Driving Innovation

Overview

Since inception CNCA has provided funding to leading cities in support of projects that would otherwise be difficult to implement with traditional funding streams. Examples of the types of projects CNCA enthusiastically support include:

  • Early-stage Innovations
  • Systems Change Approaches
  • Multi-level partnerships

CNCA innovation funding is organized into distinct policy areas we call Game Changer categories. To learn more about these opportunities please visit the dedicated page.

From 2015, 70 total awards have been made with a total investment of $4,701,295. As of December 2023, CNCA projects have leveraged an additional $45,841,754 to support continuing work.

Funded projects, key outcomes and deliverables are shown below. These projects helped accelerate deep decarbonization around the world by showing the “art of the possible” in urban climate change.

Growing Secondary Markets to Inform Construction Materials Policy  tile-image

Growing Secondary Markets to Inform Construction Materials Policy 

City Lead: San Francisco
Year Completed: 2024

A project to develop infrastructure to feed data-driven deconstruction and material reuse policies that will result in long-term solutions for the commercial construction sector.

Output: 

  • Report: Building Materials Reuse Analysis
  • Two new programs were created as a result of this project:
    • SF Shines reuse program: An extension of the SF Shines rebate program that will offer 4 small business storefront improvement projects $5,000 to offset costs associated with procuring and installing reclaimed products.
    • Rheaply Bay Area Circular Marketplace pilot: An online marketplace for reclaimed and surplus building products. The Bay Area marketplace is available as part of Rheaply’s broader Circular Cities Initiative.
Awardees Selected for Game Changer Fund to Transform Food Systems tile-image

Awardees Selected for Game Changer Fund to Transform Food Systems

City Leads: London, New York City, and Vancouver
Year to Be Completed: In Progress

As of 2024, the CNCA Game Changer Fund is pleased to announce the CNCA member cities awarded grants to pursue projects that dramatically reduce emissions of food systems and simultaneously address climate justice outcomes by centering people:

  • London will utilize a community-based approach to increase residents’ consumption of low carbon food and reduce food waste by identifying and testing a package of interventions to drive sustainable behaviors in households.
  • New York City will increase access to healthy, culturally appropriate, affordable, and low-carbon foods for the NYC Dept. of Correction’s incarcerated population, while positioning city food workers to improve their skills and advance their careers via a plant-based culinary training and certification program.
  • Vancouver is using systems design, ideation, solution development, and testing approaches that are collaborative and co-creative to address the limited accountability of food waste in food supply chain, as well as develop a clear vision of what a decolonized circular food future means from Indigenous and cross-sectoral perspectives.
Multilingual Engagement-Game to Spur Climate Action! in Seattle, WA tile-image

Multilingual Engagement-Game to Spur Climate Action! in Seattle, WA

City Lead: Seattle
Year Completed: 2023

This work will use the Seattle Department of Transportation’s (SDOT’s) robust transportation emissions “Climate Calculator”, to develop an innovative DIGITAL GAME to engage Seattle residents and workers on key strategies to deliver on Seattle’s climate and equity goals through the Seattle Transportation Plan.

Output: 

Vancouver Circular Food Economy: Phase 4 tile-image

Vancouver Circular Food Economy: Phase 4

City Lead: Vancouver
Year Completed: 2023

A project to prototype and test circular food waste solutions along Vancouver’s diverse food supply chain.

Outputs:

Consumption-Based GHG Emissions Policy Framework for Cities tile-image

Consumption-Based GHG Emissions Policy Framework for Cities

Leads: CNCA & Gaia Consulting Inc.
Year Completed: 2023

A project to support various pathways of a city’s reduction of consumption-based emissions.

The Framework synthesizes 18 recommendations and highlights policy levers with the highest potential for systemic emissions reductions that center climate justice and pursue circularity in each of the three consumption areas of food, textiles and appliances.

Created by CNCA and Gai Consulting Inc, together with climate experts from CNCA Cities Adelaide, Boulder, Copenhagen, Glasgow, Helsinki, New York City, Oslo, San Francisco, Stockholm, Vancouver, and the C40 Cities network.

Outputs: 

Gig Worker Mobility Study tile-image

Gig Worker Mobility Study

City Lead: Vancouver
Year Completed: 2022

This project conducted research on the movements and motivations of gig economy workers to consider equity and inform the feasibility, future development and design of a transport pricing strategy for road user fees in Vancouver’s city centre.

