Cvent Blog

As athletes from across the globe go for the gold during the 2010 Olympic Games, host city Vancouver is going for platinum. The Vancouver Convention Centre's West Building, which opened in April 2009, has received LEED Platinum certification by the Canada Green Building Council, the highest level of certification available.

"The Vancouver Convention Centre is the only convention center in the world to receive the highest level of LEED® certification," said 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."

"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," Ken Cretney, general manager of the Vancouver Convention Centre, added.

Among the center's sustainable features are:

• A six-acre "living roof," the largest living roof in Canada and the largest non-industrial living roof in North America

• 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

• 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

View more information about the Vancouver Convention Centre on the Cvent Supplier Network