CAGBC – Advocacy Playbook and the Deep Retrofit Market Report

Project Overview:

CAGBC partnered with KIMBO on two mission-critical initiatives to advance Canada’s green building agenda. The first was the Green Building Advocacy Playbook, a policy-facing resource designed to demonstrate how green building practices can support economic growth, job creation, and public wellbeing.

CAGBC Advocacy Playbook – Interactive Version

The second was the Deep Retrofit Market Report, a comprehensive bilingual summary of feedback from market engagement sessions, developed as part of the “Toward Net Zero Buildings” program, funded by Natural Resources Canada.

Deep Retrofit Market Report: cover and initial pages

These two deliverables, distinct in scope but united in purpose, reflect CAGBC’s ongoing leadership in the transition to a low-carbon built environment. Together, they targeted key stakeholders, ranging from policymakers to industry professionals, and communicated complex information in accessible, compelling, and standards-compliant formats.

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What We Delivered:

For the Advocacy Playbook:
Content layout and design (horizontal, printable and digital)
Brand-aligned visual storytelling
Strategic use of visuals and iconography
Call-to-action optimization for policymakers
Consultation for potential interactive digital version

For the DRAI Report:
Fully AODA-compliant bilingual report design
Custom illustrations and layouts
Accessibility testing and quality assurance
Integration of data visualizations and stakeholder feedback
Clean, structured presentation for cross-sector readability

The Challenge:

For the Advocacy Playbook, the challenge was to distill the benefits of green buildings into plain language for policymakers, many of whom were unfamiliar with sustainability terminology or skeptical of climate-centric messaging. It needed to reframe the green building narrative in terms of job creation, cost savings, and public benefits, while remaining visually polished for both print and digital use.

CAGBC Advocacy Playbook: English and French Versions

The Deep Retrofit Market Report required translating technical market feedback into a clear, navigable report that met rigorous accessibility standards (AODA compliance) and adhered to CAGBC brand guidelines. Designed for a broad industry audience, including developers, architects, and policymakers, it needed to be both highly functional and visually refined.

Deep Retrofit Market Report: Internal Pages

The Strategy

For the Advocacy Playbook:

KIMBO proposed a horizontal layout for intuitive, page-by-page digital reading and seamless PowerPoint adaptation. Visual storytelling was central:

Colour blocking and CAGBC’s brand palette were used to segment content, highlight calls to action, and establish hierarchy.
Canadian imagery, from landscapes to infrastructure, was integrated to evoke both national relevance and sector diversity.
Sans-serif typography and generous white space improved readability for a professional, policy-oriented audience.
Design flexibility allowed for potential interactivity, such as light animations, for a richer digital experience.

For the Deep Retrofit Market Report:

Accessibility and visual clarity guided every decision:

KIMBO ensured full AODA compliance, using Adobe Acrobat Pro and PAC 3 accessibility testing.
Clean layouts, logical reading order, alt text, and screen-reader compatibility made the document usable by all.
Bilingual formatting (English/French) supported a broader national reach.
Custom icons and graphics brought data to life without overwhelming the user, reinforcing sustainability and retrofit themes.
The final design was structured, polished, and fully aligned with CAGBC’s identity.

Results

The Advocacy Playbook became a flagship advocacy tool, empowering policymakers to understand and champion green building efforts with clear, actionable insights. It was praised for its clarity, dual-purpose format, and professional design.

The Deep Retrofit Market Report was successfully launched in both official languages, providing a high-quality summary of stakeholder feedback that supported the next phase of CAGBC and Purpose Building’s market outreach efforts.

Both documents reinforced CAGBC’s leadership in sustainable building and proved the value of thoughtful, accessible design in driving sectoral change.

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