Greening Existing Developments

"The greenest building is the one that is already built."  ~Carl Elefante, Architect

Rehabilitating a building requires less energy than building a new one, so fewer fossil fuels are wasted and less greenhouse gas is produced.

In West Vancouver, almost 60% of private dwellings are single family detached houses. Also, more than half of our community’s greenhouse gas emissions are emitted from buildings. It is therefore important to work with single family homeowners towards improving the energy performance of their homes. The District is providing education and resources for single family home owners who would like to make their homes more energy efficient. 

West Vancouver’s Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Greenhouse Gas Emissions pie chart

 		West Vancouver’s greenhouse gas emissions are emitted from two main sources:

  1. Buildings (54%)
  2. Transportation (44%) 

New provincial legislation (“Bill 27”) requires that local governments create targets and action plans for greenhouse gas reduction in their Official Community Plan – the District will be working on this in 2009-2010.

 


 

 

 

 

 

Heritage buildings, too, are a non-renewable resource, so preserving them contributes to environmental and cultural sustainability. With our Community Heritage Register, the District provides formal recognition of its historic places, in terms of heritage value or character.