For the second time in three years, FortisBC has recognized PHSA with the Efficiency in Action Award
Retrofitting a major cancer care facility is not like upgrading an office building: the work happens around patients and staff. Systems that can’t be taken offline must be carefully sequenced. And the pressure to get it right — technically, operationally, and safely — is high. At BC Cancer–Vancouver, PHSA’s energy and facilities teams did it anyway.
The centrepiece of the project is a heat recovery chiller, a system that captures heat which would otherwise be vented and wasted, and redirects it to warm the building. Combined with optimized controls that prevent unnecessary heating of unoccupied areas after hours, the upgrade is projecting: 13,306 gigajoules of natural gas saved annually, 655 tonnes of CO₂ emissions avoided each year, and over $140,000 in annual utility cost savings. Performance will be monitored and tested in the upcoming year.
The project reflects what PHSA has been building across its portfolio for years: the partnerships, institutional knowledge, and technical capacity to take on complex retrofits in high-stakes clinical environments.
With our aging infrastructure and the fact that many of our facilities need to stay open 24/7, it’s not easy to do these retrofits.” — Ghazal Ebrahimi, Energy and Carbon Emissions Manager, PHSA
That sustained commitment is what earned PHSA the FortisBC Efficiency in Action Award for the second time in three years.
The award, which honours organizations demonstrating exceptional leadership in reducing energy use and greenhouse gas emissions, reflects not just the BC Cancer–Vancouver project but PHSA’s broader track record: more than $3.5 million in FortisBC Custom Efficiency Program incentives secured over five years, supporting low carbon upgrades across BC Cancer, BC Children’s Hospital, BC Women’s Hospital and Health Centre, and beyond.
Identifying opportunities and seeking solutions in a complex setting like health care can only be done through collaborative efforts and meaningful partnerships.” — Ghazal Ebrahimi, Energy and Carbon Emissions Manager, PHSA
With PHSA’s commitment to reducing facilities’ energy use intensity by 30 per cent and cutting greenhouse gas emissions by half by 2030, the BC Cancer–Vancouver project shows a meaningful benchmark and demonstrates what’s possible.
