As Sustainable Kingston’s Green Economy program continues to grow it is clear that Kingston’s business community is taking climate change seriously! The program provides support and recognition for businesses and organizations to track and reduce their carbon footprints. With 24 businesses now part of the Green Economy program, sustainability is on its way to becoming business-as-usual in Kingston!
In order to support this growing commitment to local climate action, Sustainable Kingston’s Green Economy program held its first-ever member-only event on December 6th, 2017. Bringing the Project Idea Book to Life brought together Sustainable Kingston staff, local business leaders enrolled in the program, and representatives from Utilities Kingston for a 90-minute conversation about energy conservation.
Hosted in Trailhead Kingston’s upstairs loft, the event began with a presentation from Trailhead’s owner James Malcom. James has embedded sustainability into Trailhead Kingston’s day-to-day operations and long-term planning, and in 2016 was recognized as the program’s Most Engaged Member. During his presentation he identified over 20 conservation projects being implemented throughout the store. The projects varied in scale from reducing the brightness settings on computer monitors to James’s interest in exploring ways to power the store with a roof-top solar array.
Event participants then shared examples of energy conservation from their own businesses. These included LED lighting retrofits, upgrades to high efficiency furnaces, and re-using waste heat from freezers to heat buildings. Representatives from The Kingston & Frontenac Housing Corporation, The Ambassador Hotel, Cher Mere Canada, J.E. Agnew Foods, and Tara Natural Foods all made it clear that energy conservation is a priority for a business of any size. Through conservation, each business has been (or soon will be!) lowering operational costs while reducing their carbon footprints.
The event concluded with a presentation from Caitlin Newey and Hugh McLaren from Utilities Kingston. They explained the best way for businesses to read their utility bills and the wide variety of incentives available for gas, electricity and water conservation. They also stressed that energy conservation is in everyone’s best interest as it saves money, reduces our collective environmental impact and helps Utilities Kingston meet its own energy conservation goals.
Click here to learn more about conserving energy or call Utilities Kingston at 613-546-0000 and say ‘conservation’ to learn about their incentive programs!