{"id":2847,"date":"2013-05-06T17:49:39","date_gmt":"2013-05-06T17:49:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/informatech.energir.com\/?p=2847"},"modified":"2021-04-15T15:32:02","modified_gmt":"2021-04-15T20:32:02","slug":"natural-gas-a-natural-ally-in-sustainable-development","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/informatech.energir.com\/?p=2847&lang=en","title":{"rendered":"Natural gas: A natural ally in sustainable development"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Early in 2013, Gaz Métro published its Sustainable Development Roadmap, which describes its major energy projects, along with its orientations for 2013-2017. This therefore seems to be an ideal occasion for an update on the company’s achievements, as well as on its customers’ projects. In fact, over the last 13 years, the various financial assistance programs offered by Gaz Métro have enabled natural gas users to save energy and reduce their environmental footprint. <\/span><\/p>\n

The results of these energy projects, both internal and external, illustrate the advantages of natural gas in achieving sustainable development objectives.<\/p>\n

Setting an example by taking concrete steps<\/p>\n

Gaz Métro integrates its environmental concerns into all its daily activities. Here are a few examples:<\/p>\n

Its environmental management system is certified ISO 14001, the standard established by the International Standards Organization in 1996. Gaz Métro was the first natural gas utility in Canada to obtain this certification. This standard enables companies to structure their environmental management practices based on clearly defined objectives and policies. Some of the indicators that Gaz Métro analyzes, measures and monitors include the consumption of water and energy at its Head Office and business offices, the recycling of residual materials, etc.<\/p>\n

The renovations to its Head Office in 2004 earned Gaz Métro LEED-CI Silver certification, which is awarded when improvements made to the interior of a commercial building meet high environmental and energy standards. An article<\/a> about this project can be found in the Informa-TECH bulletin published in June 2009.<\/p>\n

Lastly, a part of the vehicles in Gaz Métro’s fleet will be replaced by ones that run on natural gas, thereby reducing its greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) by 25% in the transportation sector alone.<\/p>\n

The above measures show that Gaz Métro is taking concrete steps to reduce its environmental footprint.<\/p>\n

Energy Efficiency Plan yields spectacular results<\/p>\n

The Energy Efficiency Plan (EEP) comprises a group of financial assistance programs that support Gaz Métro customers in carrying out cost-effective, efficient projects. Since 2000, more than 86,000 customers have benefitted from these programs and have reduced their GHG emissions by 578,000 tonnes.<\/p>\n

Over the last five years, an average of 1,300,000 cubic metres of natural gas has been saved in the residential market. These savings, which represent a reduction of about 2,470 tonnes of GHGs per year, were achieved mostly through the installation of thermostats and high-efficiency heating appliances.<\/p>\n

In the commercial, institutional and industrial market, more than 65,000,000 cubic metres of natural gas have been saved over the last five years. The great diversity of the projects shows the ingenuity of participants from this sector. More than half of the savings stemmed from the installation of high-efficiency appliances for heating and for producing hot water: infrared units, efficient boilers and water heaters. However, it is unlikely that simply modernizing heating appliances was responsible for the reduction in GHGs; the implementation of energy-saving measures helped reduce them further. Here are some popular measures that contributed to improving the energy performance of buildings:<\/p>\n