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Smart Business – Part Two

A bi-annual recognition program, the Power Smart Excellence Awards honour BC Hydro’s best-in-class energy-efficient customers, retail partners and trade allies. The 2014 winners in the Power Smart Leader category are not only experiencing success in their respective industries, but they’re also opening the eyes of other B.C. companies and organizations to the benefits and possibilities of operating in an energy-efficient and sustainable manner. 

Looking to join these companies as Power Smart Leaders but don’t know how? Jerry Wyshnowsky of Thrifty Foods and Tracy Blagdon representing the Richmond School District share how they earned this recognition, what it means to them and their colleagues and how others can join BC Hydro’s Power Smart movement. 

What did Thrifty Foods do to earn this award?
JW (Jerry Wyshnowsky): Over the course of about four and a half years we’ve reduced our energy consumption by 13 per cent, and we’ve gone through most of our Thrifty Foods stores and replaced a great deal of lighting, refrigeration and other equipment. Also, we’ve engaged our staff and had them greatly involved in the work that we’ve done to obtain that kind of reduction so we’re quite proud of that, especially our staff.
 
What does it mean to be recognized for your efforts in energy conservation & efficiency?
JW: The big thing is, it validates us as the progressive grocer in the industry. It’s really important to our staff as well. It encourages them to continue with the energy conservation programs that we’ve established. And I think that’s really important to members of our staff that are younger because being green is very important to them, so working for a company that is doing the things that we are doing is very important as well for the retention of those staff.
 
Why do you feel it is important to get the word out about what your company is doing?
JW: One of the big things is that so much of what we do is invisible to our customers because it’s behind the scenes, but it really makes a huge difference in the shopping experience. So, it’s great that we can get the word out. Also, it encourages best practices and allows us to share best practices across the industry, so we’re quite proud of what we do and we don’t hesitate to share our knowledge.
 
How does being more energy efficient help you overcome some of the challenges your company and industry face on a regular basis?
JW: The grocery business is very competitive, and it’s also a low margin business. So, it’s very important to watch the bottom line and savings go directly to the bottom line. A big benefit to what we do is when we replace things like refrigeration equipment and lighting it actually improves the quality of the product, as goes as far as reducing food wastage. It’s really a win-win all around. 
 
What advice would you give to other companies who hope to be a future Power Smart Leader? 
JW: To begin with, develop a relationship with your key account manager, discuss it with him or her, and once you get going, appoint a champion to promote the cause. It’s very important to engage the executive and make sure they’re behind it 100 per cent. And after that, it’s really a matter of following the BC Hydro road map. It’s spelled out in such a way that’s very organized and quite easy to achieve a lot of great savings. It’s a very simple program to follow. 
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What did the Richmond School District do to earn this award?
TB (Tracy Blagdon): The Richmond School District has a long history of energy conservation and sustainability projects, and this award is really the culmination of the efforts of probably the last two decades of initiatives. So, multiple energy conservation projects have been done to reduce the consumption of the organization, as well as engagement activities. But probably the biggest thing is that the organization is building a culture of conservation.
 
What does it mean to be recognized for your efforts in energy conservation & efficiency?
TB: It’s a tremendous recognition and an honour. It’s really a validation of the work that we’ve put in over the last several years.
 
Why do you feel it is important to get the word out about what your organization is doing?
TB: Success breeds success. So getting the word out, and having others understand what the Richmond School District has been engaged in helps engage more people in the organization to be a part of those initiatives going forward and hopefully helps others in the industry who maybe aren’t doing as much to conserve energy to realize there is tremendous potential.
 
How does being more energy efficient help you overcome some of the challenges your organization and sector face on a regular basis?
TB: I think one of the greatest challenges that faces the education sector, particularly K-12 education at this point in time is continual budget constraints; and engaging in energy conservation really provides one of the very few opportunities for the organization to manage and even reduce budgets without impacting in a negative way, education.  So money that can be diverted from energy bills by undertaking conservation initiatives can be put back into the core business of the organization, which is educating students.
 
What advice would you give to other companies who hope to be a future Power Smart Leader? 
TB: Becoming a Power Smart Leader really requires the collaboration of multiple people, and roles across the organization. So, I think that starts with a tone at the top, getting buy in from the executive and being a champion to lead the energy conservation initiatives. And then from that point there’s a whole process that organizations can engage in around understanding where their performance is at, measuring that, doing some targeted focus around reducing consumption at sites that aren’t perhaps performing as well as they would like to see, and then engaging employees to contribute to the conservation initiatives across the organization. And finally, really telling the story about where success has been achieved and celebrating that success with those who contributed.