By Sarah Osborne
While the promotion of energy efficiency becomes widespread across Canada, one local business manager says the federal government is not doing enough to promote its conservation programs to businesses.
Robert St-Amour, general manager of Hartman’s Independent grocery store on Bank Street, says an expansion is being built on the store that will cut back on energy use, but adds that this expansion isn’t being done using government incentives.
St-Amour says he was not aware of government incentives until last year, after plans to expand the grocery store were complete.
“Had we known, I would suspect that we probably would have taken advantage of whatever programs were available,” he says. “So, we missed out on that opportunity.”
One business in Ottawa has been involved in a federal program for about three years. The Sparks Street Zellers is involved in the Energy Innovators Initiative program through its parent company, HBC.
Store manager Barry Dartnell says his store has an energy management program, which means it operates on a computer timer. He also holds a monthly energy management meeting with employees to discuss how to lower electricity use.
Unlike Hartman’s, Dartnell says utility costs are paid by the company, not the store. This means he is unaware of any savings in energy costs since the plan was introduced.
While some businesses say they must seek out federal programs that give financial incentives for cutting down energy use, other government initiatives are better publicized. The One-Tonne Challenge was introduced in 2004. Television personality Rick Mercer is the face of the campaign.
Nancy Johns, manager of business and industry partnerships for the program, says businesses participate not by cutting down on energy use, but by promoting the One-Tonne Challenge to their employees. Local businesses participating in the One-Tonne Challenge are mainly banks —Scotiabank, RBC, and TD Financial — and Zellers.
Ottawa-area groups that have received money from the government’s Energy Innovators Initiative are mainly non-profits such as churches and hospitals, and real estate developers. They received anywhere from $4,400 to $250,000.
Despite not receiving any government help, Hartman’s has taken advantage of the addition to introduce some energy-saving measures.
St-Amour says the store now operates on a computerized control system that monitors the heating, ventilation and air conditioning in the building, from the new parking garage to the mezzanine level. It also controls the lighting with timers. For instance, the refrigerator lights are set to turn off at a certain time each day.
St-Amour says cost is a primary benefit of the computer system. “At the end of the day, it is cheaper than having someone go around and monitor all the systems.” He says the system allows him to see where the most energy consumption is, and fine-tune the building’s settings accordingly.
The lights that have been installed in parts of the store that have lower ceilings are a more noticeable energy-saving method . St-Amour says, unlike the computerized climate control system, which is both energy-efficient and cost-effective, the lights were installed for their energy efficiency only, since they are actually far more expensive than traditional fluorescent lighting, and do not provide as much light.
St-Amour says Hartman’s pays all of its operating expenses without the help of its umbrella company, which also owns Loblaws. He says hydro is the store’s biggest utility bill, and a major part of the operating budget. Now that the Kyoto accord is in effect, St-Amour says the government should be trying to raise the profile of energy efficiency incentives so that businesses are aware of them and don’t have to search them out.
“I just don’t think the government promotes itself enough to the end uses,” St-Amour says.
Johns says businesses involved in the One-Tonne Challenge may want to link the products they sell to the challenge, as well as promote it to employees. For instance, in its May flyer, Zellers is promoting Energy Star appliances, which use less electricity.
Johns says smaller businesses may be participating in the One-Tonne Challenge but unless her office is contacted, she doesn’t find out about them.
Ultimately, Johns says the One-Tonne Challenge is aimed at individuals, and it is up to other government programs, such as the Energy Innovators Initiative, to help businesses use energy more efficiently.