> SFU garners green salute from Natural Resources Canada
SFU garners green salute from Natural Resources Canada
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Contact:
- Sam Dahabieh, Facilities Management, dahabieh@sfu.ca, 604.291.3556
- SFU Public Affairs & Media Relations, 604.291.3210
March 15, 2007
To Sam Dahabieh and the rest of Simon Fraser University’s Facilities Management team, a recent award for energy conservation from Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) is like a pat on the back from Mother Nature herself.
“A lot of our initiatives go unnoticed by the larger community, but we’ve been taking action on issues of sustainability and energy conservation since 1983—long before it was fashionable,” says Dahabieh. “We see it as our duty and responsibility. We are always looking for ways to fine tune our electromechanical systems to save energy and optimize utility usage on campus.”
The NRCan Energy Conservation in Existing Buildings award recognizes SFU’s significant energy savings between 2002 and 2006. Dahabieh estimates that strategic conservation of energy in the university’s heating and electrical systems during that time resulted in average annual savings in excess of $150,000.
And that’s just the tip of the savings iceberg. Dahabieh says that over the past two decades sustainability initiatives such as the capture and recirculation of water used to cool the university’s compressed air systems, changes to building controls and automation, and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions at the boiler plant “have resulted in a combined energy cost avoidance of over $25 million.
“In fact, we’ve been so aggressive with our green efforts that it’s getting to be a big challenge to find new ways to conserve.” But that doesn’t mean they’re about to stop trying. Next up for Facilities Management is an audit to ensure that proper lighting levels are maintained on campus, and that new building projects comply with the university’s sustainability and energy conservation objectives.
To learn more about SFU’s commitment to sustainability, visit
www.sfu.ca/~sustain/projects/;
www.sfu.ca/facilitiesmanagement/about/ao_energy.html; and www.ghgregistries.ca/registry/out/C1027-SFU25JUNE01-PDF.PDF
“A lot of our initiatives go unnoticed by the larger community, but we’ve been taking action on issues of sustainability and energy conservation since 1983—long before it was fashionable,” says Dahabieh. “We see it as our duty and responsibility. We are always looking for ways to fine tune our electromechanical systems to save energy and optimize utility usage on campus.”
The NRCan Energy Conservation in Existing Buildings award recognizes SFU’s significant energy savings between 2002 and 2006. Dahabieh estimates that strategic conservation of energy in the university’s heating and electrical systems during that time resulted in average annual savings in excess of $150,000.
And that’s just the tip of the savings iceberg. Dahabieh says that over the past two decades sustainability initiatives such as the capture and recirculation of water used to cool the university’s compressed air systems, changes to building controls and automation, and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions at the boiler plant “have resulted in a combined energy cost avoidance of over $25 million.
“In fact, we’ve been so aggressive with our green efforts that it’s getting to be a big challenge to find new ways to conserve.” But that doesn’t mean they’re about to stop trying. Next up for Facilities Management is an audit to ensure that proper lighting levels are maintained on campus, and that new building projects comply with the university’s sustainability and energy conservation objectives.
To learn more about SFU’s commitment to sustainability, visit
www.sfu.ca/~sustain/projects/;
www.sfu.ca/facilitiesmanagement/about/ao_energy.html; and www.ghgregistries.ca/registry/out/C1027-SFU25JUNE01-PDF.PDF