Text Size: A A A
Contrast: On/ Off
Ottawa Catholic Schools - Environmental Action
You are here: Home Our Board Our Committees Environmental Stewardship Committee

Environmental Stewardship Committee

  • Print

The Board’s Environmental Stewardship Committee meets several times a year to translate environmental concerns into action through building resources, forming coalitions and challenging schools and their communities to get involved in preserving our planet and future. There is an Environmental Stewardship Committee in every school, working throughout the school year to address independent needs and foster a healthy dialogue within classrooms.

Energy Management


The Ottawa Catholic School Board's Planning and Facilities Department has been successful in developing a framework for energy management and conservation that works to reduce expenditures on energy utilities within the Board office and school facilities. The framework involves all school and administrative staff as well as students and authorized visitors, by having everyone take personal responsibility and ownership for the success of this initiative.

During the 2004-2005 school year, the Planning and Facilities Department introduced an Energy Management Plan that focuses on conserving energy within the Board office and across all school facilities.

Each school has an Energy Management Committee that meets regularly to develop plans and programs that work to conserve energy. Special awards are given to schools that meet reduction targets for site-based energy conservation initiatives. Energy management plans encompass stewardship of resources and provide leadership to staff and students, while measuring success. The measures that were put in place since 2004 have had dramatic results – both for our beautiful planet Earth and the Board’s bottom line. Electricity consumption has gone down by 27.3% and natural gas consumption has been reduced by 23.8% – far exceeding the provincial target of 10%. These reductions occurred despite the fact that the Board’s floor space has grown by 4.4% over that time. 

Our efforts to reduce energy consumption has resulted in a total of $12,472,241 in avoided costs - expenses that the Board would have had to pay if the energy management plan was not in effect.

How did we achieve such incredible savings?

Three different things affect energy use and conservation – capital investments, operating practices, and behavior. Our Board has been investing in energy efficient capital improvement projects such as lighting retrofits and natural gas conversions. The Planning and Facilities Department has also worked with school custodial and maintenance teams to fine tune operational practices such as establishing temperature set points and scheduling heating and cooling systems to turn on or off at specific times. Above all, there has been a decided shift in the behavior of staff and students throughout the Board. Each school has an Energy Management committee that meets regularly to examine and discuss energy conservation plans and programs for their school. All staff and students are asked to take personal responsibility and ownership to contribute to the success of each school-based initiative. Small things such as ensuring the lights are off when a room is not in use, or computers are powered down at the end of the day, all add up to make a big difference. Staff and students have done an excellent job of adjusting their behavior and embracing a culture of energy conservation. All involved can be justifiably proud of their contribution in making the Board a leader in this field.

Contact Us

Phone: 613-224-4455 ext 2300
Fax: 613-224-2353
E-mail:  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.


Environmental Stewardship Committee
570 West Hunt Club Road
Nepean, Ontario K2G 3R4

Waste Management - Waste Audits and Reduction Plans

Waste management is everyone’s responsibility. We must take ownership of our waste and deal with it in a responsible manner. Our schools play a vital role in the success of the Board’s waste management program, limiting the amount of waste sent to our landfills.

The Environmental Stewardship Committee assists all schools in coordinating waste reduction plans and waste audits. Waste audits are completed to determine how much waste is being created and what portion of this waste can be diverted from landfills into recycling programs. The audit helps children see what and how much is being thrown out. The audit gives each school baseline data from which achievable goals can be set to Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle.

Waste audits increase awareness of our civic and global responsibilities as stewards of the Earth.

How much have we saved?

 
The energy consumption savings that have occurred since the inception of the plan correspond to eliminating the emissions of 7,131 cars, and putting money back into our programs and classrooms where it is most needed. Now that's amazing progress! We must congratulate our students and staff for putting forward such a huge effort!