For Primary Suppliers | CFIF ERFP Fixed-Rate CFR Compliance

The CFR Obligation

Three ways to meet your reduction requirement

Under Canada's Clean Fuel Regulations, primary fuel suppliers must satisfy an annual carbon intensity reduction requirement. You have three compliance pathways:

Blend or produce lower-CI fuels

Generate compliance credits directly by producing or supplying fuels with a carbon intensity below the CFR’s annual targets — for example, by blending ethanol into gasoline or biodiesel into diesel. Credits you generate can be used for your own compliance obligation or sold on the open market.

Open market credits

Purchase CFR compliance credits on the open market. Prices are volatile, supply is uncertain, and every credit purchased transfers an obligation that already exists. It funds nothing new.

ERFP contribution (CFIF)

Contribute up to 10% of your annual reduction requirement to an approved Emissions Reduction Funding Program. Your contribution funds real Canadian clean fuel and emissions reduction projects.

10%

of your annual reduction requirement

can be satisfied through CFIF contributions at a fixed rate, with full market visibility before you commit. Annual decision. No long‑term lock‑in.

Illustrative Savings

What CFIF contributions can save your organization

Example: Primary Supplier with 1,000,000 credit reduction requirement. ERFP-eligible: 100,000 credits (10% maximum under CFR).

Scenario	CFIF Rate	Savings (100k credits)	Return on Capital
Market at $385/credit	$379/credit	$600,000	1.6%
Market at $400/credit	$379/credit	$2,100,000	5.5%
Market at $410/credit	$379/credit	$3,100,000	8.2%
Market at $425/credit	$379/credit	$4,600,000	12.1%
Market at $450/credit	$379/credit	$7,100,000	18.7%
Market at $475/credit	$379/credit	$9,600,000	25.3%
Market at $500/credit	$379/credit	$12,100,000	31.9%

For illustrative purposes only. Actual savings depend on market conditions at the time of the contribution decision.

Why CFIF

Five reasons Primary Suppliers choose CFIF

Price certainty

CFIF locks in a fixed contribution rate for the compliance year, eliminating price volatility. Open market credit prices have risen substantially since the CFR took effect and continue to trend upward.

Budget predictability

Budget compliance costs for up to 10% of your annual reduction requirement with complete certainty. No surprise price spikes. Annual contribution decision with full market visibility before committing.

One mandate. One purpose.

Other ERFPs balance government innovation priorities, technology commercialization objectives, job creation mandates, and region-specific policy objectives. CFIF has one purpose: emissions-reducing projects that meet industry's criteria — not policy agendas.

Industry governance

CFIF is governed entirely by market participants who understand feedstock risk, offtake structures, and how clean fuel projects actually get financed. No government body sets the criteria or influences project selection.

Real Canadian impact

100% of contributed funds are deployed as non-repayable grants to Canadian clean fuel projects and emissions reduction initiatives, putting long-term downward pressure on credit prices for all obligated parties.

Industry Governance

Governance built on market expertise, not policy mandates.

CFIF is the only ERFP governed entirely by industry. No government body sets the criteria. No external program administrator decides which projects receive funding. Every decision is made by market participants who understand what it takes to move fuel, manage supply chains, and operate under the Clean Fuel Regulations.

That governance structure is what allows CFIF to make practical decisions. When project criteria are set by refiners and importers rather than policy writers, the fund responds to the operational realities of the physical fuels market: feedstock availability, infrastructure constraints, regional capacity, and the commercial timelines that make projects viable.

CFIF works with industry, not above it. Contributors have a direct voice in how the fund operates and which projects get funded. The Contributor Priority Program (CPP) takes this further, giving Primary Suppliers the ability to direct their contribution to specific projects that align with their own emission reduction priorities.

Industry Leadership

Credible institutions already at the table.

The Industry Priority Forum (IPF) has attracted two inaugural organizing sponsors who bring independent legal oversight and institutional financial expertise to the forum.

Borden Ladner Gervais LLP

One of Canada's leading law firms in the clean fuels and energy sector, participating as an organizing sponsor to ensure full antitrust compliance at every IPF session.

