Regina airport tracks its emissions to trim carbon tax costs

The Regina International Airport (YQR) is voluntarily taking steps to be more green.

Last year, YQR received its Airport Carbon Accreditation, a comprehensive program to help track its carbon emissions.

“We really, really want to focus on reducing what we can control, which will help offset any new costs — whether it’s a carbon tax or increases in general,” said James Bogusz, the CEO and president of the Regina Airport Authority.

Since last fall, the airport authority has begun using technology to track YQR’s power consumption and help figure out where to cut down. Right now, Bogusz said, they’re focusing on electric, then they’ll move to natural gas.

“It’ll really measure various areas of our terminal building to allow us to look for projects and initiatives that are going to help reduce our power bill,” he explained.

Switching to LED lights and scheduling where and when to heat and cool certain areas of the terminal are some examples, he added.

Bogusz noted this initiative was in the works before the carbon tax was implemented on Monday, but now it’s an added bonus.

“Obviously, it’s an added benefit to keep our costs as low as possible, given these new costs are upon us,” he said.

The federal government predicts Saskatchewan households will pay an average of $403 for the carbon tax in 2019. The average income tax rebate will be $598.