This morning a number of local businesses were brought together by a joint initiative between the Peterborough Business Advisory Centre and Sustainable Peterborough.  The group gathered at the GPA EDC to hear David Whitehouse, Director Corporate & Customer Services/Conservation Officer of Peterborough Utilities and Alex Mortlock from Green Business Peterborough speak about a number of cost saving programs and incentives for small businesses.

Whitehouse spoke to the group on the Small Business Lighting, Retrofit and Peaksaver plus programs.

The Small Business Lighting program provides qualifying businesses up to $1,000 worth of energy efficient lighting and equipment upgrades as well as access to further incentives.  PDI supplies, installs, cleans up and recycles – making it easier for the business owner.  For more information on eligibility visit the saveONenergy website.

The Retrofit program addresses the capital costs associated with investing and participating in a retrofit program. With the Retrofit program businesses can instal energy efficient measures and earn up to 50% of their project costs.  There are a number of financial incentives available to businesses who replace existing equipment and installing new control systems that will improve efficiency of operations.

The program offers three Tracks to conservation,

• prescriptive
• engineered
• custom.

Prescriptive provides you with the ease of selecting from a defined list of end-use measures with a corresponding per/unit incentive, while the engineered track provides a series of preset calculations worksheets that help you estimate reductions in peak demand and/or electricity consumption that apply to the installation of more energy -efficient equipment or solutions.

For those more complex or innovative solutions, not covered in the previously mentioned tracks. there is the custom track.  The custom track evaluates demand and energy performance on technology, equipment and system improvements. Incentives are paid after installation and once the savings have been measured and verified.

Whitehouse noted that the benefits of these programs are that the reduce operating costs, energy, increase occupant comfort and productivity and adds value to property or asset. Many retrofits pay for themselves in under 2 years which represents pure profit to the business.

Alex Mortlock, from Peterborough GreenUp spoke to the group about a recent program launched through Peterborough GreenUp and the Peterborough Chamber of Commerce called Green Business Peterborough. The program will recognize businesses that have pledged or have implemented strategies for waste reduction, energy conservation and/or any form of sustainable business practices.

There are a host of incentives for business owners to become part of the Green Business Program:

• Recognition on the Green Business Peterborough website
• Recognition on the Chamber of Commerce website
• Recognition on the Peterborough GreenUp website
• Press coverage, promotional events and special recognition
• Window decals, certificates and promotional materials for your business
• Green Business Peterborough logo to use in your advertising

This session was the first of a number of sessions being held over the next year to promote sustainable business practices. They fulfill a mandate set forward by Sustainable Peterborough’s Plan for Economic Development in that it provides the business community with concrete tools from which to build or transition to sustainable business practices.

Keep coming back to our website for more information on how you can save through energy conservation!