municipal emissions monitoring and disclosure tools.
4. Enhance community-wide emissions measuring and monitoring and ensure equitable, diverse and inclusive engagement.Mobilize knowledge resources and tools to diverse audiences using accessible and inclusive formats.

What are we doing?

The main goal of this project is to support Canadian municipalities to monitor, measure and achieve their greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation goals. The ultimate aim is to ensure emissions reduction projects, policies and programs are aligned with Canada's national reduction commitments. The proposed project will study and create improved measurement, analysis and monitoring systems for both municipal and community-wide GHG emissions to advance the quantification of GHG emissions, enable the application of methods to identify mitigation opportunities and evaluate their effectiveness. This will augment national reporting processes and align with international practice.   

Project site.

Title: Toward Low-Carbon Resilience: Enabling Systemic Change Within the Municipal Sector

PI: Manuel Riemer

Project Manager: Randy Sa'd

Funding: Trottier Foundation

Rationale and Objectives

Municipalities are at the forefront of responding to the accelerating impacts of climate change, biodiversity loss, and systemic inequities. Traditional approaches—often siloed, short-term, and financially driven—are no longer sufficient to meet the scale and complexity of these challenges.

The Municipalities Adapting in Response to Complexity (MARC) Partnership is a collaborative initiative designed to support municipal leaders in shifting toward more systemic, integrated management practices. By leveraging the Low Carbon Resilience (LCR) approach, MARC helps municipalities align climate adaptation and mitigation strategies, embed equity, and build long-term resilience.

Since 2020, a diverse group of partners—including ICLEI World Secretariat, REFOCUS, VERiS, Wilfrid Laurier University, and ACT at Simon Fraser University—have come together to co-create and mobilize innovative approaches to municipal climate action.

What are we doing?

• Facilitate two cohorts of 5–10 municipalities in a Stage 1 Workshop Series.
• Engage 3–4 municipalities in Stage 2 Transformation Programs.
• Refine and embed the LCR method through applied research and peer learning.
• Develop scalable models to expand the LCR program across Canada and internationally.

Title: Grassroots-Led Climate Resilience Strategy for People Experiencing Precarious Housing for Waterloo Region

PI: Manuel Riemer

Co-investigators: Alexis Buettgen and Laura Pin

MA Stuent: Emily Escoffery

Funding: Gore Mutual Foundation

Rationale and Objectives

In Waterloo Region, the growing impacts of climate change are intersecting with a deepening housing crisis, disproportionately affecting low-income tenants, people with disabilities, and seniors on fixed incomes. Rising rents, limited affordable housing, and extreme weather events are placing vulnerable populations at greater risk of homelessness and displacement. Existing climate policies often overlook renters and those without property, further widening social inequalities.

This project aims to co-develop a community-led climate justice resilience strategy with and for people at risk of homelessness. It brings together Wilfrid Laurier University’s Viessmann Centre for Engagement and Research in Sustainability (VERiS) and the Social Development Centre (SDC), both of which have long-standing commitments to equity, sustainability, and community engagement. The initiative is grounded in lived experience, co-leadership, and inclusive decision-making, ensuring that those most affected by climate and housing challenges are central to shaping solutions.

What are we doing?

Together, VERiS and SDC are partnering with community members, especially those with lived experience of homelessness and housing insecurity, to create a climate resilience strategy tailored to Waterloo Region. The project follows a three-stage process:

• Asset Mapping – Identifying existing grassroots efforts and programs that address housing and climate-related issues, and bringing them together to find gaps and opportunities.
• Action – Co-designing and implementing targeted actions to address identified gaps, with a focus on rapid, community-driven solutions.
• Reflection – Evaluating outcomes, planning for long-term sustainability, and advocating for supportive policy changes at the municipal level.

The leadership team includes lived expertise consultants, Laurier researchers, and SDC staff, working collaboratively through anti-oppressive facilitation and consensus-based decision-making. The project also includes a participatory evaluation component led by a Laurier MA student, ensuring continuous learning and accountability.

2025

• Gore Mutual Series: Building Climate Resilience with Community, for Community. Part 2