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Hi, my name is Katie Uhlmann and I'm here to talk to you about how to work with your
condo board to green your condo. Today, we're here at the historic Merchandise Building
in downtown Toronto. There are a vast number of reasons to ensure that your unit and building
are energy efficient. In addition to reducing greenhouse gas emissions you can expect lower
utility bills, increased resale value and improved air quality in your building.
There are currently over 2,000 green condo units in Toronto and it's easy to get started
if you want to add your unit to this growing list. I think it's important to educate yourself
and others about the possibilities in the building because this is the best way to get
people on board. People have to understand why they should be interested in making changes
in the building, and if they do they are more likely to commit and be part of the green
committee. The best way to get started to jot down a
list of goals you have for your own unit, but as well as the building. And once you
have that list, you can then talk to other people in your building about it. You can
send a survey out by email or you can post a survey at concierge if you have one or just
get people to answer directly to you. After you have received the feedback, it's
time to plan a meeting. You can let other people know by posting notices in high traffic
areas around the building I think it's also important when you start a green committee,
if there are other committees in the building you need to work with them to address their
concerns as well. Getting together to talk about issues in your building will make your
goals seem more feasible because of the number of people involved. It's also a great way
to get to know other members in your condo community. At the meeting, you really talk
about key areas such as water efficiency, electricity, waste management, maintenance,
repairs and if you want, a rooftop garden. We just had our organic bins implemented.
We felt like there was a definite need for some sort of education and awareness built
for the tenants. Really the idea is to engage with residents and the board and to bring
everyone together and talk about issues they are actually passionate about. What might
be important to me might not be as important to someone else, but when your coming together
as a whole everyone can then do research on topics they are most interested in. So the
topic I'm most passionate would be energy conservation. I've been an over consumer
in the past and as I've been educated I've learned that I can make a difference. Going
out and doing the research was an easy part. There are other opportunities such as bulk
purchasing for individual units or special deals you can get on building wide initiatives
by talking to other people in your building, and coming up with a green committee your
better able to address those concerns. Every condo building has a condo board. The condo
board is made up of elected members and it is their job to consider the best interests
of building tenants and the building as a whole.
Condo buildings especially haven't made substantial strides yet. It's really reducing water consumption,
it's sort of the next frontier. Is it because it's so much individual unit work that would
need to be done? Yeah it's really a behavioral thing right,
it's really sort of education people on how to conserve the resource You will need to
approach the board once your green committee has made a list of proposed changes. Remember
that the board's primary concern is the financial feasibility of all new projects.
We just put in the energy efficient boilers and that was quite a significant financial
investment for this year, so some of the ideas we come up here during our meeting we may
not be able to implement them this year. The board will also have a set of established
rules and guidelines that you must adhere to when making any major changes to the building.
Once you have the guidelines from the board and their approval, you can start to set your
plan into action. Whether you're starting with activities for individual condo units
or building-wide initiatives, there are a number of support programs to help you on
your journey. One such initiative offered by the City of Toronto is the Better Buildings
Partnership, or BBP. In addition to helping building owners and managers understand which
retrofits would be most advantageous for their building, BBP also helps with incentives.
Take the time to research these incentives as you work with your green committee and
condo board to improve the environmental sustainability of your building.