Output: 

Carbon Offsets for Indigenous Land Regeneration (NSW Aboriginal Carbon Farming Project) tile-image

Carbon Offsets for Indigenous Land Regeneration (NSW Aboriginal Carbon Farming Project)

City Lead: Sydney
Year Completed: 2022

A project by the City of Sydney to develop an Aboriginal Carbon Farming Market in New South Wales to undertake and maintain regeneration projects: with the objective to establish a market signal, precedent and an ethical system for securing long-term finance streams to traditional custodians and Indigenous enterprises.

Outputs:

Aboriginal Carbon Foundation — NSW Aboriginal Carbon Farming Project

Urban Bioenergy-Biochar Development Strategy & Playbook in Boulder tile-image

Urban Bioenergy-Biochar Development Strategy & Playbook in Boulder

City Lead: Boulder
Year Completed: 2022

The City of Boulder—with the cities of Helsinki, Minneapolis, and Stockholm—explored the potential for integrating biochar into urban climate action strategies. The project combined both city specific biochar and biomass assessments with additional technical assessments of biochar benefits, technical specifications, best practices for uses, and a preliminary guide to integrating equity considerations in biochar facility development.

Outputs:

Zero-Emissions Last-Mile Deliveries in Denver tile-image

Zero-Emissions Last-Mile Deliveries in Denver

City Lead: Denver
Year Completed: 2022

The City of Denver developed a background paper for current last-mile delivery operations in the City & County of Denver and identified ways in which deliveries might be accomplished in a more sustainable, safe, and equitable manner.

Output:

CNCA Mobility Hubs tile-image

CNCA Mobility Hubs

City Leads: Minneapolis and Stockholm
Year Completed: 2021

The Cities of Minneapolis and Stockholm developed and tested pilot Mobility Hubs within their communities. The City of Minneapolis created strategies and actions to promote their pilot project through marketing, education, and an encouragement campaign. The City of Stockholm designed and implemented a pilot project to decrease the use and ownership of personal cars by targeting a location with an existing city-owned garage. Learnings are captured in the project outputs.

Outputs:

Sydney Better Buildings Cup Pilot Program tile-image

Sydney Better Buildings Cup Pilot Program

City Lead: Sydney
Year Completed: 2021

The City of Sydney created a framework to increase whole building engagement in achieving net zero emissions using a gamified approach that catalyzed building owners to leverage existing programs, resources and industry stakeholders to deliver coordinated and meaningful environmental engagement with their tenants and occupants.

Outputs:

Yokohama City Renewable Energy Promotion Project tile-image

Yokohama City Renewable Energy Promotion Project

City Lead: Yokohama
Year Completed: 2021

The City of Yokohama created a platform for residents and businesses to promote the introduction of renewable energy without the help of city subsidies.

Outputs:

IMPROve Urban Design Project Impact Tool tile-image

IMPROve Urban Design Project Impact Tool

City Lead: Rio de Janeiro
Year Completed: 2021

A tool to measure the extent to which specific elements of urban projects can impact the achievement of cities’ strategic goals and commitments towards sustainable development, contributing to the search for effective results in reducing GHG emissions, in the heat islands and improvement in air quality.

Outputs:

PRO Rio Energy Building Energy Consumption Tool tile-image

PRO Rio Energy Building Energy Consumption Tool

City Lead: Rio de Janeiro
Year Completed: 2021

An online platform to calculate energy consumption in buildings and visualize/compare performance against typological and market standards. Based on information provided by users, the platform offers strategies to improve performance.

Outputs:

Technical Assistance for the Zero Emissions Building Sector tile-image

Technical Assistance for the Zero Emissions Building Sector

City Lead: San Francisco
Year Completed: 2020

San Francisco is charting a path to zero-emissions buildings in the next decade, with an approach that centers around and empowers people. $40,000 in funding was provided as a pilot to the city’s taskforce to help design its first roadmap to achieve this ambitious goal.

Outputs:

 

 

Carbon Capture, Storage, and Utilization tile-image

Carbon Capture, Storage, and Utilization

City Lead: Copenhagen
Year Completed: 2020

These publications mark the end of a one-year project carried out in collaboration between five climate vanguard cities, all members of CNCA: Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Helsinki, Oslo and Stockholm. A suite of background notes and reports have been developed that explore carbon capture storage and utilization technologies (CCSU), and the solutions they provide to cities. Until now, the discussion on carbon capture has rarely been mentioned in the context of cities.

Outputs:

Energy Performance Standards for Existing Buildings tile-image

Energy Performance Standards for Existing Buildings

City Lead: Seattle
Year Completed: 2019

This tool, along with the accompanying report, provides guidance on calculating and implementing energy performance standards for greenhouse gas reduction in existing buildings.

