Capital Regional District's Energy Management and Water Conservation Project: The First Regional Energy Reduction Plan in Canada

The Capital Regional District (CRD) developed the first regionally-based GHG emission and energy inventory baseline which included reduction targets and a reduction plan. Goals of the Plan include improving energy efficiency of buildings; Increasing transportation efficiency; diversifying the energy supply; educating and engaging residents and businesses; and demonstrating local government leadership. Concrete actions include improving fleet vehicle performance through driver training and education (i.e. NRCan’s FleetSmart Driver Training; establishing a right-sizing program for fleet vehicles) and evaluating biofuels in various fleet types. Other possibilities include maximizing the cost-effective diversion of waste from landfill, developing an energy efficient purchasing policy, specifying the minimum energy performance requirements for major products and developing internal education programs for staff.

Capital Regional District's Energy Management and Water Conservation Project included identifying 45 municipally and regionally owned buildings in the CRD to receive energy retrofits. A business case was created for each building illustrating that there would be a 3 to 10 year payback of upfront investment, and a 9.5 per cent savings on future utility bills. This initiative will allow the CRD to save 1,629 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions (the equivalent of getting 393 mid-sized cars off the roads) and 62 million units of bottled water a year while creating economic development equivalent to 102 person months of employment for local trades from the retrofits.