About Us
Reep Green Solutions is an environmental charity that has been helping people in Waterloo Region live sustainably for 20 years.
Intended Impact
By 2030, people impacted by Reep Green Solutions have taken 10,000 meaningful actions to collectively shift our community to a resilient,
low-carbon future.
Vision
We believe that by acting today, we can leave our children a community that is more resilient, vibrant, caring and sustainable.
Mission
Our mission is to empower the community with the practical tools, knowledge and capacity for action to make sustainable living the norm.
Read our 2022-2023 Impact Report
Learn about the impact of our programs and services that help people live sustainably.
View the PDF version of the report here.
Values
Impact
We are mission-driven, focused on achieving documented outcomes that demonstrate a real impact.
Collaboration
We believe in working together to leverage our collective resources, maximize impact and build community.
Integrity
We hold ourselves accountable to deliver what we promise, be transparent and help each other succeed.
Leadership
We lead by example in the way we live, work and travel. We value professionalism, compassion, and a non-judgmental approach. We work to build the capacity for leadership and change in our community.
Innovation
We recognize that creating new norms of behaviour means taking appropriate risks, learning from the results, and adjusting course as we go. We are open to trying things differently.
Equity
We embrace the work of understanding systemic racism, and discrimination, and our role in them. We commit to empowering full participation and fair treatment within our organization, for those we serve and for generations to come.
Our Story
Reep Green Solutions was founded in 1999 as a joint initiative of the University of Waterloo’s Faculty of Environment and the Elora Environment Centre. The project’s goal of matching academic research with practical action in the community continues today. Reep Green Solutions was incorporated in late 2005 and joined Green Communities Canada, a national association of environmental community groups.
In 2019, Reep Green Solutions celebrated the 20th anniversary of empowering the community with the practical tools, knowledge and capacity for action to make sustainable living the norm. From 1999 to 2019, Reep participants reduced 27,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions through their home renovations. 14,000 + workshop attendees learned about topics ranging from managing rainwater on their property and renewable energy to living a zero waste lifestyle.
Our name was originally stylized as REEP and stood for Residential Energy Efficiency Program. Since inception, our programming has expanded to focus on areas beyond residential energy efficiency, including healthy yards and neighbourhoods and reducing your impact.
All of Reep’s programs help people live more sustainably through energy efficiency, water conservation, waste reduction and cultivating healthy yards all over Waterloo Region. The Reep House for Sustainable Living demonstrates energy, water and stormwater stewardship in a renovated 110-year-old LEED Platinum home in Kitchener. Our attainable renovations reduced the energy consumption by 86% and the greenhouse gas emissions to less than half. Workshops, tours, meetings and events draw people into the Reep House see what’s possible in their own home. Reep Green Solutions recognizes that the next 10 years are a catalyst for climate action.
To support the global momentum, Reep’s goal is to empower people to take 10,000 meaningful actions by 2030 to collectively shift our community to a resilient, low carbon future. The vision is simple. Reep Green Solutions’ believes that by acting today, we can leave our children a community that is more resilient, vibrant, caring and sustainable.
Territorial Acknowledgement
We acknowledge that Waterloo Region and the Grand River watershed are located on the traditional territory of Indigenous Peoples, including the Haudenosaunee, Anishinaabe and Neutral Peoples.
We recognize the enduring presence of the Indigenous people with whom we share this land today, their achievements and their contributions to our community.
We value their traditional knowledge about how to live sustainably on this land that we share and will leave for our future generations.
As an organization, Reep is committed to engage in the necessary learning, building of relationships, and action required to work towards reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples in our community.
To learn more about the importance of land and territorial acknowledgements and the Indigenous communities on this territory, you can visit the website of LSPIRG Know the Land
United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
The meaningful actions undertaken by participants in our programs contribute to progress on many of the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), and in particular to these four:
