NEWS RELEASE
REGIONAL MUNICIPALITY OF YORK
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York Region’s 2019 Energy Conservation and Demand Management Plan includes short, medium and long-term targets resulting in an energy-wise vision of reducing greenhouse gas emissions from Region-owned and operated facilities and assets to 2051.
“York Region has long been a leader in identifying ways to reduce the amount of energy and greenhouse gas emissions,” said York Region Chairman and CEO Wayne Emmerson. “This is a practical plan, developed by taking into account the effects of extreme weather, costs, ease of services to residents and advances in technology.”
York Region owns and operates more than $12.3 billion in assets in the form of buildings, transit vehicles, fleet vehicles, water and wastewater facilities and supporting infrastructure.
The plan outlines ways the Region can further reduce energy and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions through a mix of conservation, efficiency and renewable energy alternatives.
The Region’s annual corporate emissions are projected to fall to 30,600 tonnes by 2051, which is 60 per cent below its 2014 emissions baseline. Strategies to reduce corporate emissions are aligned with four focus areas that include buildings, non-transit fleet, transit buses and water and wastewater processes.
“A conservation-first approach has been embedded into all aspects of the energy plan,” said City of Vaughan Regional Councillor Mario Ferri, Chair of Environmental Services. “Not only does it meet legislative requirements, the plan is driven by the Region’s vision of achieving net-zero carbon by 2051.”
York Region completed its first energy plan in 2014 and it was updated in 2016.
Accomplishments to-date include:
- Living Building certification for the Bill Fisch Forest Stewardship and Education Centre as the first building to achieve this recognition in Canada Completion of 17 Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design LEED certified buildings
- Making retrofits to York Region Transit buses resulting in increased efficiency and 1,100 tonnes of GHG emission reduction per year Approving pilot project for six battery electric transit buses Installing anti-idling and hybrid technologies that reduced ambulance fuel consumption by 84,500 litres since 2017
- Integrating 18 hybrid and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles into the corporate fleet to achieve better fuel economy when compared with standard combustion engine alternatives
- Conducting energy audits to identify opportunities at existing buildings Installing 21 solar panels that generate enough energy to power 45 average sized homes for a year and approximately $150,000 in annual revenues for the Region Conserving approximately 10.6 mega-litres per day of water and wastewater that require treating through water conservation and inflow and infiltration prevention programs
These initiatives were developed in collaboration with Regional departments, York Regional Police and Housing York Inc. and will be updated every five years. The Regional Municipality of York consists of nine local cities and towns and provides a variety of programs and services to 1.2 million residents and 52,000 businesses with over 636,600 employees.
More information about the Region’s key service areas is available at york.ca/regionalservices
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