Building on the momentum of last year’s projects—like the LED retrofit at the Animal Holding Facility and a helium recovery system for nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrometers—this year’s cohort brings fresh energy and ambition to our Climate Action Plan’s four core pillars: waste, energy & buildings, transportation, and land use.

Each winning proposal stood out for its environmental impact, cost-saving potential, and clear plan to repay funds within the required 10-year window.

“This year’s submissions were truly inspiring,” says Raman Dhaliwal, Associate Vice-President (Administration). “We’re delighted to invest in six projects that will help us realize our net zero greenhouse gas emissions goals, while engaging the UM community in hands-on sustainability action in pursuit of our Climate Action Plan.”

Green Investment Fund projects

Fixing fume hoods

Fume hood.

Energy consumption from heating buildings is one of UM’s largest source of emissions, with labs being some of the highest energy consuming spaces on campus.

Fume hoods – enclosed workstations that exhaust harmful fumes to the outside environment – are an integral part of lab safety. Unfortunately, fume hood sashes are regularly left open after experiments are complete. Each fume hood sash left open can have more impact on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions than leaving the front door of your home open in winter.

Two Green Investment Fund projects are tackling energy loss from fume hoods.

Shut your sash!

Most fume hoods are variable air volume hoods – which exhaust air in proportion to the sash height. Essentially, the higher the sash height, the greater the amount of air exhausted and the greater amount of energy used.

An educational campaign spearheaded by the Science Students’ Association, with support from Daniel Heschuk, program development specialist in the Faculty of Science, will highlight the high energy requirements of fume hoods, beginning with a university-wide “Shut your Sash” contest to build awareness and engagement. The Environmental Health and Safety Office is updating their Fume Hood Program to include training materials and new fume hood stickers to not only identify optimal sash heights for safety and lower-energy use, but to help advertise the Shut the Sash campaign.

With significant uptake, this project has the potential to realize annual energy savings of $342,600 and a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by up to 1,000 tonnes annually.

Fume hood presence detection program

A walkthrough of select labs in December 2024 found all were left open after term had ended. If these had been left open during the winter break, they would have had a significant impact on energy consumption and GHG emissions.

The UM Fume Hood Presence Detection Program will install 79 fume hood presence sensors in Parker building 200 level undergrad labs, integrated with the fume hood control/exhaust systems.

When no user is detected near the sensor, the fume hood will reduce airflow through the fume hood, resulting in a reduction of energy needed to heat and move more air into the lab. This project is estimated to reduce energy costs by $59,250, decreasing UM’s GHG emissions by 160 tonnes annually.

Cardboard recycling for the win

Cardboard recycling makes up 40 tonnes of the overall UM waste stream. The current cardboard baler in the basement of Helen Glass is at the end of its lifespan, and replacing it, along with adding an additional cardboard baler at Pembina Hall, will divert even more cardboard waste from the landfill.

Baling cardboard reduces contamination in the recycling stream and earns the university a rebate. This project will reduce waste going to the landfill and save $9,640 annually.

Electromagnetic air filters

What if we could increase indoor air quality and reduce waste and energy consumption at the same time? A team from Operations and Maintenance is leading a project to replace traditional cardboard pleated air filters with electromagnetic filters which capture particles 40 times smaller than traditional filters and outperform HEPA filters at the viral range.

The pilot project in the Wallace Building will also reduce waste, since only the fiberglass filter media is replaced, meaning the entire filter doesn’t enter the waste stream. As the filters are more efficient, it is anticipated they will save 63,100 kWh (kilowatt-hours) of electricity annually, reduce demand on infrastructure and save $5,000 a year.

Lights, safety… parking

Upgrading the Bannatyne campus parkade with improved LED light fixtures and occupancy sensors will reduce the energy consumption of the parkade by more than 130,000 kWh/year, while providing a safer parking experience for both those driving and walking in the parkade. As a bonus, maintenance costs will be reduced by a further 50 per cent, for annual cost savings of more than $10,000.

