Reinforcing Strategic Energy Management through ISO 50001

Like many organizations, Thompson Rivers University (TRU) has been making great strides in managing energy performance through various plans and initiatives over recent years.  Always looking for ways to continually improve, TRU became interested in exploring ISO 50001 (Energy Management Systems).  ISO 50001 is an internationally recognized standard that provides a framework for implementing a robust and comprehensive strategic energy management (SEM) system or program.

TRU approached Prism to help explore ISO 50001 and determine what level of effort would be required to become self-compliant in the standard.  With funding support from Natural Resources Canada and program support from BC Hydro, TRU engaged Prism to help from start to finish.  To begin, Prism conducted an interactive gap analysis to determine what SEM program components were currently in place, and what gaps would need to be filled in order to comply with the standard.  The gap analysis gave insights into the work to be completed, and a list of priority areas to focus on first.  Prism is now in the early stages of supporting TRU to close these gaps and work towards full implementation of ISO 50001 by 2024.

By pursuing the ISO 50001 standard, TRU intends to make energy management an integral part of what the organization lives and breathes, including with staff, students, and faculty, all while supporting TRUs climate action goals.

Natalie Yao, TRU’s long-standing Energy Specialist has this to say about the whole process. “Prism’s experience with ISO 50001 and strategic energy management in general have made this process both engaging and a great learning experience for our team. The support offered by the Prism team provides us the confidence that we can reach our sustainability goals.”

For more information on ISO 50001 and to learn how pursuing the standard might benefit your organization, check out our webpage here or contact our ISO 50001 Service Lead, Sam Thomas, at sam@prismengineering.com

In the summer of 2021, places in B.C. broke temperature records and BC Hydro experienced 19 of its top 25 all-time summer daily peak demand records[1].

The weather caused concern for British Columbians around the availability of increased electrical supply during extreme weather events. In a survey conducted by BC Hydro, 76% of respondents said they are concerned about the reliability of their electricity supply because of climate change. [2]

While our electrical utilities are working diligently to continually increase the reliability and supply of electricity, the onus is also on us as building owners, managers, and consultants to act within the facilities we work with to be better prepared. That said, balancing electrical demand requirements with energy conservation and decarbonization goals, asset renewal, occupant comfort, safety, and climate resilience in our facilities can be a daunting task.

To help break this down into bite-size pieces, Faisal Emami, one of our Electrical Engineers, offers an approach that we apply to many of the facilities we work with at Prism.

1. Review your utility data
   ▪ Look at your historical data for demand peaks to better understand your situation. Platforms such as PUMA make this particularly easy and insightful
2. Assess your current situation
   ▪ Conduct a facility condition assessment to review the condition, capacity, and remaining asset life of your building systems. Pay particular attention to your current electrical service and identify where your bottleneck in capacity is.
3. Determine your future electrical capacity needs
   ▪ Consider future requirements for EV charging, electrification of HVAC systems, and increased cooling needs during extreme weather events.
4. Free up spare electrical capacity using demand side management (DSM)▪
   ▪ Minimize waste and maximize efficiency in your existing systems to reduce consumption and lower peak electrical demand requirements.
   ▪ Energy audits and recommissioning can be great places to start to help identify ways to do this.
5. Assess opportunities for energy supply resiliency
   ▪ Alternative power sources such as solar photovoltaics and power banks may be good options for reducing your reliance on a single point of supply.
6. Develop an implementation plan
   ▪ The plan should balance the outcomes of the previous steps with asset renewal and emissions targets.
   ▪  Develop a phased approach to upgrade your electrical service to allow for security of supply as we move into the future.
   ▪  Seek incentive funding support where available to help with studies, plans, and upgrades.

If this approach sounds like something your facilities could benefit from, reach out to us and our Electrical team will be happy to work with you to identify your needs and provide customized recommendations. Contact us to learn more.

How do we change for the better? At Prism, we think about this every day.

For us, change means many things. We are known for our work supporting clients with building system improvements and energy efficiency projects. We also support change by helping our clients develop plans and programs that provide a roadmap for improving sustainability performance or reducing energy or emissions over the long term.

We also think about change in terms of our own company’s growth. With over three decades of experience, we know the value of building a strong team of individuals that work together to deliver high-value services. One such team is our Sustainability Team, which supports companies and organizations create a greener and more energy-efficient world.

Collectively, the Sustainability Team members leverage each other’s background in strategic planning, facilitation, coaching, change management, communications, training, and stakeholder engagement, to support clients as they work towards their sustainability and strategic energy management goals.

To continue to support our growth in these areas, we have welcomed some very talented and passionate team members over the last few months to the team (above, left to right): Taniell Hamilton, Shannon Hardman, and Nicole Huard.

Change isn’t always easy. It is a process and takes time and effort, therefore, it is essential to remember that small increments collectively create significant impact. It’s more critical now than ever for us to work towards impact– for the benefit of our organizations, communities, and the planet.

Find out how Prism’s Sustainability Team can help you lead lasting change in your organization.

The Clean Building Tax Credit supports the CleanBC commitment to reduce provincewide emissions by 40% from 2007 levels and aligns with B.C.’s target to reduce emissions in buildings and communities by more than half by 2030.

Prism was invited to speak to local media at the Kitsilano Community Center on July 13^th about how we support building owners to retrofit their buildings. The province was making an announcement of a new tax credit that will make energy retrofits for multi-unit residential and commercial buildings more affordable, saving owners 5% on retrofits to help reduce their energy use.

Our president, Robert Greenwald, spoke about the work Prism had completed with the City of Vancouver to retrofit the community centre. The building underwent heat-recovery improvements that nearly eliminated the need for natural gas to heat the facility. It also reduced greenhouse gas emissions by more than 80%.

Damian Stathonikos, president of the Building Owners and Managers Association of B.C. also expressed how the tax credit will help reduce the retrofit cost for building owners and lower energy expenses for tenants.

Selina Robinson, Minister of Finance, acknowledged that the upfront costs of these retrofits can be a challenge for people and the tax credit will help owners invest in cleaner energy retrofits.

George Heyman, Minister of Environment and Climate Change Strategy, shared that “improved energy efficiency means fewer emissions, which is good for our environment and brings our existing building infrastructure closer to net-zero and our climate targets.”

As always, our team is happy to work with you to evaluate your retrofit needs and help you identify any rebates and incentives you can leverage.

Learn more about the tax credit and eligibility criteria.

View the full news release.

Read more about our work with Kitsilano Community Centre.