Reflections on a Year as an Energy Management Coach

A year ago, Prism’s Juan Mani was about to start a new role. Juan has been a key member of our Energy Team, involved in all aspects of utility analysis and evaluations of energy savings, for nearly eight years. And last fall, Juan stepped up as an Energy Management Coach with the launch of BC Hydro’s Industrial Cohort Program.

Reviewing energy conservation measures at the Vancouver Dry Docks

In search of operational opportunities

The Industrial Cohort Program is designed for BC Hydro’s medium-sized industrial sector customers to support strategic energy management (SEM) practices at their sites. Through a combination of group workshops, coaching support, and activities like energy treasure hunts, participants focus on leveraging operational opportunities.

Juan is one of three members of Prism’s Energy Team that has taken on a coaching role with the program and has been working one-on-one with Energy Leads at various organizations. Ahead of starting year two of the Cohort Program, we asked Juan recently to reflect back on the past year and share some of his experiences working with this group of budding energy management experts.

What are some of your key takeaways from the first year of the program? Anything unexpected?

JM: Well it’s been really interesting to get a chance to be involved in the whole process of strategic energy management within these organizations. Often we consult on specifics parts of the process like conducting an energy audit or focusing on optimizing control systems, so I don’t often get to see the whole process play out. With the Cohort Program, I’m involved every step of the way and I’ve learned that in order to have success in energy management, it really requires making it a priority and always asking the question, “how does this decision I’m making affect us from an energy management perspective?”

What do you hope participants get out of the program?

JM: I hope they get results! It’s also been great to see participants share learnings and best practices with one another at the workshops. People start interacting with each other and asking questions and getting excited about sharing their knowledge. That’s been really rewarding for me to see and I think that’s been valuable for the participants as well.

What are you excited about for next year?

JM: I’m excited to see how we can measure savings and show results. Right now the participants are in the implementation phase – we’ve already gone through the process of finding opportunities and creating a plan, and by the end of this year, I hope we will be able to show the impact of the program in terms of energy savings.

Touring the Seaspan Dry Docks

Thanks to the folks at Seaspan!

Prism’s Robert Greenwald was honoured to share some of the latest trends in energy management at BOMA China’s Conference in Shanghai this September. The conference brought together over 2200 experts, scholars and business people representing over 700 companies in the commercial real estate industry.

Robert admitted he was a little nervous given it was the largest stage he had presented on, but that, “It was great to learn from others and share best practices from our work in Western Canada, and great to see a number of speakers discussing sustainability, energy management as well.”

Robert presenting on air tightness thermography

Learning about new sensor technology and LEED green building trends in China

Inspiration from green building design on a massive scale

Image: tangi bertin, CC BY 2.0

Update November 20, 2018

Watch a recap video of the BOMA China Conference

The BC Government is in the process of developing a clean growth strategy, with intention of integrating the province’s goals for climate action, clean energy and sustainable economic growth. This strategy hopes to lay out a framework for a clean growth future, position BC as a leader in the global market for clean energy solutions, and provide a pathway to meet the province’s emission reduction targets.

Its first areas of priority include clean transportation, a clean growth program for industry and clean, energy efficient buildings. This past summer, the Government released three intentions papers outlining each of these priorities and asked the public for feedback.

Individuals and organizations provided input through online discussion forums and written submissions. The results of this engagement will inform the province’s vision and clean growth strategy, set to be released this fall. Areas in development for 2019 include:

• Low Carbon Energy
• Communities and Waste
• Public Sector Leadership
• Clean Transportation Systems
• Adapting to a Changing Climate
• Global Energy Opportunities

Stay tuned.

Read the intentions papers, explore public engagement topics, and sign up for updates.

Image: Source

The end of 2017 marks the end of the first year of FCM’s Municipalities for Climate Innovation Program (MCIP), a five-year, $75-million program designed to encourage Canadian municipalities to better prepare for and adapt to the new realities of a changing climate.

Municipalities can now apply for funding through MCIP to support a range of initiatives including climate change adaptation plans, GHG emission reduction and community energy plans, climate adaptation studies, and climate mitigation studies related to energy, water, transportation and other areas. The program offers grants for climate change plans and studies, as well as capital projects.

A rapidly changing climate presents new challenges and potential risks for our built environment. In addition to offering a range of climate adaptation services, Prism can assist you with available funding applications to support climate adaptation initiatives in your municipality.

Contact us to learn more about our climate adaptation services and how we can help support your organization’s climate adaptation planning.

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change: 23^rd Conference of the Parties took place this past November in Bonn, Germany and was presided over by the Government of Fiji. With over two weeks of events and negotiations, we’ve put together a quick highlights reel.

Key events included:

• The meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (CMP 13)
• The second session of the first meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement (CMA 1.2)

Key achievements include:

• 2018 Talanoa Dialogue: A process for countries and organizations to share best practices and stories in order to raise ambition in nationally determined contributions (NDCs), as set out in the Paris Agreement
• Progress in implementing guidelines for the Paris Agreement, which will make it operational
• Launch of the Ocean Pathway Partnership to address the relationship between climate change and the ocean
• Significant dialogue and action regarding climate adaptation, including funding initiatives
• Dialogue and action related to the Sustainable Development Goals

Learn more about COP 23.

