Union Gas regional office awarded Burlington's first Gold LEED certification

BURLINGTON , ON, Oct. 28 /CNW/ - Union Gas today announced that its innovative Burlington Regional Centre has been awarded a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED(R)) Gold certification, from the Canada Green Building Council - a national organization that certifies buildings that are green, sustainable and protect the environment.

The facility, which is the first Gold LEED certified building in Burlington , is one of three new Union Gas buildings built to LEED standards in Ontario. The other buildings are located in Windsor and Kingston.

"Receiving LEED Gold certification for this building is a thrilling accomplishment and reinforces our commitment to environmental stewardship and vibrant communities," said Julie Dill , President, Union Gas. "These new facilities are part of our larger plan to reduce our energy consumption and lighten our environmental footprint."

The 25,800 square-foot building features state-of-the-art energy and environmental technologies and is designed to use almost 50 percent less energy than other similarly-sized buildings. In addition, building products were chosen for their recycled content and environmental sustainability and over 70 percent of all construction waste was recycled.

In all of its 60 Union Gas buildings across Ontario, the company has introduced energy conservation measures, such as retrofits of existing lighting, which have reduced the associated electricity consumption by up to 58 percent, and the installation of water-saving devices which has reduced water consumption by up to 40 percent.

In addition, Union Gas has been delivering energy-efficiency programs to its customers for over a decade. Last year alone, these programs helped our customers avoid 139,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions and reduce their consumption of natural gas by over 74 million cubic metres - the equivalent of removing more than 25,000 cars from Ontario's roads each year.

For more information visit uniongas.com/environment/energyconservation

About Union Gas

Union Gas Limited is a major Canadian natural gas storage, transmission and distribution company based in Ontario with nearly 100 years of experience and service to customers. The distribution business serves 1.3 million residential, commercial and industrial customers in more than 400 communities across northern, southwestern and eastern Ontario. Union Gas's growing storage and transmission business offers premium storage and transportation services to customers at the Dawn Hub, the largest underground storage facility in Canada and one of the largest in North America . It offers customers an important link in the movement of natural gas from Western Canadian and U.S. supply basins to markets in central Canada and the northeast U.S. A Spectra Energy company, Union Gas has assets of $5 billion and approximately 2,200 employees. Visit uniongas.com for more information.

For further information: Andrea Stass, Manager, Public Affairs and Media Relations, Union Gas Limited, Ph: [phone] or 1-800-571-8446 ext. 5490, Cell: [phone], Fax: [phone], E-mail: [email protected]