National Bank of Canada

Participating as an organizing sponsor and bringing institutional capital markets expertise and financial sector perspective to the forum's agenda and governance.

Learn about the IPF

Contributor Experience

What contributing to CFIF actually looks like.

From first conversation to compliance confirmation.

Step 1

Initial conversation

We walk you through the mechanics, review your reduction requirement, and confirm CFIF is the right fit for your organization.

Step 2

Contribution agreement

You confirm your contribution amount and, if using the CPP, nominate specific projects. CFIF executes the contribution agreement.

Step 3

Capital deployment

CFIF deploys your contribution as a non-repayable grant to qualified projects, structured to maximise emissions impact.

Step 4

Verification

Projects undergo independent verification of emissions reductions. CFIF manages all ECCC reporting obligations on your behalf.

Step 5

Compliance confirmation

Your contribution is confirmed as a valid CFR compliance pathway. You receive transparent reporting on fund performance and project outcomes.

Common Questions

Primary Supplier FAQs

What is Canada's Clean Fuel Regulations?+

Canada's Clean Fuel Regulations (CFR) are federal regulations that require producers and importers of liquid fossil fuels (gasoline and diesel) to reduce the carbon intensity of the fuels they supply. Primary Suppliers — companies that produce or import more than 400 cubic metres of gasoline or diesel annually — must satisfy an annual carbon intensity reduction requirement. Each year, the requirement increases, reaching 14 gCO2e/MJ below the 2016 baseline by 2030. Primary Suppliers can meet this obligation by creating compliance credits, purchasing credits on the open market, or contributing up to 10% of their requirement to a registered Emissions Reduction Funding Program (ERFP) such as CFIF.

What is an ERFP?+

An Emissions Reduction Funding Program (ERFP) is a compliance mechanism established under Canada's Clean Fuel Regulations. Primary Suppliers may contribute up to 10% of their annual carbon intensity reduction requirement to a registered ERFP instead of purchasing open-market compliance credits. The ERFP pools those contributions and deploys them as grants to Canadian clean fuel and emissions reduction projects — funding new capacity rather than simply transferring existing compliance obligations. CFIF is an ERFP that is industry-governed, with no government influence over project selection. ECCC approval is pending.

Is CFIF approved under the CFR?+

CFIF's application as a registered ERFP is pending ECCC approval. Contribution structures are built to the exact specifications of a compliant ERFP under the CFR. Engage now to be positioned to participate immediately once approval is confirmed.

Are contributions locked in for the full year?+

Contribution decisions can be made at any point during the compliance year, giving your organization full market visibility before committing. There is no long-term lock-in beyond the annual compliance period.

Can I direct my contribution to a specific project?+

Yes. Through CFIF's Contributor Priority Program (CPP), Primary Suppliers can direct their contributions to specific projects that meet ERFP requirements, while maintaining full CFR compliance. If no qualifying directed projects are approved, funds flow to the broader CFIF pool.

How is CFIF different from other ERFPs?+

CFIF is governed entirely by industry. Through the Industry Priority Forum (IPF), contributors gain a seat at the table on the technical, policy, and market issues shaping Canada's clean fuels sector. And CFIF is the only ERFP structuring capital to make clean fuel projects bankable to institutional lenders.

Ready to lock in your rate for 2025?

We'll walk you through the full mechanics. Every Primary Supplier that engages now helps define what Canadian clean fuel capacity looks like at scale. One call. No commitment.

Your industry. Your call.

Ana Avramovic, B.Comm., Executive Director aa@cleanfuels.ca

Keith Driver, B.Sc., M.Sc., MBA, Technical Director kd@cleanfuels.ca

Jonathan Cocker, B.A., LL.B., LSO Licensee, Operations & Development Director jc@cleanfuels.ca

Shawn McMillan, CPA, CA, ICD.D, Chief Financial Officer sm@cleanfuels.ca

Contribute to CFIF Explore CPP

Your CFR compliance,simplified.