Along with reading, writing and arithmetic, students and educators in Mission, British Columbia are getting lessons in energy conservation.
Two years ago Mission Public Schools and the District of Mission were identified as the largest energy consumers in their region.
The two jurisdictions teamed up and looked to BC Hydro’s Energy Manager Program to guide them in making their schools and corporate offices more energy efficient. Rather than each hiring an Energy Manager, the school district and the regional district approached BC Hydro about funding one person as a joint full-time Energy Manager who would be split evenly between the two connected jurisdictions. The two jurisdictions have a good relationship and they share many common parks and facilities so it was seen as a natural arrangement. This had not been attempted anywhere else in the province.
However, BC Hydro agreed to the plan and hired an Energy Manager to work for the two jurisdictions, as a pilot project. Mark Heieis, a leader in organizational change management around sustainability issues, took on the role of Energy Manager for Mission School District and the District of Mission in March 2010. He looked at the district as a whole and set out to create a culturally aware community that continually strives to reduce its carbon footprint, while learning to adapt its processes to become resilient and adaptable. He was tasked with the ambitious targets of achieving 250,000 kilowatt hours (kW-h) of savings per year across the school district and a 10 per cent reduction for the corporate side of the District of Mission.
Heieis started by advising the school district to establish a sustainability policy to create and sustain an appetite for environmental stewardship among students, staff and parents in the district. “Having a sustainability policy is a vital factor in bringing about long-term, lasting changes,” says Heieis. At the same time, he also conducted an energy audit to identify some district-wide changes that would translate into energy saving opportunities for Mission Public Schools.
The first initiative was to re-lamp schools where the system allowed. Heieis suggested that the school district make a 17 per cent reduction in the overall quantity of lighting. The school district has started implementing this project one facility at a time. They are currently completing a wattage reduction project at Hatzic Secondary School where all the 32 watt fluorescent tube light bulbs are being replaced with 25 watt tubes. Once that is complete, the project will move on to a nearby elementary school. “We hope to replace around 2,800 tubes and to achieve a wattage savings of approximately 44,000 kWh, or an expense savings of approximately $3,564 per year,” says Heieis.
Installing room occupancy sensors, where appropriate, was the next project he identified. Room occupancy sensors detect the presence or absence of people and turn lights on and off accordingly. They are most effective in spaces that are often unoccupied such as storerooms, restrooms, corridors, stairwells and staff lounges. According to BC Hydro, room occupancy sensors can reduce energy consumption by up to 50 per cent. Heieis is also overseeing the installation of energy management software for all desktop workstations across the school district. It is expected that by installing the software on approximately 900 computers, the school district will save about 220,000 kW-h per year and see a cost savings close to $18,000 a year.
However, the biggest system change is already having dramatic results. Heieis encouraged the school district to remove obsolete single-use fax machines, photocopiers, printers and scanners, and replace them with new machines that performed all four functions. So far the school district has eliminated 100 devices, representing 4,000 kilograms of electronics, and has been able to increase the functionality of its office equipment, lower its operating costs and save 19,000 kilowatt hours of energy per year. At the same time, they have also implemented automatic doublesided printing, which should reduce the paper consumption by almost 50 per cent. According to Heieis, amalgamating and reducing the office machinery is contributing towards a culture shift among the teaching staff. In many cases, teachers now have to walk further to copy or print a document and this is making some reconsider their actions – thereby cutting back on the school’s paper consumption.
By December 2010, Heieis was confident the school district would surpass its target for reducing energy use and greenhouse gas emissions. Mission Public Schools was able to achieve savings in the neighbourhood of 300,000 kW-h annually. A system change of this nature requires buy-in from the people who will be affected by the change and by those who are capable of sustaining the change.
In order to engage the next generation, Heieis also took the initiative to start up the BC Hydro Energy Ambassador Program at all three high schools in Mission. This is a student-lead program for high school students that addresses energy consumption practices and behaviour in the secondary schools and their feeder elementary schools. It builds awareness about energy use and its consequences for the environment. It also encourages students to take action and develop leadership skills that will help them throughout life. With the support of a teacher sponsor and facilitated workshops by a BC Hydro co-ordinator, students conduct an energy audit at their school to identify opportunities for saving energy and making changes to improve sustainability. Students present their findings to the teaching staff, the local Board of Education and younger students at feeder elementary schools. The program incorporates research, public speaking and social marketing – all skills that are needed in today’s job market – to educate and engage students in energy management.
Karly Alexander is a grade 12 student and an Energy Ambassador at Heritage Park Secondary School in Mission. She has completed an audit of her school and is preparing to make presentations to younger students at three feeder elementary schools. One of the big lessons Alexander learned is the role of “ghost power” energy consumption used by everyday appliances. The main offenders are devices with clocks or timers like a microwave, or devices with a power block like a mobile phone charger. Alexander learned that remembering to turn off the computer and unplug the phone charger from the wall when not in use makes a difference.
Now one year into having a joint Energy Manager for the two jurisdictions, the arrangement is seen as a win-win-win for all three parties. Plus, BC Hydro is pleased with the results. Simon Vickers, BC Hydro Program Manager for Commercial Marketing with Power Smart Partners says, “We would like to roll out the joint Energy Manager concept in other communities, based on the Mission model,” possibly for communities in northern British Columbia. Mission Public Schools have made progress, but they are not stopping yet.
In December 2010, the school board created a Sustainability Policy to firmly root the environmental consciousness that has been building over the last year. It hopes this policy will guide decision makers to make environmentally sustainable choices for Mission public schools and students well into the future.
In 2011 Heieis will continue building awareness and educating staff to assist the school district in rolling out some previously identified projects while including new green initiatives such as waste reduction and water conservation.
***
Linda Munro lives in North Vancouver and writes for Mission Public Schools.