Smart heating and cooling

This pilot project will see the installation of data acquisition devices on a variety of existing heating and cooling sensors on equipment in three buildings: EITC-E3, Biological Sciences and UMSU University Centre. Using an algorithm, pattern recognition techniques and machine learning, the system will highlight areas where energy consumption can be decreased, equipment efficiency will be improved and mechanical issues will be detected quickly, extending the life of the equipment. This, in turn, will enhance comfort in heating and cooling.

Energy savings of at least two to seven per cent are projected. These energy reductions will reduce greenhouse gas emissions, energy use, water use, waste and demand on infrastructure, with projected annual cost savings between $21,000 to $76,000.

Got a project idea?

This year’s application period for the UM Green Investment Fund will be opening soon! Keep an eye on UM Today for all the details.

If you have any questions about the Green Investment Fund or its projects, reach out to greenfund@umanitoba.ca.

The 2024 Green Investment Fund offers a unique opportunity to bring your innovative ideas to life. Whether you’re a student, faculty or staff member, this is your chance to secure up to $100,000 in revolving funding for projects that promote environmental stewardship and sustainable practices. 

Last year, Mark Fry, associate professor, and his team in the biological sciences department applied to have the existing fluorescent fixtures in the 13,000 square-foot Animal Holding Facility replaced with an energy-efficient LED system.  
 
“The lights in part of the facility were old, installed when the Duff Roblin Building was constructed in the late 1960s,” says Fry. “These lights were nearing their end of life, and needed to be replaced with something that was appropriate for an animal facility.” 

Fry notes there were several possible choices to upgrade the lighting, but LED lights would provide quality lighting and were much more energy efficient than alternatives. However, they were also more expensive. 

“Sometimes, a choice may be a bit less expensive, but may not be the best choice for environmental sustainability,” says Fry. “The Green Investment Fund will certainly help make sustainability easier to choose in those cases where the more sustainable choice is more expensive.” 
 
Another project funded last year was a helium recovery system. Helium is critical to chemistry research on campus, but it’s a non-renewable resource. The chemistry department proposed the installation of a helium capture-and-liquification system to mitigate waste. 
 
“This would generate a closed loop system that would ultimately reduce the need for us to purchase liquid helium from external vendors,” says John Sorensen, professor and acting head of the department of chemistry. “This will reduce costs considerably and make our helium system more sustainable. It will also insulate us from price and supply shocks.”  

Revolving fund 

To be able to fund sustainable projects into the future, the Green Investment Fund is a revolving fund. Therefore, projects must demonstrate the ability to repay the awarded amount from generated revenue or cost savings within 10 years. 

“I would recommend that units carefully evaluate how savings would be realized and how those savings could be used to repay the GIF investment,” says Sorensen. “In our case the savings from needing to purchase external liquid helium will allow us to meet this expectation. 

Fry notes that in the initial consultation of the lighting project, Physical Plant provided a rough estimate of how much electricity would be saved by using LED lights. That, along with the financial incentive from the GIF, helped make the project decision easier. 

“The application process was easy, and I’d recommend that others who are planning a project evaluate whether the project could be helped by the Green Investment Fund.   

Apply to Green Investment Fund today.
 

Feeling inspired?  

Have a look around your area to see where the Green Investment Fund could make a difference. Here are some possible ideas: 

• Replacing inefficient equipment and appliances with energy efficient ones (eg. -80°C freezers)
• Projects ensuring fume hood sashes in labs are closed when not in use
• Switching to renewable energy sources
• Replacing disposable materials/supplies with reusable ones
• Implementing practices that reduce consumption of materials/supplies
• Recycling/repurposing resources 

The 2024 Green Investment Fund is now accepting applications, offering a unique opportunity to bring your innovative ideas to life. Whether you’re a student, faculty or staff member, this is your chance to secure up to $100,000 in revolving funding for projects that promote environmental stewardship and sustainable practices.

GIF details

• Funding Range: $10,000 – $100,000
• Eligibility: Open to students, faculty, and staff of UM
• Collaboration: Projects can be solo or a collaborative effort across multiple groups but must be sponsored by a faculty or administrative unit.

