The Canada Infrastructure Bank (CIB) has formed a $100-million venture with Scotiabank (BNS-T) to finance energy efficiency retrofits for Scotiabank's Canadian real estate clients.

Eligible clients, including owners of commercial, industrial, office and multiresidential buildings, can access low-cost loans to upgrade their buildings. Those upgrades can cover building envelopes, heating and cooling systems, automation tools, fuel switching, lighting and electrical systems, and electric vehicle charging infrastructure.

The goal is to finance deep energy retrofits that will cut greenhouse gas emissions by at least 30 per cent. Scotiabank will find commercial property owner clients who are interested in retrofits, then market, originate, underwrite and administer the loans on behalf of the partnership.

“More energy-efficient buildings typically have lower operating costs and may have a rental premium, increasing the building's value,” Chris Manning, executive vice-president of Scotiabank’s Canadian commercial banking, said in a release.

“With this partnership with CIB, we are committed to providing building owners access to low-cost capital for building retrofits investments.”

The partnership is the second time the CIB, a Crown corporation that funds infrastructure projects, has joined hands with a large Canadian bank for its Building Retrofits Initiative (BRI). In 2023, BMO was announced as a partner.

$1B committed to Building Retrofits Initiative

The BRI is a program that offers financing to decarbonize buildings and lower investment barriers. It is aimed at the public and private sectors to tackle greenhouse gas emissions from buildings, which account for approximately 18 per cent of Canada’s pollution.

CIB investments into BRI are delivered through direct investments, partnerships with financial institutions and loans to special purpose vehicles.

Over $1 billion has been committed into the BRI to date, Ehren Cory, CEO of CIB, said in the latest announcement.

“Our partnership with Scotiabank allows us to scale impact by leveraging their client network and expertise,” he said.

In a Q1 2025 investor presentation, Scotiabank’s commercial real estate portfolio was valued at $64.3 billion. Two-thirds of the buildings by valuation are located in Canada. By building category, multi-unit residential buildings made up a plurality of the valuation at 42 per cent, followed by industrial (23 per cent).

Scotiabank's $350B climate-related financing goal

Scotiabank has set out to provide $350 billion in climate-related financing by 2030, as outlined in its 2024 sustainability report. As of last year, it had reached $172 billion.

To better understand the greenhouse gas emissions from the carbon-intensive sectors it finances, including commercial and residential real estate, Scotiabank began measuring the pollution in 2022, according to its 2024 climate report.

Of the carbon emissions Scotiabank reports for its financing of residential real estate, it reported a minor decrease – from 2.6 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent in 2021 to 2.5 million tonnes in 2023.

The bank began reporting its commercial real estate emissions for the first time in 2023, which was 200,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent.

To address emissions from its residential mortgage business, Scotiabank said it is exploring ways it can offer financial advice for clients interested in enhancing energy efficiency and reducing carbon emissions from their homes. An example of an initiative as described in the climate report is a data project pilot in Canada to improve its calculations of financed emissions for the residential mortgages portfolio.