Our Sustainability Performance Objective for Environmental Stewardship and Impact Reduction:

• To conserve natural environments and manage, mitigate and offset negative impacts

Our environmental stewardship and impact reduction program addresses five key issues:

• Biodiversity and Habitat
• Energy and Climate Change
• Air Quality  
• Water Quality and Conservation
• Waste Management

We are managing our environmental impacts by:

• Designing for less through smart site selection, venue design and procurement 
• Operating “eco-efficiently” by minimizing consumption of energy, water and materials and minimizing waste and emissions 
• Rehabilitating or offsetting negative impacts we cannot avoid

We are measuring and reporting on the environmental footprint of the Games venues, sites, temporary structures and operations. (See Sustainability Attributes of Venues, Villages and Facilities.) Where VANOC is not the venue developer, but will be operating the venue during Games time, we work with our partners to achieve our shared vision of sustainability attributes. We are not measuring and reporting on the environmental footprint of regional infrastructure improvements undertaken by government in advance of the Games. These projects are not under VANOC’s mandate, but are being built to meet local requirements extending beyond the Games.

Background – ENGO Dialogue Group

Facilitated by the Hollyhock Leadership Institute and supported by Environment Canada, VANOC participates in a dialogue group with 20 environmental organizations. Last year, discussions focused on five topic areas: public engagement, climate change, waste management, toxics and urban sustainability/greenbelt.