Outputs:

Building Electrification Primer for Cities and Utilities tile-image

Building Electrification Primer for Cities and Utilities

City Lead: New York City
Year Completed: 2019

This project developed a primer tool to support the market transformation of building electrification initiatives across North America and Europe that advance decarbonization goals.

Outputs:

Scandinavian Green Public Procurement Alliance tile-image

Scandinavian Green Public Procurement Alliance

City Lead: Copenhagen
Year Completed: 2019

This project established a Scandinavian Green Public Procurement Alliance (SGPPA) to address the direct tendering of transport services in Non-Road Mobile Machinery (NRMM) fleet. Copenhagen, Stockholm and Oslo share lessons and draft templates from this developing process.

Outputs:

Yokohama Blue Carbon tile-image

Yokohama Blue Carbon

City Lead: Yokohama
Year Completed: 2019

The City of Yokohama and their partners pioneered a study on “urban blue carbon,” in order to propose an internationally applicable method to accurately estimate the carbon reduction effect in the urban coastal line. This field study is conducted in Kanazawa Bay, Yokohama’s coastal area, to measure the carbon absorption and fixation volume of seaweed. 

Outputs:

Vancouver Zero Emissions Building Exchange (ZEBx) tile-image

Vancouver Zero Emissions Building Exchange (ZEBx)

City Lead: Vancouver
Year Completed: 2019

This project co-funded the development of three case studies documenting GHG reduction successes and the lessons learned in improving the cost-effectiveness of implementing these projects.

Outputs:

Thermal Decarbonization Initiative for Cities – Phase 2 tile-image

Thermal Decarbonization Initiative for Cities – Phase 2

City Lead: New York City
Year Completed: 2019

This project implemented the second phase of the Thermal Decarbonization Initiative for Cities. The project team designed and tested pilot programs to scale up demand for heat pumps and strengthen local supply chains – specifically in the small residential sector. An air source heat pump tool was created to provide a high-level estimate of GHG savings for installing air source heat pumps in 4 U.S. cities: Boulder, Burlington, New York City and Washington, D.C.

Outputs:

Boulder:

Burlington:

New York City:

Washington, DC:

Consumption and Urban Decarbonization – New Tools and Approaches tile-image

Consumption and Urban Decarbonization – New Tools and Approaches

City Lead: Portland
Year Completed: 2019

This project produced a downloadable consumption-based emissions inventory (CBEI) toolkit to support urban greenhouse gas reduction initiatives.

Outputs

Human Centered Design Project tile-image

Human Centered Design Project

City Lead: Seattle
Year Completed: 2019

This project funded an in-depth workshop to explore human centered design techniques to help center racial equity and social justice in climate action planning.

Outputs

Total System Performance Ratio Project tile-image

Total System Performance Ratio Project

City Lead: Seattle
Year Completed: 2018

This project defined a minimum performance standard for HVAC systems in a single metric, with: (1) baseline systems for various building types; (2) calculation software; and (3) code language for incorporation at the city and state level. This standard has been proposed for incorporation into the Washington state energy code.

Outputs:

Capitalizing Carbon to Accelerate EV Charging Investments tile-image

Capitalizing Carbon to Accelerate EV Charging Investments

City Lead: Portland, OR
Year Completed: 2018

This project developed an Electric Vehicle (EV) Charging Methodology which has been accredited and published by the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS). This methodology provides monitoring parameters to quantify emission reductions of EV charging infrastructure.

Outputs:

More information on continuing work:

Net Zero Program Excellence – A Community of Practice in Australia tile-image

Net Zero Program Excellence – A Community of Practice in Australia

City Leads: Adelaide, Melbourne, and Sydney
Year Completed: 2018

This project engaged a cohort of Australian cities to align around the application of a values-based approach to communication and engagement. This approach is designed to catalyze action for net-zero carbon outcomes. Three successful workshops facilitated a learning environment that resulted in tools to enable city campaign planning.

Outputs:

Autonomous Vehicles (AVs) in the Pacific Northwest tile-image

Autonomous Vehicles (AVs) in the Pacific Northwest

City Leads: Portland, Seattle, and Vancouver
Year Completed: 2018

This project was designed so that the Cities of Portland, Seattle, and Vancouver, BC could better understand the challenges and opportunities with the deployment of autonomous vehicles (AVs) in relation to their climate goals. The cities shared their research, approaches, and knowledge about AVs, and learned about AV policy efforts around North America. An AVs in the Pacific Northwest Baseline Report was developed and two workshops were held.

