In recognition of its ongoing commitment to emission reduction and sustainability, B.C.’s Climate Action Secretariat and Carbon Neutral Committee have presented Interior Health (IH) with a 2012 Climate Action Secretariat Award. The award presentation was made at the Carbon Neutral BC: Building on the Leadership of B.C.’s Public Sector conference, recently held in Richmond.
Also highlighted during the conference was an Interior Health initiative to reduce building energy consumption. Interior Health has successfully collaborated with a software vendor to make its utility management software smarter. The software tracks energy use in IH buildings and allows IH to normalize use with weather. Plant managers, supervisors and others can log in to the software at any time to see their building’s energy performance. This is one of many tools used by IH to help make informed decisions that reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, lower energy costs and improve daily operations.
Our aging and expanding population is placing additional demands on health care and resources. Dr. Robert Halpenny, President & Chief Executive Officer at IH, believes that we have a responsibility to meet this increased demand without compromising the environment we live in. “To accommodate for growth, we need to build and expand our infrastructure. And, in doing so, we must ensure we consider the environmental impact, minimizing harm and taking actions to reduce our carbon footprint wherever possible,” said Halpenny.