Winners of FortisBC's Efficiency in Action award in the food service category, Whitespot Restaurants was recognized for its continued dedication to the environment. — Photo courtesy of Whitespot Restaurants
In May FortisBC’s Efficiency in Action awards acknowledged B.C.’s sustainability leaders for their dedication to conserving energy. The event celebrated energy-efficient upgrades that cumulatively saved enough energy to heat about 2,700 average Lower Mainland homes.
FortisBC hosted its first bi-annual Efficiency in Action awards to acknowledge the hard work of its partners in energy conservation. FortisBC customers received accolades for exceptional energy savings in residential building developments, as well as for energy conservation achievements in the commercial and industrial sectors.
“We’ve teamed up with businesses across B.C. to help them upgrade to high-efficiency appliances, such as boilers, water heaters and commercial ovens,” said Sarah Smith, Director of Energy Efficiency and Conservation, FortisBC. “This energy efficient equipment helps improve our customers’ bottom lines, while at the same time, reducing potential environmental impacts from their business operations.”
For efficiency in a commercial project, Retirement Concepts came out on top. Specializing in residences for seniors, the company owns 24 facilities across B.C. Their efficiency journey started when they compared gas use across their facilities.
“When I looked at the natural gas usage at the worst performing buildings, they typically were older with boilers that were at least 20 years old,” said Ken Harder, Energy Manager, Retirement Concepts. “I knew we could get significant savings by replacing them with new efficient models.”
Retirement Concepts won their Efficiency in Action award for upgrading 17 boilers to 90 per cent-efficient condensing models with help from a $120,000 financial incentive from FortisBC.
In the food service category, White Spot was the winner. Across B.C. and Alberta, White Spot has shown its dedication to the environment.
“Reducing our carbon footprint and being good corporate citizens matters to us,” said Terry Chiu, Director, Design & Construction, White Spot. “With FortisBC’s rebates, we were able to purchase new, high-efficiency natural gas fryers that use less energy.”
FortisBC is committed to working with our customers to help them save energy and adopt innovative, energy efficient technology. For our business customers, this reduces operating costs and shrinks their environmental footprint. For a full list of the winners, and to find out how to take advantage of FortisBC’s rebate programs, visitfortisbc.com/commercialawards.