Outputs:

The London Energiesprong Trial Project tile-image

The London Energiesprong Trial Project

City Lead: London
Year Completed: 2018

The Energy Leap project is seeking to adapt the Energiesprong model for the UK, testing innovative ways to deliver net zero energy refurbishments for up to ten demonstrator properties, and helping overcome some of the barriers to delivering zero carbon retrofit at scale. The report below summarizes progress and shares the lessons learned to date from London’s effort to understand whether the Energiesprong model can be successfully transferred to London.

Outputs:

Scaling Corporate Renewable Energy PPAs tile-image

Scaling Corporate Renewable Energy PPAs

City Lead: Melbourne
Year Completed: 2018

This project enabled knowledge sharing and replication efforts stemming from the Melbourne Renewable Energy Project (MREP). The project was designed to be shared to encourage further PPAs. Activities include: undertaking market research and stakeholder mapping, developing a replication strategy, developing a procurement manual and replication guide, raising awareness about the opportunity for corporate power purchase agreements, and hosting a customer engagement and knowledge sharing program.

Outputs

Renewable Heating & Cooling: Thermal Decarbonization of Residential Buildings tile-image

Renewable Heating & Cooling: Thermal Decarbonization of Residential Buildings

City Lead: Boulder
Year Completed: 2018

This guide provides options and actionable steps for other cities interested in completing similar analyses to guide the development of approaches to transitioning away from fossil fuel-based heating. In particular, this guide discusses key steps and best practices to: (1) Establish goals and parameters for a thermal decarbonization initiative within the local context; (2) Identify and collect data from publicly-available data sources; (3) Conduct a market analysis of the local building stock; and (4) Leverage market analysis to engage key stakeholders and develop policies and programs for scaling the local RH&C market.

Outputs:

 

Food and Energy in a Circular Economy tile-image

Food and Energy in a Circular Economy

City Lead: Stockholm
Year Completed: 2017

Stockholm Royal Seaport is appointed the next generation sustainable city districts with ambitious environmental goals including resource efficiency and becoming climate positive (according to the Climate Positive Development Program framework). One of the areas subject to investigations has been wastewater management. This project, led by Stockholm, delivers a feasibility study describing the potential and scenarios of source separating wastewater systems for dense urban areas.

Outputs:

RealIZE: Bringing the Clean Industrial Revolution to Existing Residential Buildings tile-image

RealIZE: Bringing the Clean Industrial Revolution to Existing Residential Buildings

City Lead: San Francisco
Year Completed: 2017

This project examined market barriers to a business model that brings the “Energiesprong” program from the Netherlands to San Francisco. Varying market conditions in San Francisco and the surrounding Bay Area will determine REALIZE’s approach to successfully facilitate the development of a mass scale energy retrofit market. Categorizing properties by market conditions will allow REALIZE to target Low Income Housing Tax Credit affordable properties that present minimal barriers to entry, while continuing to improve market conditions for future market segments. Products contain work completed to gain insight into market conditions, barriers, and solutions in an effort to advance REALIZE technical solutions at a rapid rate through a robust to-go-market strategy.

Outputs:

Bringing Renewable Thermal Solutions to Scale in New England tile-image

Bringing Renewable Thermal Solutions to Scale in New England

City Lead: Boston
Year Completed: 2017

This project developed and implemented pilot programs designed to expand the early adoption of renewable thermal in the existing residential building stock in New England. It created market analysis and campaign design methodologies, and summarized campaign findings so other cities can use lessons learned as they follow suit.

Outputs:

The Thermal Break Shear Wall: Simultaneous Energy Efficiency and Seismic Resiliency Improvements in Standard Housing Stock tile-image

The Thermal Break Shear Wall: Simultaneous Energy Efficiency and Seismic Resiliency Improvements in Standard Housing Stock

City Lead: Portland OR
Year Completed: 2017

This project implemented dual energy efficiency and seismic resiliency improvements in standard housing stock project, testing a method to improve the energy efficiency and seismic resiliency in older housing stock by trying the use of an emerging approach to wall assemblies. A report detailing the project from start to finish is posted here.

Outputs:

Carbon Neutral Buildings – Accelerating Market Transformation to High Performing Building Envelopes in North American Cities tile-image

Carbon Neutral Buildings – Accelerating Market Transformation to High Performing Building Envelopes in North American Cities

City: Vancouver
Year Completed: 2016

A project that leveraged demonstrated European success in significantly reducing energy use through improved building envelope performance and collaboration between cities in order to accelerate the market transformation towards carbon neutral buildings in North America.

