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Vancouver Goes for the Gold in Green Buildings

The city of Vancouver has adopted LEED Gold as its standard for all new city buildings, making it the first municipality in North America to adopt this leading edge energy and environmental performance system.

The city of Vancouver has adopted LEED Gold as its standard for all new city buildings, making it the first municipality in North America to adopt this leading edge energy and environmental performance system.

"I am truly delighted by the leadership that the council members have demonstrated in adopting this standard", said Alex Zimmerman, president of the Canada Green Building Council, which administers LEED in Canada. "British Columbia has established itself as a North American centre of excellence for green building design."

Zimmerman continued: "B.C. has more LEED accredited professionals than any other province, and many of its professional firms are engaged in designing superior buildings across Canada and the United States. Vancouver's decision to adopt LEED Gold as its design standard will help maintain and build upon this expertise and reputation, save the taxpayers of Vancouver millions of dollars in long-term operating costs, and encourage other municipalities to take similar action in support of the environment."

LEED is a performance rating system that considers such factors as site planning, energy efficiency, water use, indoor environment and use of resources in its assessment of a building's design. LEED Gold is an ambitious standard which only two buildings in Canada have qualified for to date. Both of these buildings are in British Columbia.

City council's decision follows many other progressive initiatives undertaken by Vancouver over the past 30 years. Its "Clouds of Change" planning document in the 1980's set the stage for progressive densification planning and the raising of design standards which have encompassed the Expo Lands, Burrard Inlet and Southeast False Creek, and will be reflected in building designs for the 2010 Olympics.

Ian Jarvis, chair of the Canada Green Building Council, extended congratulations on behalf of the organization's board and more than 400 members to Mayor Campbell and city staff for their leadership and commitment to a more sustainable built environment.

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