Application Deadline

Apply to the UM Green Investment Fund by 4 p.m. on December 20, 2024.

Project Criteria

Your project proposal should aim to:

• Reduce greenhouse gas emissions
• Reduce energy use
• Reduce water use
• Reduce waste
• Incorporate renewable energy
• Reduce demand on infrastructure

To be able to fund sustainable projects into the future, the Green Investment Fund is a revolving fund. Therefore, projects must demonstrate the ability to repay the awarded amount from generated revenue or cost savings within 10 years.

About the Green Investment Fund

Established in 2023, the UM Green Investment Fund was created to spur community involvement in helping UM reach our climate action goals and to encourage meaningful collaboration between faculty, staff, and students in the name of sustainability.

If you have any questions, please email greenfund@umanitoba.ca.

“We’re thrilled to announce this year’s Green Investment Fund recipients and grateful for the careful thought and innovative thinking demonstrated by all applicants,” said Raman Dhaliwal, associate vice-president (Admin).

The funded projects will tackle sustainability issues through the lens of the UM Climate Action Plan’s (CAP) four pillars: waste, energy and buildings, transportation, and land.

Green Investment Fund projects

Out like a light

The first of the two projects selected, which falls under the energy can buildings CAP pillar, is the replacement of old fluorescent light fixtures in the Duff Roblin Animal Holding Facility. These fixtures are not energy-efficient.

The Animal Holding Facility is a 13,000 square-foot facility that relies solely on artificial lighting, as it is in the basement of the Duff Roblin building. Mark Fry, associate professor in the Department of Biological Science, has proposed that the existing fluorescent fixtures be replaced with an energy-efficient LED system, which would save roughly $2,000 per year in electricity costs.

The new LED system is also expected to last more than 20 years, amounting to a minimum of $40,000 in savings over its lifespan.

High-pitched recycling?

It may surprise many UM community members to learn just how critical helium is to chemistry research on campus. 900 litres of the inert gas is used every year in the operation of four nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrometers, which are incorporated into both research and teaching.

As the only non-renewable element on Earth, there are no feasible alternatives to the use of helium, which is why Ute Kothe, Dean of Extended Education and former Chemistry department head, and team are proposing the installation of a helium capture-and-liquification system to mitigate waste.

This system will recover 90 per cent of the used helium, helping to prevent irreversible helium loss and dramatically reducing carbon emissions caused by the spectrometers. It’ll also reduce annual helium costs by at least $25,000, while reducing auxiliary carbon emissions even further by reducing the transport of liquid helium to UM.

Projects funded through other means

Though they don’t fully meet Green Investment Fund requirements, the committee identified three other projects that will viably demonstrate UM’s commitment to sustainability within our community and for all Manitobans. These projects will receive funding through other budgets within the Office of Sustainability.

Bikes on bikes on bikes

Simon Wang, Director of Facilities, has proposed double-stacking bike racks, which would be installed near the Active Living Centre instead of the traditional bike racks planned for the cage. This will more than double the capacity from 28 to 60 bikes in a space that would normally fit just two cars.

Flame efficiency

The second project aims to reduce UM’s carbon footprint by studying the burners in the power plant, which relies on natural gas combustion to produce power. Our Energy and Combustion Laboratory in the Department of Mechanical Engineering has developed significant expertise in improving combustion efficiency, and their goal would be to analyze and optimize the existing burners in order to save energy.

Operation: Recycle

With the health care sectors significant environmental impact due to its high consumption of resources and proportional waste, one team is proposing better recycling systems in operating rooms throughout the province. Recycling bins in ORs is actually rather hit or miss, so Sydnee Tuckett and Sarvesh Logestty are suggesting recycling standards, along with staff education programs for proper waste streams. This project has been referred to Shared Health for funding, as its implications are far-reaching for Manitoba health care.

Got a project idea?

This year’s application period for the UM Green Investment Fund will be opening soon! Keep an eye on UM Today for all the details.

If you have any questions about the Green Investment Fund or its projects, reach out to greenfund@umanitoba.ca.