Project Leap environmental initiatives to save $9,000,000 during first operational year

The Toronto Region Board of Trade recently cited U of T’s groundbreaking suite of emissions reduction projects in their Banking on Green playbook, which highlights sustainability practices from the perspective of fiscal prudence.

With Project Leap, U of T is set to meet the science-based emissions reductions targets set by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change three years in advance. The large-scale decarbonization initiative—which includes the incorporation of pioneering infrastructure projects like the country’s largest urban geoexchange system housed beneath front campus—helped contribute to U of T being named the most sustainable university in the world by the QS University Rankings. Now, the Toronto Region Board of Trade (TRBOT) Banking on Green playbook celebrates Project Leap from another angle: fiscal responsibility. 

Project Leap is a large-scale energy and environmental initiative that aims to halve the St. George campus’s greenhouse gas emissions through a suite of modernizations. These include the replacement of natural gas boilers with modern electric variants, the installation of high- and low-temperature heat recovery pumps, and the widespread installation of high-efficiency LED bulbs for lighting. 

While the full scope of Project Leap will significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions on campus within years, it will take decades for the full extent of financial returns to be realized. With that in mind, U of T undertook novel, fiscally prudent approaches and worked to facilitate accelerated timelines for Project Leap’s decarbonization initiatives. 

First, the university sought financing from the Canada Infrastructure Bank’s Building Retrofits Initiative to support the suite of initiatives within Project Leap. U of T then coupled this financing with additional loans from the private sector. Next, U of T leveraged incentive programs, such as the Industrial Conservation Initiative through the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) and the Decarbonization Incentive Fund through Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC). Finally, U of T has adopted principles around conservation, balancing carbon with cost as well as innovation – and using them to inform the selection of projects to reduce energy use and carbon emissions for Project Leap. 

All told, U of T expects Project Leap to save $9,000,000 during the first year in which all its components are operational—an amount set to increase in future years. “We’re thrilled to be a part of this playbook,” says Scott Hendershot, senior manager, Sustainability Office. “One of our biggest priorities is to act as a leader in sustainability, and do what we can to help our peers implement lasting sustainable change.”

Hendershot goes on to note that U of T’s longer term goal of regenerative sustainability—actually restoring the environment instead of simply reducing harm—is very much consistent with fiscal responsibility. “When we work to set these new precedents, we are trying to establish a playbook that will help guide others into a new era of climate responsibility,” he says. “In order to make that work, we must make financial sense—by definition!” 

With a new suite of deep energy retrofits already in development, Facilities & Services is intimately involved with these goals and see no signs of letting up! The full report and case study from the TRBOT is available online.