We’ve recently completed our Climate Smart greenhouse gas inventory assessment and are thrilled with the reductions in our carbon emissions so far. Our first two Bria Communities, Magnolia Gardens and The Waterford, as well as the Coast Tsawwassen Inn (CTI) became members in 2010. Our newest Bria Community, Sunridge Gardens, joined the program this year.

The reductions in our greenhouse gas emissions have been quite drastic over the past few years and we’re very happy we joined the Climate Smart program. We appreciate that it not only helps organizations operate more sustainably, but also helps businesses come up with solutions that will save them money and make them more competative. 

In the last four years, Magnolia Gardens and The Waterford have done a lot to reduce their emissions and together have reduced their total emissions by 221.94 tonnes of CO2 per year. This translates into a 30% decrease in yearly greenhouse gas emissions!

Since their first Climate Smart assessment 4 years ago, the Coast Tsawwassen Inn and adjoining restaurant Browns Socialhouse have implemented an aggressive waste management system to divert more materials away from landfills. They’ve now collectively reduced their annual greenhouse gas emissions, generated from waste, by 70%.

Despite their noteworthy reductions in emissions from waste, we noticed after completing this assessment that the Coast Tsawwassen Inn’s total CO2 emissions are higher now than they were in 2010. This is likely due to the hotel’s restaurant being closed from January until July of 2010 – the time between when the previous restaurant, Beaches, closed and the new restaurant, Browns Socialhouse, opened.

Not operating a restaurant for half of 2010 would have reduced the building's energy usage significantly, which explains why the building’s energy use is now higher than in 2010. As part of our commitment to operational excellence, we are scheduling energy use assessments with Fortis and BC Hydro. These assessments are scheduled to ensure that the building is not using more energy than necessary. We’re glad that our participation in Climate Smart brought our attention to the building's energy use, because otherwise we may not have noticed this increase.  

We are currently working on reduction strategies for each of our sites and we look forward to watching our greenhouse gas emissions continue to shrink going forward.