THUNDER BAY — Two school boards in Northwestern Ontario have earned top spots in a province-wide ranking of schoolboard leadership in energy efficiency and conservation.
The 2025 Sustainable Schools Energy Ranking, published by the Toronto-based non profit Climate Challenge Network, looked at data from the 2022-2023 school year.
The Northwest Catholic District School Board and the Conseil scolaire du Grand Nord both climbed three places from their 2024 positions. The Northwest Catholic board now holds second place, and the Conseil scolaire du Grand Nord has moved into fourth among all 72 school boards in Ontario.
The annual ranking assesses energy performance across the province’s school boards, evaluating metrics such as energy-use intensity, infrastructure improvements, and the integration of renewable technologies.
The Northwest Catholic District School Board has five Catholic elementary schools in the region, including in Sioux Lookout, Dryden, Atikokan, and Fort Frances.
Conseil scolaire du Grand Nord has schools in various communities, including Thunder Bay, Longlac, Marathon, Manitouwadge, Wawa and Sault Ste. Marie.
The Northwest Catholic District School Board’s progress stems from long-term efforts detailed in its 5-Year Energy Conservation and Demand Management Plan. Since 2019, the board has invested in a series of energy-saving initiatives, including:
- Building envelope and roof upgrades
- Lighting retrofits
- Building automation system upgrades
- HVAC system improvements
“Over the last fiscal year, a large focus was on lighting upgrades,” said Austine Madussi, manager of facilities at the Northwest Catholic District School Board. “Within the board, we used a lot of fluorescent lighting, so we made the initiative to upgrade the lighting in four out of five of our schools to LED lighting, which has resulted in a reduction in our greenhouse gas and utility consumption.”
These efforts have led to a 7.7 per cent reduction in energy consumption, equal to approximately 71,000 ekWh in annual energy savings, translating to over $32,000 in yearly energy cost reductions.
“It’s great to see results. Of course, with our efforts, we plan on continuing some of our initiatives,” he said. “We have other heat pump upgrades in the works to reduce our utilization of fuel and oil in Sioux Lookout, which does not have access to natural gas. We’re looking at programming upgrades in the coming years, as well as at some of our other schools to replace aged equipment and to upgrade to more efficient equipment.”
He added, “We also have a boiler replacement in the works to upgrade to more energy-efficient models, currently being implemented.”
In a news release, Alain Gélinas, interim director of education at the Conseil scolaire du Grand Nord, said, “This significant progress is the result of collective effort and a strong will to take action for the environment. We are extremely proud to see our commitment recognized at the provincial level.”
The Rainy River District School Board placed 19th on the list. No other boards in the region made the top 20, including the Superior-Greenstone District School Board which placed 2nd the previous two years.
