Aurora's Windfall Ecology Centre nets funding to help York Region buildings track energy use

Funding will assist building owners, property managers in reporting using Energy Star Portfolio Manager Benchmarking tool

Yorkregion.com
May 1, 2019
Teresa Latchford

New funding for the Windfall Ecology Centre will help York Region buildings become more energy efficient.

Not only do buildings that consume less energy help the environment but efficiencies strengthen competitiveness, lower costs and maximize profits, said King-Vaughan MP Deb Schulte, who also serves as National Revenue Ministry Parliamentary Secretary.

She was joined by Amarjeet Sohi at Aurora’s Windfall Ecology Centre to announce over $340,000 in funding to be used by the centre to help with the measurement and sharing of energy-consumption information.

“Promoting energy-efficient practices is a key component of Canada’s approach to a clean energy future,” she added. “We are proud to work with the Windfall Ecology Centre to help commercial building owners save money and energy while reducing their environmental footprint.”

The funding from Natural Resources Canada will help Windfall assist York Region’s building owners and property managers in reporting energy and water consumption using the free Energy Star Portfolio Manager Benchmarking tool. This will allow buildings to better track and report their annual consumption and compare it with similar buildings.

Buildings are a significant source of pollution with commercial and institutional buildings accounting for eight per cent of the country’s greenhouse gas emissions.

Given that 75 per cent of the buildings that will be standing in 2030 have already been built, significantly reducing energy use in existing buildings is one of the most important and effective means of tackling emissions from the buildings sector.