Vancouver wins Platinum for being green

With its Olympic festivities in full screen, Vancouver is again in the headlines for the Vancouver Convention Centre (yes, that is “Center” for all of us in the States) – its iconic West building has been awarded LEED Platinum certification for new construction by the Canada Green Building Council. Platinum is the highest level of LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification.

This award comes less than a year since the building officially opened its doors in April 2009.

“The Vancouver Convention Centre is the only convention centre in the world to receive the highest level of LEED certification,” says Kevin Krueger, Minister of Tourism, Culture and the Arts. “Not only is the expanded Vancouver Convention Centre bringing economic benefits to the province and the tourism industry, but it’s a model of sustainability that will set a new standard.”

LEED, a third-party certification program and an internationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings. promotes a whole-building approach to sustainability. It recognizes performance in five key areas of human and environmental health: sustainable site development, water efficiency, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality.

The only two-time winner of the International Association of Congress Centres’ APEX award for “World’s Best Convention Centre,” the Vancouver Convention Centre opened in July 1987 after originally serving as the Canada Pavilion at the World’s Fair in 1986.

Since inception, the facility has demonstrated a constant commitment to service, technical and culinary excellence, as well as environmental sustainability. With the expansion complete, the Centre has tripled its size to cover 1.1 million square feet (or four city blocks) for a combined total of 471,000 square feet of pre-function, meeting, exhibition, and ballroom space.

“While the West building was to have been designed to a LEED Gold standard, the resulting quality of its design, construction and operations warranted a Platinum designation, making us a leader in environmental sustainability in our industry,” says Ken Cretney, general manager, Vancouver Convention Centre. “This designation is a reflection of years of hard work and thorough planning by Vancouver Convention Centre staff and our outstanding project team. Without our dedicated team, this prestigious accomplishment would not be possible.

“From the very beginning of the expansion project, our goal was to create a building that is not only functional and beautiful, but also environmentally sustainable in every way, bringing urban ecology into the downtown core,” Cretney adds. “We are committed to doing our part in reducing the facility’s carbon footprint and to create a healthy environment for both our staff and guests.”

The Centre’s sustainable design features and practices include:

• A six-acre “living” roof , the largest living roof in Canada and the largest non-industrial living roof in North America
• A sophisticated drainage and water recovery system, which has successfully reduced potable water use by 72.6 percent
• Eighty-three percent of construction waste has been diverted from landfill
• An extensive facility-wide recycling program that recycles an average of 180,000 kilograms of materials annually, nearly half of the total volume of waste generated
• Purchases “green power” electricity generated from low-impact renewable sources
• A restored marine habitat built into the foundation of the building
• A seawater heating and cooling system that takes advantage of the adjacent seawater to produce cooling for the building during warmer months and heating in cooler months
• Natural light and ventilation maximized throughout the building
• Local B.C. wood products used throughout the building

For more info, visit the Vancouver Convention Centre online.