ENERGY STAR Information
ENERGY STAR is for Health Care
You may have seen the ENERGY STAR symbol on new household electronics, kitchen appliances, light bulbs, or other residential products. You might also know that products displaying the ENERGY STAR symbol are more energy efficient than others, and you probably know that saving energy translates into lower electricity and heating/cooling charges. But did you know that health care facilities can also reduce their energy expenditures by switching to ENERGY STAR qualified products, such as lighting, commercial kitchen appliances, office equipment, and light commercial HVAC equipment?
Why your Health Care Facility Needs ENERGY STAR HELP
As you know, health care facilities are highly energy intensive. A 2005 Natural Resources Canada report lists health care as the second most energy intensive commercial and institutional sector in Canada. Hospitals and long-term care facilities require high levels of energy for ongoing patient care, diagnostic and emergency medical equipment, and other vital health care functions. Sound energy management practices have been proven to greatly decrease operating costs, freeing up much needed funds for infrastructure redevelopment, and more importantly, direct patient care; however, identifying and taking advantage of energy saving opportunities can be challenging in times of limited resources.
Demonstrate your commitment to energy reduction and environmental leadership by joining the ENERGY STAR Health Care Energy Leadership Program (HELP). Learn how our team can help your team take the next step towards realizing your energy efficiency goals by delivering:
- Educational webinars
- Onsite ENERGY STAR training and 'Spot the ENERGY STAR Opportunities' walkthroughs at green health care training host sites
- Sample ENERGY STAR procurement language to incorporate into your RFPs
- Training on the ENERGY STAR Savings Calculators to help you build the business case for ENERGY STAR upgrades
- Access to a national peer-to-peer network of other energy efficiency leaders in the health care sector
- Assistance with ENERGY STAR Participant application
The structure of ENERGY STAR HELP encompasses six core components and is intended to drive continuous improvement over time. By participating in webinars and a collaborative peer network, members of the HELP community can start to build awareness around ENERGY STAR within their facilities and learn from their peers through the sharing of best practices. The next step is to find opportunities, which we help you identify and prioritize with on-site training, an ENERGY STAR audit checklist and the ENERGY STAR Savings Calculators. Once opportunities are identified, it is time to take action by upgrading to ENERGY STAR qualified products where and when it makes sense for your facility. It is then important to measure the results, which can be estimated with the Savings Calculators, utility bills and/or energy monitoring devices. Further tracking of progress can be done through energy tracking software such as the US EPA's Portfolio Manager. Celebrate and share your ongoing cost savings with your staff, then re-evaluate and set new energy-conservation goals.
What is an ENERGY STAR Participant and why should my Health Care Facility Join?
Members of the ENERGY STAR HELP community are encouraged to become recognized ENERGY STAR Participants. Participant status provides the following benefits:
- Ability to promote your leadership status with the ENERGY STAR Participant symbol
- Have your organization profiled on the Canadian ENERGY STAR website
- National award opportunities recognize your commitment to ENERGY STAR and energy efficiency
Becoming an ENERGY STAR Participant is free.
ENERGY STAR Participant Requirements
Registration as an ENERGY STAR Participant and access to resources on the dedicated Participant website is as simple as sharing some basic corporate contact information with NRCan's Office of Energy Efficiency, and providing a brief profile of your organisation's specific ENERGY STAR interests. The ENERGY STAR HELP team will assist those wishing to register and develop an ENERGY STAR Participant plan, as well as promote accomplishments on the ENERGY STAR HELP web portal, and through the ENERGY STAR Market Transformation Awards.
Prospective ENERGY STAR Participants agree to review the ENERGY STAR Symbol Guidelines, secure executive leadership buy-in by way of a signed letter of support, and complete an Administrative Arrangement with Natural Resources Canada (NRCan).
Participants share the progress and outcomes of their activities surrounding the use and promotion of the ENERGY STAR symbol in the following ways:
- Participate in NRCan's Annual ENERGY STAR Survey, providing relevant data as requested;
- Promote your health care facility as an ENERGY STAR Participant to your staff and visitors;
- Promote the ENERGY STAR name and symbol according to the Guidelines; and,
- Train staff on the use of the ENERGY STAR symbol (training material is available from NRCan).
Mackenzie Health Richmond Hill Hospital
Mackenzie Health Richmond Hill Hospital promotes ENERGY STAR qualified products when purchasing equipment (where available). The ultimate goal is to improve the hospital's ecological footprint through raising staff awareness when purchasing energy-using equipment and products, that can help reduce the environmental impact of actions taken at home and at work. With the use of ENERGY STAR qualified products Mackenzie Health Richmond Hill will reduce its overall energy and resource use with the assistance of every hospital member.
The Ottawa Hospital (TOH)
The Ottawa Hospital plays an active role in promoting and improving health within its community. This includes the environmental health of the community and with this in mind, TOH has put its support behind Canada's ENERGY STAR program by becoming an official ENERGY STAR Participant. As a Participant, TOH is doing their part to increase public awareness of the growing list of opportunities for ENERGY STAR qualified products to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change and the need to reduce their ecological footprint. They are also implementing internal purchasing policies and educating staff and third-party firms with which they deal on the necessity to consider ENERGY STAR qualified products whenever product replacement or new purchases are discussed. Together with their IT Team, TOH has made tremendous progress in converting the majority of their computers and peripherals to meet the ENERGY STAR standard and they continue throughout their three campuses to educate and incite careful consideration of energy efficiency in all redevelopment and purchasing initiatives.
ENERGY STAR HELP is delivered through a collaborative partnership between My Sustainable Canada and the Canadian Coalition for Green Health Care. Both organisations are ENERGY STAR participants.
