NovAtel obtained LEED certification, ensuring the construction of its Calgary office building met all sustainability standards required.Supplied
Energy efficiency is a challenge for tech companies like Calgary-based NovAtel Inc., which requires labs and server rooms operating with air conditioning 24/7 to support its business of providing positioning solutions for agriculture, aviation, marine, transportation and other uses.
And yet NovAtel, part of Hexagon, has implemented an impressive environmental management system that includes everything from solar panels on the roof to LED lighting in the offices and free electric vehicle charging for employees in the parking garage of the Calgary office.
“The first thing we achieved a decade ago was getting certified to the ISO 14001 environmental standard,” says Mike Sieben, senior director of infrastructure and standards for Hexagon’s Autonomous Solutions division. “It’s about identifying things like energy use and waste generation, tracking them and continuously working to improve them.”
The Calgary office obtained LEED construction certification, which requires meeting sustainability standards in materials, energy efficiency, water usage and indoor air quality. They also installed solar panels on the roof.
“It’s not enough to cover our entire energy consumption, but we were able to cover some of it – as much as we’re allowed to in Alberta, since there are limitations on solar panels,” says Sieben.
The next challenge is a mandate from NovAtel’s Stockholm-based parent company, Hexagon, to eliminate all carbon emissions by 2030.
“We’ll have to convert our natural gas boilers to geothermal, heat pumps or electric boilers,” Sieben says. “Europe has green mandates for suppliers and customers, and with Hexagon being a global company, it is important for us to accommodate many of these initiatives in our facilities.”
As the company’s continuous improvement specialist, Cathy Hopkins oversees its environmental management system and chairs its environmental committee.
“The building management system was built to a green standard with high-efficiency systems,” she says. “We’ve replaced fluorescent bulbs with LEDs and installed blinds that automatically lower and rise according to the sun, and lights that turn on when you walk into a room and turn off on a timer.”
The green initiatives extend to individual office and eating areas.
“We’re constantly looking at waste management and how to educate our employees,” Hopkins says. “We made a decision not to put garbage bins at every desk. We want people to think about using a reusable container instead of a plastic bag, and in the cafeteria, we have china place settings instead of paper plates.”
Hopkins’ committee also established a bike-to-work program that includes a bike storage room with a repair station as well as lockers and showers. “We give quarterly prizes to employees who have logged the most mileage,” she says.
The parking garage is equipped with electric vehicle chargers that are provided to employees for free. “We recently doubled the number, from 10 to 20, and they’re full, so we’re looking at getting more,” says Sieben. “A lot of our employees are on board with electric vehicles.”
Sieben believes the company’s growth over the past few years presents opportunities for spreading its environmental programs across the industry.
“We’ve acquired locations around the world with different technologies and integrated them, and they’re looking at our building as a model of a green workplace,” he says. “It’s exciting, because you realize there’s a big impact you can have around the world.”
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Advertising feature produced by Canada’s Top 100 Employers, a division of Mediacorp Canada Inc. The Globe and Mail’s editorial department was not involved.