G. GIST

On Sep 7 Mrs. Hannelore Kraft, President of the Bundesrat of the Federal Republic of Germany and Minister-President of the State of North-Rhine-Westphalia was present at the Groundbreaking Ceremony for the new school located in North York.

Minister-President Kraft underlined in her speech that the new net-zero energy school will be a center for the German speaking community and become a wonderful part of Toronto's multicultural mosaic. She particularly thanked Canadian-German business leaders gathered at the school's new site for their generous and active support of this project.

Mrs. Kraft and kindergarten students planted a sturdy German oak tree at the new site of the school as shown on the image. To their right is a Bosch solar thermal panel signifying the new school will incorporate state-of-the-art, energy-efficient materials and renewable-energy technologies with the potential to generate at least as much energy as it consumes, making the school a "net zero" energy consumer with a significantly reduced carbon footprint.

"With the help of our colleagues in the Canadian-German business community, the building is being enlarged and will incorporate state-of-the-art, energy-efficient materials and renewable-energy technologies with the potential to generate at least as much energy as it consumes, making the school a "net zero" energy consumer with a significantly reduced carbon footprint," said Michael Langstaff, Vice President, Robert Bosch Inc. Canada.

Bosch and its New Brunswick-based partner, EcoPlusHome, are providing and installing the school's renewable energy technology system. Other companies as BASF, Miele, Dr. Oetker among others and the German General Consulate are also supporting the GIST development.