Enigin Updates - Toronto Schools make Big Bucks through Energy Efficiencies
Last year in Canada the Toronto City Summit Alliance, a coalition of civic leaders in the Toronto region which was formed to address challenges to the future of Toronto, set up the Greening Canada Fund and it has offered a fantastic opportunity to Toronto Schools.
The Toronto District School Board (TDSB) are encouraging thousands of children across the city to turn off their computers and lights and by so doing they will be helping big banks become carbon neutral and make money for their futures.
The TDSB announced a five-year transaction yesterday that is projected to earn the board $1.7 million in exchange for reducing the carbon footprints of nearly 250 schools across the city.
The Greening Canada Fund buys carbon credits from organisations like the TDSB for the benefit of big-bank investors who wish to become carbon neutral.
The Toronto Sun quotes the Summit Alliance CEO Julia Deans as saying: “It’s a really exciting marriage of business and this sector. It’s really huge,”
In creating this fund the Alliance have been able to make the most of organizations that want to go carbon-neutral, developing a Canadian market for carbon credits. The Alliance have produced a procedure to equate energy efficiency in schools for carbon credits.
The money generated through the arrangement will be used for the TDSB’s Environmental Legacy Fund Reserve, which is designed for the financing of future environmental projects.
Apart from energy efficiency the TDSB is also boosting its fund by selling energy to Ontario Power Authority which is generated from solar panels installed across its schools.
Energy efficiency is not always as simple and cheap as turning off lights or computers, solar panels and other technology carries a cost and over the last 10 years the TDSB has invested over $38 million in energy reduction projects.
TDSB chairman Bruce Davis pointing to the board’s goal to reduce 2006 greenhouse gas emissions by 20% come 2020 said:
“We like to think that we’re leaders in this area. We’re doing a lot of cool work. Our eco-school program is being emulated all around the country.
“Not only is that good work, but here’s a really neat financial instrument, a transaction, that allows us to invest in the future.”
Enigin Distributors are already helping schools save substantially on their utility bills through using real-time energy management and Enigin's energy saving products and solutions.
Picture by Rob Lee
