NEWS RELEASE
May 14, 2009
UNION GAS AND THE WATERLOO REGION DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD JOIN FORCES TO HELP THE ENVIRONMENT
Free Energy Saving Kits to Kickstart Energy Savings for Staff and Students
Waterloo, ON - Union Gas and the Waterloo Region District School Board are helping the environment by giving out free energy conservation tools to the staff and students at 10 of the Board’s schools in the City of Waterloo[1].
Each participating household will receive one free Energy Saving Kit (ESK), containing an energy efficient showerhead, kitchen faucet aerator, bathroom aerator and two metres of foam pipe insulation. Retail value of the items is $35 and once installed, can deliver up to $100 in energy savings every year.
If all the families from the participating schools install the items contained in the ESK, that will help eliminate close to 375,000 kilograms of carbon monoxide emissions - the equivalent of what 40,000 trees can remove in a single year – and total water consumption will be reduced by more than 47 million litres!
"A central element of our commitment to environmental stewardship is the design and delivery of energy efficiency programs, including education and energy saving tools," says Murray Costello, District Manager, Union Gas. "The lesson for students here is that by lowering their energy use, families can help the environment and save money too."
Students will be given a letter to help their parents get involved in the program, and the school board will assist Union Gas in distributing the ESK’s to students in participating schools in early June.
"The Waterloo District School Board is firmly committed to energy conservation, our environment and our community," says Marilyn Marklevitz, Executive Superintendent of Business and Financial Services. "This initiative supplements the work we’ve already undertaken to reduce the energy footprint of our own facilities. In addition, it supports the efforts of our students who support a range of energy and waste reduction programs."
For more information, including video instructions on how to install the items contained in the ESK visit uniongas.com/esk.
About Union Gas
Union Gas Limited is a major Canadian natural gas
storage, transmission and distribution company based in Ontario with
nearly 100 years of experience and service to customers. The
distribution business serves 1.3 million residential, commercial and
industrial customers in more than 400 communities across northern,
southwestern and eastern Ontario. Union Gas's growing storage and
transmission business offers premium storage and transportation
services to customers at the Dawn Hub, the largest underground
storage facility in Canada and one of the largest in North America.
It offers customers an important link in the movement of natural gas
from Western Canadian and U.S. supply basins to markets in central
Canada and the northeast U.S. A Spectra Energy company, Union Gas
has assets of $4 billion and approximately 2,200 employees. Visit
uniongas.com for more information.
About the Waterloo Region District School Board
The Waterloo Region District School Board is one of
the larger school boards in Ontario serving 60,000 elementary and
secondary students in the cities of Cambridge, Kitchener and
Waterloo and the townships of North Dumfries, Wellesley, Wilmot and
Woolwich.
[1] Union Gas Energy Saving Kits will be distributed in Abraham Erb P.S., Cedarbrae P.S., Edna Staebler P.S., Empire P.S., Lester B. Pearson P.S., Lexington P.S., Lincoln Heights P.S., MacGregor P.S., N.A. MacEachern P.S. and Northlake Woods P.S.
CONTACTS:
Union Gas
Andrea Stass
Manager, Public Affairs and Media Relations
Ph: 1-800-571-8446 ext. 5490
Cell: 519 365-1010
Fax: 519 436-4621
E-mail: astass@uniongas.com
Waterloo Region District School Board
Margaret Coleman
Manager of communications
519-570-0003 X4137
Margaret_coleman@wrdsb.on.ca
