Guelph, Ont., November 1, 2023 – The City of Guelph is excited to be the first municipality in Canada to be certified under the globally recognized ISO 50001:2018 Energy Management Systems Standard for its corporate-wide energy management system.
As part of this system, the City has and continues to implement energy efficiency measures across more than 100 facilities including arenas, recreation centres and museums, libraries, fire stations, parks, water and wastewater treatment plants, and waste management facilities, and around 900 vehicles including ambulances, fire trucks, transit buses, snowplows, and rink ice resurfacers.
By implementing an ISO 50001 standard compliant energy management system, the City is:
- Setting clear energy performance objectives and targets for the whole organization that support climate change mitigation efforts in everyday operations.
- Continuously monitoring and evaluating the organization’s energy use and greenhouse gas emissions.
- Using data to understand and make informed decisions to improve energy efficiency.
- Taking action to improve processes and upgrade equipment to reduce energy use and GHG emission.
The City of Guelph joins several notable organizations with ISO 50001 certification in Canada including:
- Marys Cement (now part of Votorantim Cimentos)
- ArcelorMittal Dofasco
- 3M
- Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (now part of Stellantis)
- Bell Canada
- Hilton
- MacEwan University
Quick facts
- The ISO 50001 standard ensures that any organization that adopts the standard, whether a municipality, manufacturer, hospital, or university, follows global best practices to manage and improve how the organization uses energy.
- The energy efficiency initiatives improve the City’s overall energy performance and reduce energy costs across both facility and fleet operations.
Quotes
“This way, an organization has a robust energy management system that gives it the ability to track how things are going and improve how things are being done. This results in reducing energy consumption and environmental impact and helps save money. The ISO 50001 standard helps us continuously improve on the good work we’ve already done and holds us accountable for reporting our ongoing progress and to keep moving forward.”
– Bryan Ho-Yan, Manager, Corporate Energy and Climate Change, City of Guelph
“Implementing this highest international standard in energy management demonstrates the City’s commitment to reducing energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions and is a foundational step in supporting Guelph’s Race To Zero as the City works toward net zero carbon community status by 2050.”
– Jayne Holmes, Deputy Chief Administrative Officer, Infrastructure, Development and Enterprise Services, City of Guelph
“We’re thrilled the Government of Canada supports our work toward a net-zero-carbon future for Guelph.”
– Cam Guthrie, Mayor of Guelph
“By being certified to ISO 50001, the City of Guelph is showing its commitment to implementing and maintaining international best practices related to smart and sustainable energy management. This accomplishment should be celebrated and serve as an example to other government agencies and organizations that implementing proactive environmental practices will help us all on our critical journey to net zero.”
– Bruno Samuel, Americas Marketing Director, BSI
Additional resources
- The City is grateful for financial support from Natural Resources Canada through the Energy Efficiency for Buildings program. This program is designed to help improve organizational energy performance while cutting energy costs.
- The City’s ISO 50001 certification included a comprehensive third-party audit conducted by non-profit organization British Standards Institution, one of the world’s largest certification bodies.
Media contact
Bryan Ho-Yan, Manager, Corporate Energy and Climate Change
Facilities and Energy Management
City of Guelph
519-822-1260 extension 2672
[email protected]