Environmental stewardship at the Edmonton Convention Centre
PHOTOS COURTESY OF EXPLORE EDMONTON.
The Edmonton Convention Centre is an environmental leader that remains committed to sustainability through responsible venue operations. Prioritizing a culture of environmental, economic, and social sustainability is at the core of their business. Every action within the Edmonton Convention Centre’s sustainability program has been developed to support its Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Reduction Plan, which aims reduce GHG emissions by 30 per cent by 2035. In the past two years, the team at the Edmonton Convention
HARNESSING RENEWABLE ENERGY ON THE ICONIC ATRIUM ROOF OF THE EDMONTON CONVENTION CENTRE With an average of 2,344 hours and 325 days of bright sunshine a year, Edmonton is the second sunniest city in Canada. That’s why the south-facing slope of the venue’s atrium is the ideal structure to harness the sun’s powerful energy. “With the sheer size of our building, it should be no surprise that the largest percentage of our greenhouse gas footprint
Centre has launched its Greenhouse Gas Reduction Plan and
comes from the procurement of energy – nearly 70 per cent
Responsible Meetings Program, created an Environmental
of our total emissions,” says Melissa Radu, sustainability
Preferred Purchasing Policy, underwent installation of
manager, Explore Edmonton. “Generating renewable
Canada’s largest building-integrated photovoltaic display,
electricity onsite, while also becoming more energy
launched a plant-based menu, met waste reduction
efficient, is one of the best ways to make real progress
targets, and hosted Edmonton’s first-ever carbon neutral
towards slashing emissions.”
convention. On top of their ongoing commitment to continuous improvement, the Edmonton Convention Centre
In spring of 2020, the Edmonton Convention Centre
is one of five Canadian venues to be ASTM certified, was the
became home to Canada’s largest installation of building-
first venue in Canada to receive the Green Key Level Five
integrated photovoltaic (solar) panels, as the $10.8-million-
certification, and is also a certified Climate Smart business.
dollar project was completed on the venue’s iconic atrium
28 ALBERTA SOLAR REVIEW • 2021
