Smart Business – Part One

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? Andrea Price and Jason Scultety of ICBC, Craig Haight of Teck Resources Limited and Corrine Storey of BC Ferries 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 does it mean to ICBC to be recognized for its efforts in energy conservation & efficiency?
AP (Andrea Price): I’m personally very concerned about climate change and am proud to work for an organization that is taking meaningful steps to reduce our energy footprint. I think the recognition is important in that it may help encourage others to focus on energy conservation as well.
JS (Jason Scultety): And this recognition also raises awareness with our customers and employees that we are making strong progress towards our environmental goals.

Why do you feel it is important to get the word out about what your company is doing?
JS: Collaboration among organizations is enhanced by sharing success stories and learning what others are doing to conserve energy and become more efficient.
AP: Hopefully our example will inspire others to do likewise. It just makes good sense to be as efficient as possible—the business case is there.

How does being more energy efficient help you overcome some of the challenges your company and industry face on a regular basis?
AP: I don’t think we’re unique in wanting to keep costs down in order to make sure our rates are as low as possible for our customers. Energy conservation contributes to that.
JS: And as a public sector organization committed to carbon neutrality, energy management plays a significant role in helping us reduce our carbon footprint. 

What advice would you give to other companies who hope to be future Power Smart Leaders?
JS: Leveraging the expertise of organizations like BC Hydro is key—being part of the Energy Manager program provides organizations with the tools and training necessary to implement conservation measures in their operations. Conservation is more than implementing energy-efficient technologies. The Energy Manager program helps organizations create a culture where energy conservation and efficiency is normal business practice.
AP: Another key ingredient is a strong commitment from senior leadership.  In our case, this has enabled us to set a firm greenhouse gas reduction target, which is the focal point for all of our conservation efforts. As a result, our carbon footprint is now 24 per cent lower than it was in 2007, despite our growing business.
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What did Teck Resources do to earn this award?
CH (Craig Haight): Teck made a commitment to energy and sustainability. We started with a vision in 2011 making corporate sustainability goals. Then we really drove it down to our operations.  I work at Highland Valley Copper we have an equivalent in our Teck coal operations, as well as people working across the world in Chile really trying to meet the vision that we’ve created, and work towards a more energy-efficient culture.
 
What does it mean to be recognized for your efforts in energy conservation & efficiency?
CH: We put a lot of effort into what we do to meet these goals, and to really make a difference in mining and to make the impact we’re having. It feels good to be recognized, and it motivates us to work that much harder.
 
Why do you feel it is important to get the word out about what your company is doing?
CH: Sustainability and energy efficiency is part of our business, it’s huge energy, it’s a massive amounts of resources it takes to mine in these environments. And spreading of the knowledge is really the right thing to do, passing this information off, collaborating with others and working with others to really try and drive the industry towards more energy efficient procedures and practice.
 
How does being more energy efficient help you overcome some of the challenges your company and industry face on a regular basis?
CH: Energy efficiency really is just one of the areas of sustainability, and it’s really the social responsibility of companies to drive innovation and initiatives to reduce power. Again, the impact that we have is enormous, and society expects us to get better, to do these things in a more efficient manner. And going forward it’s really going to be the norm to be energy efficient.  
 
What advice would you give to other companies who hope to be a future Power Smart Leader? 
CH: The program that BC Hydro put together, and working with them, they’ve been a great partner. They’ve really allowed Teck to harness a lot – whether it’s incentive programs, industrial energy manager program — and it really brings to light on a lot of levels the importance of energy efficiency and I would absolutely provoke any company to do the same.  It really is a fantastic experience. 
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What did BC Ferries do to earn this award?
CS (Corrine Storey): BC Ferries is a leader in energy conservation, and how we achieved that is through hard work from various departments. We’re a large organization of over 4,000 employees and it takes everyone to focus on energy to be able to receive an award like this. We have an outstanding energy manager who works very diligently with BC Hydro, and all of their team, to be able to reduce energy. We’ve reduced, over the last two years, 1.3 gigawatts of electricity at BC Ferries.
 
What does it mean to be recognized for your efforts in energy conservation & efficiency?
CS: It’s a huge accomplishment for BC Ferries and all of our employees to be recognized. Energy conservation in the province of British Columbia is something that everyone should take very seriously.  And being a company that joins communities we feel it is our responsibility to do so. We are very conscious of all the work we do in the province of British Columbia, and we want to make sure we offer all the services to the best of our ability to all the communities and all the customers we serve, including conserving energy.
 
Why do you feel it is important to get the word out about what your company is doing?
CS: It’s important for BC Ferries to get the word out on all our initiatives regarding energy conservation because fuel is one of the largest consumers of our dollars and our budget, and it reflects on our fares for our customers. So, we are doing everything we can to conserve energy, whether it’s going to LNG, whether it’s reducing electrical consumption at our 47 terminals or on our 18 ships that plug into shore power, we do everything we can in every area of the business to be able to conserve energy, as well as to be a good steward in regards to any environmental initiative.
 
How does being more energy efficient help you overcome some of the challenges your company and industry face on a regular basis?
CS: Being energy efficient for BC Ferries not only makes us a good steward for the community, but also helps us reduce our operating budgets, which in turn then pass through to all of our customers and our fares. It’s a win for everybody.
 
What advice would you give to other companies who hope to be a future Power Smart Leader? 
CS: All companies should be part of the Power Smart program. It’s a great program. BC Hydro has offered a great support service. It’s a great group of energy leaders who support each other throughout the businesses. They all share their ideas, and it’s just a great group to be part of, and to be able to experience really good initiatives and to reduce energy for the province of British Columbia.