May 25th - Vancouver

May 25^th - Vancouver

Vancouver Convention Center

           

          The Vancouver Convention Center is a fabulous facility that has achieved LEED Platinum.  It’s the largest complex to receive the platinum rating because of its use of natural, local materials, natural lighting, amazing green roof, low flow fixtures, and recycled materials throughout the entire building.   This gorgeous center has one of the most successful green roofs ever built, which covers the entire roof and along a few of the angles leading down to the walls.  They even have a few bee hives on the green roof where they are able to harvest honey for use in the restaurant.  The center has a recycling program that is very user friendly and provides the opportunity to educate visitors on the proper methods of recycling.  They have included a digital event board that reduces the amount paper waste from individual posters as well.  This is what they have to say about their sustainability efforts: 

“As part of our extensive recycling program, the Vancouver Convention Centre recycles an average of 180,000 kilograms of materials annually; nearly half of the total volume of waste generated. This includes batteries, lighting ballasts, wood, organics, metal, glass, plastic and much more. The centre has also hosted Vancouver’s first audited zero-waste event. What’s more, environmentally-friendly, Green Seal™-approved cleaning products are utilized facility-wide.

We use fresh and local ingredients without additives; avoid prepackaged canned goods; utilize cutlery, china, glass and cloth napkins, and serve nearly all condiments in bulk or reusable containers. What’s more, our ‘Happy Earth’ menus offer certified organic and free-range options, and we encourage our purveyors to deliver their goods in reusable containers and work with suppliers with a strong commitment to the environment.”

This Center has a long list of amazing sustainable properties that could take hours to describe.  For further information, please visit their website at:

http://www.vancouverconventioncentre.com/thefacilities/environment/

 

Please take a look at their sustainability video….you may just be inspired!

Fairmont Waterfront Hotel

           

         The Fairmont Waterfront Hotel is gorgeous hotel along the water that houses a successful roof top fruit and vegetable garden as well as several bee hives.  Just as we saw at the convention center, the hotel utilizes the honey it harvests to use in the hotel restaurant.  They actually began their roof top garden a few years ago with this important element.  However, now they have moved on to utilizing more of the roof top area for their vegetable and fruit garden which they are able to use the grown fruits and veggies in their restaurant as well.  They also have a wonderful array of spices and herbs that saves the hotel a great deal of money every year.  The Fairmont Hotel chain has been extremely progressive with their sustainability movement and the Vancouver Waterfront Hotel has been a major showcase for that initiative.  It was amazing to see such a nice hotel putting in the work to not only cut hotel food costs but help the environment as well.

            

         The Fairmont Waterfront is also implementing the same sustainable efforts as their other sister hotels.  The Fairmont Hotels has worked extremely hard over the past two decades to become one of the most sustainable hotel chains in the world.  They launched a program called the Green Partnership Program in 1990, which was a “a comprehensive commitment to minimizing our hotels’ impact on the planet, which was accompanied by a guidebook on sustainable best practices in the lodging industry.”  They have built upon that philosophy and become well known worldwide for their sustainability efforts.  They focus on waste management, energy and water conservation, outreach to local groups, and offer education to the public through tours and providing through example.