Education and Outreach

The 2010 Commerce Centre, an initiative of the BC Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games Secretariat, launched a prospective supplier database. This database is designed to increase business opportunities for provincially based enterprises capable of supplying goods and services that meet the Code's sustainability criteria. Over 1,500 organizations with products or services that have sustainability or Aboriginal participation attributes were notified of the opportunity to register on the database. Seventy-four per cent of the companies and organizations that chose to register provided information on the sustainability or Aboriginal participation aspects of their products and services.

VANOC also continues to collaborate with Industry Canada to support workshops across the nation on Games-related business opportunities, highlighting sustainable purchasing aspects. A bilingual Business Opportunities Guide produced by Industry Canada outlines how Canadian enterprises can prepare for bids, either individually or through joint ventures among complementary enterprises.

Our Buy Smart consultation enabled us to reach out to the persons with a disability, inner-city, social enterprise, environmental and Aboriginal business communities. It also encouraged organizations and suppliers active in this marketplace to build capacity by collaborating with each other. Draft metrics were developed to identify business development, technology and innovation opportunities associated with VANOC’s procurement, licensing and Games-hosting activities during the period from 2007 to 2010.