It just makes sense

FortisBC honoured a number of Kootenay-Boundary businesses in the 2010 PowerSense Excellence Awards

— Photo courtest FortisBC

Taking steps to ensure energy efficiency is a part of the everyday running of a business that can take time and money—but there is no doubt that these efforts make both environmental and economic sense. Several of the businesses that are doing their part for the planet were recognized with 2010 FortisBC PowerSense Awards.

“There are two sets of awards,” said Nicole Bogdanovic, communications specialist with FortisBC. “For the conservation excellence awards, (a business) has to have done a project—that could be an upgrade to a building, a new building or a change in process or equipment. It has to (result) in an energy savings of 100,000 kilowatt hours per year. The second area is the leadership awards. (Winners) have done something that could be inspiring and that has led to energy conservation in other areas.”

The winners range from small stores to large-scale operations such as the Columbia Brewery. The brewery is no stranger to the PowerSense Awards; the capital costs from recent changes will be repaid in two years’ time by the energy savings. But there was also Liberty Foods, an independently owned grocery store located in Fruitvale. The store was retrofitted with energy-efficient lighting and refrigeration, resulting in a modern store that would not look out of place in a busy metropolis.

Bogdanovic said that the awards, presented on October 21 in Castlegar, were well supported not only by the winners but by local politicians and other business leaders. Perhaps this is because Kootenay business owners are generally eco-friendly, according to Bogdanovic.

“The people we work with in the Kootenays are not just (saving energy) for economic reasons but also because it’s the right thing to do … they seem to be very conscious,” she said.