Through research and development, we’re looking at new ways to provide energy solutions to make the communities we serve more sustainable.
As an active member of Sustainable Waterloo Region and ClimateActionWR, we’re on the leading edge of sustainability efforts in the communities we serve and we work closely with community leaders to implement meaningful climate action and reduce emissions. We’re committed to a 20 percent Greenhouse Gas reduction, as well as a target of 80 percent waste diversion and an 80 percent water footprint reduction by 2025. We also work daily to embrace new technologies and advance environmental stewardship throughout our organization and in the natural environment.
Some of our sustainability efforts include:
- A recycling and waste diversion program that includes the recycling of industrial waste, old poles, wire, metal materials, and electronics, as well as pens, printer cartridges, various types of lightbulbs, coffee bags and depleted batteries.
- Employee led environmental awareness initiatives, such as neighbourhood clean-up
- An employee-run Green Team committed to increasing our environmental awareness
- Our Waterloo Service Centre is an LEED certified building with energy efficiency features that include rainwater diversion, ground source heat pumps to cool and heat office space, LED lighting, and drainage specifically designed to reduce runoff and prevent contaminants from flowing into the Conestogo River.
- A ground mount solar photovoltaic system was installed at our Waterloo Service Centre in 2021. The system will generate about 244,500 kWh a year and allow Enova to offset approximately 27 percent of its electricity needs from the grid.
- A rooftop solar photovoltaic system was commissioned at our Kitchener office in May, 2021. The energy generated by the system is offsetting the electricity consumption of the service centre and office.
For more information on the environmental features of our Waterloo service centre, please see the posters below:
Reforestation
Enova places great value on our urban forest. Although trees provide many benefits to our community, tree limbs and branches near powerlines can also be dangerous.
Tree branches can hit or fall on power lines and become energized, posing a safety risk to anyone who is nearby. They can also cause damage to the powerlines, causing unplanned outages.
Our Forestry Crew works year-round to trim tree limbs and brush that are too close to powerlines to ensure a safe, reliable supply of electricity to homes and businesses.
To help minimize the impact of our work, we provide an annual forestry grant to communities we service. These funds are used to plant new trees to help restore and enhance our local tree canopy.
