By Allison Tanner
Venue: The Fairmont Waterfront
“The Olympics are a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and we need to do everything we can to help our local economy capitalize on it,” said Mayor Gregor Robertson, City of Vancouver as he unveiled the new ‘Vancouver Green Capital’ logo at The Vancouver Board of Trade.
“That means being aggressive in terms of how we market ourselves to the world. The Vancouver Green Capital branding strategy allows us to define Vancouver on our terms,” he said. Robertson discussed the City’s plans for making Vancouver a destination for investors and businesses at The Vancouver Board of Trade event, sponsored by Bombardier and presented in co-operation with Spirit of Vancouver®. He said the plan was to bring people and investors in during the 2010 Winter Games, entice them to return and eventually get them to stay.
The mayor walked the 250 members of The Board of Trade in attendance through his plan to expand Vancouver’s economy during and after the 2010 Games. He presented a plan with seven parts all linked together by the desire to encourage international businesses and investors to expand into Vancouver. Vancouver Green Capital is the new brand name for the city during and after the 2010 Games, and he hopes Vancouver will become the leader in the green economy and “set the pace” for the rest of the world to follow.
“We’ve got cutting-edge businesses, we have the opportunity to lead the world in green technology research and development, and we have a dynamic, highly educated and creative workforce,” said Robertson. “With the new strategies and programs the City and the Vancouver Economic Development Commission (VEDC) are rolling out, and in particular our business brand of Vancouver Green Capital, we’re saying we’re open for business and the days of Vancouver being seen as a sleepy, laid-back West Coast town are in the past.”
The Vancouver Economic Development Commission (VEDC) will announce a new economic strategy for Vancouver in November. It will be the first one in two decades and will discuss “12 key recommendations that will bolster smart and green economic activity,” said Robertson. Head offices are going to be placed in each local city to bring them closer together and collectively work towards the green business target that has yet to be released. Once all of this has panned out, Robertson’s intention is to have created new job opportunities.
This month, Robertson will be issuing an action plan to become the “greenest city in the world by 2020.” His motive is to confirm Vancouver’s status as the “most liveable city and green capital” and increase its economic performance. Robertson has been devising the plan with California and cities like Portland to get people to recognize that the green economy is imminent. He will be marketing Vancouver Green Capital all over the province for the next few months ensuring companies are prepared for the movement.
Robertson asked that business owners “aggressively pursue business development opportunities” and “change the way people view Vancouver.” He stated that he is, “not going to miss a single opportunity to promote ‘Vancouver as the Green Capital.’ We all need to be partners in this vigorous effort to attract new business and investment to our city.”