On January 17, Manitoba Race to Reduce officially launched and Manitoba’s businesses are now racing to reduce their energy use by at least 10% over the next 4 years.
Manitoba Race to Reduce represents unprecedented collaboration within Manitoba’s Business community. The Race is aimed at providing businesses with the tools and resources needed to encourage smart energy use within their buildings.
What would it look like if ALL Winnipeg office buildings reduced their energy?
A 10% reduction in energy use across ALL office buildings in Manitoba could mean…
- 1,000 cars off the road for one year
- or not burning 2 million litres of gasoline for one year
- or not harvesting 500,000 trees for one year
- and saving $2 million on energy bills
Which building owners have signed up?
So far over 6 million square feet of commercial office space – equal to 5,000 residential homes – have committed to the race. The initial goal was to get 3 million square feet confirmed before launching the race and that was quickly surpassed with Manitoba businesses quickly getting on board.
A few well-known buildings in the race include:
- Artis REIT, Portage and Main
- Great-West Life, Broadway and Osborne.
- Investors Group, Portage and Memorial
- Manitoba Hydro, Portage and Edmonton
- The TD Trust Building, Portage and Main
- Manitoba Public Insurance buildings
- City of Winnipeg buildings
Who can join the race?
Any commercial office building in Manitoba with 30,000 square feet or more can join.
What’s the incentive to join?
Manitoba Race to Reduce will be tracking the results through ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager® and every year will give awards to the building owners, tenants and staff who lead the race. Most businesses and tenants have businesses goals that include being better environmental stewards, so joining Manitoba Race to Reduce is one way to accomplish that goal. They can also save hundreds of thousands of dollars in energy.
How can employees contribute to make a difference?
- Close window blinds to shade an office from direct sunlight in the summer and open blinds to gain heat from the sun in the winter
- Turn off lights when leaving the office
- Turn on your computer’s energy-saver option
- Unplug phone chargers and other devices when not in use
If you are a landlord or tenant wanting to learn more, contact Manitoba Race to Reduce at [email protected] or check out www.manitobaracetoreduce.ca to register today.
