Red River College has been recognized for excellence in building management with a 2015 Earth Award from the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) of Canada.

The award went to RRC’s Heavy Equipment Transportation Centre (HETC), and was presented in conjunction with BOMA’s national conference in Quebec on Sept. 17.

“We have an excellent Facility Management team and this award further demonstrates our hard work and dedication to sustainability,” says Tom Skraba, director of Facility Management at RRC. “I wish to congratulate the team for their tireless efforts.”

BOMA’s Earth Awards recognize excellence in resource preservation and environmentally sound commercial building management. During the selection process, BOMA evaluates a building’s ability to reduce overall environmental risk, provide good indoor air quality, practice green cleaning, recycling, and energy conservation.

HETC is one of the largest industrial training facilities in Manitoba, and one of the province’s most environmentally friendly buildings.

This 60,000-square foot site was one of the first education centres in Manitoba to receive a BOMA BESt Platinum certification and a Silver LEED® certification (from the Canada Green Building Council), and has many sustainable features not commonly found in larger industrial buildings, including:

• Geothermal heating and cooling: A groundwater loop system provides partial heating and cooling of the facility
• Natural heating: SolarWall systems collect the sun’s energy to preheat outdoor air before it ventilates classrooms
• Daylight views: More than 90% of regularly occupied spaces have direct views of the outdoors
• Native vegetation: Plants surrounding the building require little maintenance, are drought resistant, and help control storm water runoff
• Recycled and regional content: More than 25% of building materials have recycled content, and 35% of materials are from Manitoba, Saskatchewan or North Dakota

Earlier this year, BOMA Manitoba presented a pair of provincial Earth Awards to HETC and the Exchange District Campus’s Roblin Centre.

Last year, RRC’s Paterson GlobalFoods Institute (PGI) was recognized nationally in the Multi-Use Building category. The Roblin Centre, HETC and PGI are all included on BOMA’s BESt (Building Environmental Standards) Certified Buildings list.

Shown above (from left): Randal Froebelius, Chair of BOMA Canada; Tom Skraba, Director of Facility Management, RRC; Alex Fleming, President of Demand Side Energy Consultants; Dave Wozny, Technical Officer, RRC; Darryl Oshanyk, Financial Assistant, RRC; Murray Hibert, EDC Maintenance Manager, RRC; Benjamin Shinewald, President and CEO, BOMA Canada