Frank Weis, retired green guy

June 5, 2009 -- Filed under Uncategorized by Andrew Macdonald

At TDI Curious, we like it when people take concrete action for the environment. One man in particular has done just that. The mainstream media won’t necessarily talk about him, but we definitely want to.

Ask any Volkswagen Dealer in Canada if they have heard of Frank Weis and you will likely hear a resounding yes. Frank is a green champion within the Volkswagen Canada organization with a great story to share.

Frank Weis started his career with Volkswagen AG in Germany in 1954, became a Canadian Dealer in 1958, and retired last year after having served the construction and management of VWC facilities for the past 30 years.

Frank’s ”last act” was cleaning up the lighting at the PDC, the parts and distribution warehouse in Ajax, Ontario (there is a second PDC in Richmond, BC). His story about working on energy challenges over the past couple of years and his fight against preconceptions could be used as a learning tool for any corporation with an interest in sustainability.

So what happened?

Well, for starters, both the lighting fixtures and rated wattage were reduced, which means bulbs were switched to lower watt consumption energy-efficient products AND some of the light fixtures were physically removed. I was amazed at how many fixtures were eliminated while maintaining the illumination (brightness) of the old system.

The results?

• Financial: reduced warehouse lighting costs by $16k+ per month (projected increases in energy costs means savings will grow in the future).

• Social: warehouse employees work in a cooler (from the more efficient equipment), more comfortable environment.

• Environmental: investment in energy-efficiency measures cuts energy consumption, which in turn reduces emissions of CO2, SOX, NOX and other greenhouse gases. The overall carbon footprint of Volkswagen operations in Canada is substantially reduced.

I first connected with Frank in the spring of 2007 before he embarked on his mission to improve operations at VWC, and I’ve followed his path on the lighting pilot project in Ajax. Although Frank is now retired and enjoying his golf, he agreed to speak about his experience and have the conversation transcribed for the TDI blog. I will post some of our conversation in the weeks to come here on TDI Curious.

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