October 24 is the International Day for Climate Action. The challenges of addressing Climate Change are huge, but the mechanisms for driving effective and sustainable change are familiar and proven.  

Green Communities Canada (GCC) is pleased to mark the International Day for Climate Action by releasing our 2023-2024 Collective Impact Report. 

The collective impact of local climate action is and should be an essential part of our national climate narrative, but often these stories remain local. In 2022, we worked with our member organizations (listed on the back cover of our report) to establish shared metrics that we can use to evaluate and communicate our impact. We published our first collective impact report in the fall of 2023. This follow-up report builds the story of grassroots impact on a national scale: showcasing vital progress and conveying the urgent need to advance this work. It is an honour to celebrate the work of climate champions from across Turtle Island. 

Communities are at the heart of climate solutions. This report reflects the contributions of more than 100 member and partner organizations – that’s over twice as many as our 2023 report!  

Our collective impact includes: 

• Operating in over 300 communities across the country.
• Serving over 70 percent of the national population.
• Investing $3.25 million directly in our member and partner organizations.
• Generating a combined revenue of over $38 million that is reinvested directly into local employment and climate programming.
• Restoring over 27 square kilometres of urban land with green infrastructure.
• Encouraging over 700,000 km of active school travel with children walking or wheeling to school instead of being driven.
• Helping homeowners reduce fossil fuel emissions by over 50 million kg/year in Ontario alone, thanks to EnerGuide Home Energy Assessments and retrofits.