It’s an exciting time for climate action in Canada. We’ve seen a number of initiatives at the federal and provincial level, many of which fall under the Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change that launched at the end of 2016. There is now more funding to support businesses in contributing to these provincial and federal efforts than ever before. Read the Pan-Canadian Framework.

At Prism, we are excited to build on this momentum and to support BC organizations and businesses in their efforts towards GHG emissions reductions. Contact us to learn more about funding opportunities or to discuss enhancing your climate action strategy.

In early November, Prism had the privileged of presenting at the inaugural Greener Facilities Conference in Edmonton, Alberta. The conference focused on identifying and implementing energy and greenhouse gas emission reduction projects that lead to greener facilities.

Building control systems are an integral part of many of our facilities, but we often forget the impact that they can have on energy consumption, especially when configured sub-optimally. Sam’s session explored low/no-cost ways to optimize building control systems to minimize energy waste in facilities, while improving occupant comfort and system reliability. Like the audience, you too might be surprised by how many opportunities are right under your nose!

Prism Engineering has had the pleasure of working with clients from a range of sectors on direct digital control (DDC) strategies, including school districts, post-secondary, health care, commercial and office spaces, and municipal facilities.

Give us a call or drop us a line to discuss options for optimizing your building control systems.

Earlier this month, Prism’s Robert Greenwald joined Kim Rudd, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources, and other industry leaders in a discussion about the future of clean energy in Canada. The discussion took place as part of the Government of Canada’s Generation Energy project, an initiative to engage with individual Canadians, stakeholders and experts about how we make, move, and use energy in the future.

The event was hosted at BCIT’s High Performance Lab, a hands-on learning space that offers students the opportunity to become trained in the construction of energy efficient buildings. Rudd met with the group, which included clean energy professionals from a variety of sectors, and led a roundtable discussion on energy efficiency, renewable energy, First Nations energy concerns, and more.

We were honoured to be at the table with BC’s experts in the energy management industry and to be invited to collaborate with industry and government on a vision for Canada’s clean energy future. “It was an extremely worthwhile discussion,” said Greenwald after the event. “It’s really great to see BC’s clean energy trailblazers come to the table with Parliamentary Secretary Rudd. It goes to show that people are paying attention to the opportunity for a more sustainable energy future and that BC is going to be at the forefront of energy innovation in Canada.”

A report on the Generation Energy project, summarizing ideas gathered from individual Canadians, stakeholders and experts from across the country is due out in 2018.

Providing quality services is one of Prism’s Core Values. In order to track and continously improve our quality assurance standards, we have sought certification under the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of British Columbia (APEGBC) Organizational Quality Management (OQM) Program.

Our objective has always been to provide quality services to our clients, while adhering to all applicable codes and standards and fully aligning with engineering requirements under the quality management related provisions in the APEGBC Act and Bylaws.

We are pleased to share with you that Prism’s Quality Management program is now certified under the APEGBC OQM Program.

Prism Engineering is pleased to announce that Douglas Spratt has joined Prism’s Mechanical Team as a Senior Mechanical Engineer.

About Douglas Spratt, M.Sc., P.Eng., LEED AP, FEC, MBA

Douglas Spratt has been providing consulting engineering services to clients in Western Canada for over 30 years. As head of Douglas Spratt & Associates (DSA), his clients include building owners, managers, and architects and his projects have ranged from small mechanical engineering studies to managing multidiscipline engineering projects of over $70 million.

“We’re thrilled that Douglas has decided to join our team. His expertise in mechanical system design and excellent leadership style will undoubtedly be great assets to our Mechanical Engineering Team. Both Prism’s current clients and clients of Douglas Spratt & Associates stand to benefit from our partnership moving forward.”

– Robert Greenwald, President, Prism Engineering Ltd.

Douglas’s primary areas of expertise include HVAC upgrade design, energy studies and indoor air quality improvements. Drawing on his Executive MBA, he has worked with clients developing financial plans related to energy and HVAC systems. He has also written technical articles for publication both locally and internationally and has been retained for expert witness work.

While Douglas Spratt & Associates will continue to offer expert witness services, all other future services provided by Douglas will be delivered through Prism Engineering.

What this means for Prism’s Clients

Douglas Spratt will be complimenting Prism’s engineering team, offering Prism clients an additional range of expertise and resources in our mechanical and energy management services.

What this means for DSA’s Clients

Joining the Prism team will provide Douglas Spratt’s clients with access to a fuller range of engineering and sustainability services through Prism’s 40 plus team of engineers, designers, technical, and support staff.

At Prism Engineering, our professionals have created hundreds of Energy Star Portfolio Manager (ESPM) accounts, and have completed the training programs offered by the US EPA. Prism’s qualified energy management professionals and energy engineers can verify your ESPM building accounts to ensure you’re getting value out of the benchmarking tool.

Energy Star Portfolio Manager has quickly become the standard for benchmarking buildings in Canada. With Ontario’s recent adoption of mandatory reporting using ESPM, and Vancouver and BC considering similar regulations, moving your buildings into ESPM will provide you with valuable comparisons.

Further, the new BOMA BEST 3.0 existing building certification recommends that your Energy Star Portfolio Manager scores be verified by a qualified person.

Prism Engineering’s PUMA clients can already have their utility and basic building data automatically pushed to Energy Star Portfolio Manager, and this last verification step will ensure that your score is as accurate as possible.