Vancouver Convention Centre first Canadian LEED v4 Platinum project (existing building)

Vancouver Convention Centre (source: CaGBC)

The Vancouver Convention Centre (VCC) has earned LEED v4 Existing Building Platinum, becoming the first double LEED Platinum convention centre in the world, and the first v4 Platinum Existing Building project to certify in Canada.

The announcement was made at a press conference in Vancouver, which included BC Minister for Tourism Lisa Beare, Vancouver Acting Mayor Raymond Louie, and Canada Greed Building Council (CaGBC) president and CEO, Thomas Mueller.

Consisting of two uniquely designed buildings totaling 466,500 sq. ft., the VCC is British Columbia’s flagship convention centre, hosting more than 500 events and welcoming hundreds of thousands of attendees each year.

Following its initial LEED for New Construction Platinum certification in 2010, the VCC sustainability team has been dedicated to continuing to improve operations.

To meet the certification requirements for LEED v4, the VCC team introduced new sustainability initiatives and enhanced existing programs including:

• Increasing the capacity of the blackwater treatment plant by 30% which, when combined with water efficient fixtures, has reduced potable water use by 38% annually.
• Aiming to continually maintain and improve energy performance through an ongoing program of building system and energy use analysis, and implementation of upgrades—recent upgrades include switching to more efficient LED lighting in the facility.
• Enhancing the organization-wide recycling program to increase the waste diversion rate from 50 to 75%.
• Developing a Post-Event Sustainability Report for interested clients, which monitors and measures several sustainability-related indicators. The final Report highlights areas of achievement and opportunities for future growth.

Creating a Reclaim Room at the Convention Centre where material and goods left behind from events are housed until the Sustainability Coordinator sources local charity or community group where the items could be donated or meaningfully re-purposed.