BOMA Québec Certifies The Children’s “Go Green Plus”

Friday, November 30, 2007 - 10:52
At a presentation of some sixty Go Green certificates yesterday, Joseph Ferrera, Site Coordinator, accepted on behalf of the MUHC a Go Green Plus certificate for The Children’s from Nadim Hanna, President of the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA). The MUHC was one of only sixteen organizations and the only hospital to receive the Go Green Plus distinction. Serge Sévigny, Director of Technical Services at the MUHC, seized the opportunity to thank Pierre Chénier, who is responsible for coordinating special projects, the energy efficiency programme as well as engineering and biomedical services at the Agence de la Santé et des Services sociaux de Montréal, and Gilbert Desmarais, Director General of the Association des gestionnaires de parcs immobiliers, for taking the lead to support the MUHC and the healthcare sector in general in carrying out sustainable development projects.

As the MUHC operates non-stop, 365 days of the year, we face more challenges in reducing our environmental footprint than some building operators. Every initiative has a cumulative effect. The head of BOMA’s Environment Committee noted that 173 Quebec buildings have been certified since the Go Green programme was created three years ago. Per year, these buildings alone have the potential to save one billion litres of potable water, 142 million kilowatts of energy and eighteen million tonnes of waste through recycling. Thanks go to the Technical Services team, and especially Claude Bensmihen, and other staff at The Children’s for making the changes needed to fulfill the certification criteria.

The Children’s certification adds to that of the MGH (first Go Green hospital in Canada) and the RVH (first Go Green Plus hospital in Canada), and is in keeping with our Environmental Policy and commitment to implement an Environmental Management System. We will work to certify our Montreal Chest Institute next.