Vancouver Winter Olympics Going Green?

Sustainability Attributes

This project will transform a former industrial brownfield area into a showcase of sustainable living. It will certify under the new LEED for Neighbourhood Development pilot to LEED Gold standard. Each building site will also certify to LEED Gold standard for new construction, except for the community centre, which will certify to LEED Platinum level — making it one of the highest-rated environmentally designed buildings in Canada. The project is also to be certified under the SAFER homes standard, meaning that all units will be readily adaptable for accessible living.

• The design of the Vancouver Village and surrounding landscape won the Federation of Canadian Municipalities Award for Sustainable Transportation in 2006. The award was given for the Village’s Sustainable Transportation Plan based on City Council's transportation hierarchy of pedestrians first, then cyclists, then public transit, and then local/shared automobile use.
• The City of Vancouver is targeting LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) green building certification for all new buildings. The community centre at this venue is targeting LEED Platinum certification — making it one of the highest-rated environmentally designed buildings in Canada. For all other buildings on-site, the City is targeting LEED Gold.
• Demonstrating smart site selection, the Village is a catalyst for the redevelopment of a former industrial area through the ecological restoration of the shoreline and contaminated lands, and the reduction/elimination of contaminants potentially entering the aquatic environment.
• The creation of significant wildlife habitat through green space and foreshore rehabilitation, which includes the reintroduction of an intertidal marine habitat and the planting of
  indigenous vegetation.
• A neighbourhood energy utility will serve the Village’s space heat and hot water generation needs, using heat captured from the main line of the sanitary sewer.
• A Net-Zero Energy Building pilot project for one of the city’s affordable housing buildings will include energy consumption monitoring, solar recovery, waste-heat capture and reuse, and above-LEED standards in energy conservation.
• Green roofs are targeted for a minimum 50 per cent of the building’s total footprint.
• Water efficiency programs will minimize reliance on the municipal system by harvesting rainwater for building use, resulting in overall potable water consumption reduction of 40 to 50 per cent.
• Buildings will include car share vehicles and electric vehicle hook ups.

source:  Vancouver Olympics Sustainability Page