The Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation (Intact Centre) is an applied research institute with a national focus, located within the Faculty of Environment at the University of Waterloo. The Intact Centre works with residents, communities, governments, and businesses to identify and reduce risks associated with climate change, such as flooding, wildfire, and extreme heat. The Centre has developed numerous guidelines to mitigate extreme weather risk. The Intact Centre is quoted almost daily in the media, focusing consistently on the need to act with urgency to limit the impacts of climate change and extreme weather.
To this end, the Intact Centre is an incubator of new adaptation ideas, conducting research, knowledge mobilization and promoting initiatives aimed at de-risking the negative impacts of a changing climate and extreme weather, such as flooding.
Values
Climate Change Adaptation Project
As a precursor to the Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation (Intact Centre), the University of Waterloo and Intact Financial Corporation engaged in work (since 2010), and with the support of about 100 prominent stakeholders, to identify priority areas of climate change adaptation focus for Canada.
This work was led through the Climate Change Adaptation Project (Canada), which in 2012 released the report Climate Change Adaptation: A Priorities Plan for Canada.
The establishment of the Intact Centre was made possible through the leadership, vision, and generosity of Intact Financial Corporation, a long-time partner and donor to the University of Waterloo particularly supporting climate adaptation. In November 2015, Intact announced a gift directed in support of the centre’s mission and goals.
University of Waterloo
In just half a century, the University of Waterloo, located at the heart of Canada’s technology hub, has become one of Canada’s leading comprehensive universities with 35,000 full- and part-time students in undergraduate and graduate programs. A globally focused institution, celebrated as Canada’s most innovative university for 24 consecutive years, Waterloo is home to the world’s largest post-secondary co-operative education program and encourages enterprising partnerships in learning, research and discovery. In the next decade, the university is committed to building a better future for Canada and the world by championing innovation and collaboration to create solutions relevant to the needs of today and tomorrow. The University of Waterloo is also a national hub for climate change scholarship and home to North America’s first graduate program in climate change.
Intact Financial Corporation
Intact Financial Corporation (TSX: IFC) is the largest provider of property and casualty (P&C) insurance in Canada, a leading provider of global specialty insurance, and, with RSA, a leader in the U.K. and Ireland. Our business has grown organically and through acquisitions to over $21 billion of total annual premiums. In Canada, Intact distributes insurance under the Intact Insurance brand through a wide network of brokers, including its wholly-owned subsidiary BrokerLink, and directly to consumers through belairdirect. Intact also provides affinity insurance solutions through the Johnson Affinity Groups. In the US, Intact Insurance Specialty Solutions provides a range of specialty insurance products and services through independent agencies, regional and national brokers, and wholesalers and managing general agencies. In the U.K., Ireland, and Europe, Intact provides personal, commercial and specialty insurance solutions through the RSA brands.