Outputs:

Deep Carbon Reductions in the Transport Sector – Impacts on Affordability and Displacement tile-image

Deep Carbon Reductions in the Transport Sector – Impacts on Affordability and Displacement

City Lead: Portland
Year Completed: 2016

A project that addressed issues of displacement and gentrification through research and policy development, using Portland, OR as a test case.

Outputs:

  • A Summary of Household Research in the Powell-Division Corridor
  • Transit-Oriented Development and Gentrification Literature Review
  • Rental Properties Typology Report
  • A Memo on Population Change
  • An Emissions Summary
Integrated Whole Energy System Decarbonization Strategy tile-image

Integrated Whole Energy System Decarbonization Strategy

City Leads: Boulder, Seattle, and Minneapolis
Year Completed: 2016

A project to develop a strategy for transitioning to district-scale low-carbon energy systems in three communities in Boulder, Seattle and Minneapolis.

Outputs:

Energy Systems Transformation Framework tile-image

Energy Systems Transformation Framework

City Leads: Boulder, Boston, Minneapolis, Portland OR, San Francisco, and Seattle
Year Completed: 2016

A framework to develop a shared vocabulary, understanding and vision for how municipalities can develop a community-wide energy planning and management system that supports a transformation of their energy systems from a fossil fuel base to 100% renewable energy.

Outputs:

Natural Gas, Fuel Oil & Related Thermal Energy De-Carbonization Strategies tile-image

Natural Gas, Fuel Oil & Related Thermal Energy De-Carbonization Strategies

City Leads: Boulder and San Francisco
Year Completed: 2016

A project to develop strategies for decarbonizing thermal energy systems in different building types in two cities: residential and commercial/light industrial buildings in Boulder and municipal buildings in San Francisco.

Outputs:

New Financial and Delivery Models for Retrofitting Buildings tile-image

New Financial and Delivery Models for Retrofitting Buildings

City Lead: London
Year Completed: 2016

 This project provides a detailed assessment of the extent to which the energiesprong retrofitting model is transferable to London, through the development of a robust business case and barriers report. The report assesses the level of ‘transferability’ of each of the key energiesprong pillars and, on the basis of this, identifies the practical steps needed to deliver the model in London.

Outputs:

 

Upscaling Green Vehicles tile-image

Upscaling Green Vehicles

City lead: Copenhagen
Year Completed: 2016

This synthesis report focuses on the potential for promoting “green vehicles” in Northern Europe benefitting climate, health and well-being as well as the quality of our air. It highlights the main observations, exchanges and recommendations identified over the two days of the workshop called: “Upscaling Green Vehicles in Northern Europe” arranged in Copenhagen as part of the CNCA meeting. The workshop initiative presents an opportunity for new collaborative projects between CNCA cities, car industry companies, energy companies, interest groups, and mobility operators with a clear interest in promoting green vehicles.

Outputs:

Accelerating Net-Zero High-Rise Residential Buildings tile-image

Accelerating Net-Zero High-Rise Residential Buildings

City Lead: Sydney
Year Completed: 2016

A report to examine the technical and economic feasibility of moving towards net-zero high-rise residential buildings in Australia and identifies pathways to accelerate their commercialization. It is designed to inspire Federal and State Government policy makers and the development industry to move rapidly toward buildings that go well beyond current requirements of BASIX (NSW) and the National Construction Code. Accompanying documents include an article describing the importance of the work, and a presentation providing an overview of the work.

Outputs:

Accelerating the Transition to 4th Generation District Heating Systems tile-image

Accelerating the Transition to 4th Generation District Heating Systems

City Lead: London
Year Completed: 2016

This project examined two fundamental aspects of the transition to 4th Generation District Heating Networks designed to enable a more cost effective transition away from fossil fuels to a future heat supply that is from local renewable, environmental and waste heat sources.

Outputs:

 

A Blueprint for Development Approval of Hydrogen Re-fueling Stations tile-image

A Blueprint for Development Approval of Hydrogen Re-fueling Stations

City Lead: Sydney
Year Completed: 2016

The Blueprint, presented in the main body of this report, is organized as a standalone document describing (1) the key activities involved in the process of developing hydrogen refueling stations, (2) the roles and responsibilities of key stakeholders involved, and (3) a detailed stage-gate process describing all the key activities to be undertaken at each stage of the licensing and permitting process – from pre-application to issue of a final occupancy permit and operational license, and opening of the facility for public use – with detailed activity checklists for both HRS Developers, and Planning Authorities. Technical Appendices are provided to complement the Blueprint and provide project developers with a comprehensive knowledge base on technologies, standards and regulations, which includes case studies of hydrogen refueling stations in Europe, Japan and the United States.

Outputs: