Metro Vancouver Gains Global Attention for Environmental Acumen
It’s no secret that green is the new black.
From designer hybrid cars and trendy canvas shopping bags to passionate rallies and pithy bumper stickers, saving the planet has become downright trendy. It goes much deeper in Metro Vancouver, a region gaining global attention for its environmental acumen.
It’s a pacesetter; clean green in the truest sense of the phrase.
Roughly 70 percent of Canada’s clean technology sector calls British Columbia home, providing more than 20,000 jobs at more than 1,300 companies. Nearly half of Deloitte’s Technology Green 15 Companies of 2007 hailed from Vancouver.
Along with clean technology, sustainable building is a hallmark of the region, catapulting Metro Vancouver to the forefront of industries such as hydropower and fuel cells, and also Leadership in Energy Efficient Design building certification.
“Virtually every major developmental project in Vancouver addresses sustainability issues, using sustainability in its broadest context to include environmental, social and economic considerations,” says Frank Came, senior advisor of strategic initiatives for GLOBE Foundation of Canada.
The Canada Green Building Council administers the nation’s LEED program and provides training and certification to development professionals across the country.
“Buildings have a huge impact on the environment, so if we make improvements there, we can reduce our overall environmental footprint,” says Thomas Mueller, president and CEO of the Canada Green Building Council. “They take a lot of energy and a lot of resources to produce concrete, to produce steel, to produce a lot of building materials that, if they are not recycled, go to landfills.”
The Green Building Council is involved in hundreds of ongoing projects across the country, working to provide direction and progress for the burgeoning business sector.
“Canada is a leader in green building internationally, and Vancouver plays a very strong part in that,” Mueller says.
Two projects being watched with great interest are in Vancouver. Construction of the Olympic Village, under way in preparation for the 2010 Winter Games, is adhering to LEED Gold Standards, one of the highest levels of environmental accountability certified by the Green Building Council. In downtown Vancouver, the new convention center along the riverfront is also going up green, including bearing a 6-acre living green roof, the largest in Canada.
“Buildings really trigger a lot of emotion about sustainability because people can see them in operation,” says Helen Goodland, executive director of the Light House Sustainable Building Centre. “It’s hard to see sustainability with things like software, but with a building, you can see that it’s a consumer of natural resources both in its construction and its operation.”
The Sustainable Building Centre works with developers and citizens looking to reduce their environmental footprint – however large or small.
“Whether you’re painting your bathroom or building the new convention centre, we provide the resources and the inspiration that you need to make wise choices,” Goodland says. “We have to share our resources, and that means we have to be far smarter about that.”
