A message from Triovest, a Colliers Company:
To institute the continuous improvements that ATCO Centre Edmonton has undergone to earn accolades for its energy efficiency, a willing tenant is necessary.
ATCO, the Alberta-based global energy company, has been the primary tenant of the distinctive red office tower at 10035 105 Street NW since the beginning in 1982. Triovest, which takes care of the building's many systems, maintenance, and everyday activities, relies on ATCO's cooperation to enact many of the initiatives that have made the building extraordinarily energy-efficient.
"Since everyone is aligned ... (it's) easy to save more energy," said building operator Ashwin Iyer.
The building's chief occupant sees the value of supporting such a project.
"ATCO remains committed to championing sustainability, resilience and environmental stewardship across our operations," ATCO said after ENERGY STAR Canada named ATCO Centre Edmonton one of the country's most energy-efficient office buildings. "As the builder and long-term tenant of ATCO Centre Edmonton, ATCO is extremely proud of our continued investment in the energy efficient operations, in partnership with Triovest, our property manager."
Some of the building's work on energy efficiency takes into account the schedules of the office staff. For example, the boilers and chillers come on in stages, starting early in the morning so ATCO Centre Edmonton is at a desirable temperature before the first workers arrive. Other work is done along with the tenant, such as determining when and where the lights need to be on. Triovest tries to cause as little disruption as possible with ongoing retrofits and technology upgrades, such as the changes it has made to water and air filtration.
Often the work is done on weekends or after hours, Iyer said, noting that the tenant gets a project breakdown and as much notice as possible. "And we do invite one of the tenant representatives to the meetings as well. That way they are aware of what is going on, why it's going on, and how it's going to affect (the) day-to-day."
Both Triovest and ATCO have strong safety cultures, so they continuously collaborate and share information on the best way to keep employees and contractors safe.
Other amenities in the building also support environmentally sustainable practices. Workers have access to secured electric vehicle charging stations and ports for electric bikes and scooters in the parkade, for example.
Watch this space next week for the conclusion of this series on ATCO Centre Edmonton, looking ahead to the future.