Edged by both the mountains and the sea, Vancouver is a destination where nature’s treasures are just as important as city attractions. Discover all the ways Vancouver is embracing sustainability as more than a movement — it’s a natural way of life.
With its iconic Seawall and easily navigable neighborhoods, more than half of the journeys in Vancouver are made by walking, biking or using public transit. In fact, Vancouver has been named the most walkable city in Canada, based on a Walk Score® survey; it’s also home to the world’s largest fleet of hybrid taxis.
Did you know that Vancouver is the birthplace of international sustainable movements? Greenpeace was founded in the Kitsilano neighborhood in 1971, and the creators of the 100-mile diet began their journey in their downtown Vancouver apartment — eating only food grown within a 100-mile radius.
Fairmont Waterfront Hotel garden
A Blossoming Movement
There’s something else growing in Vancouver: More than a dozen urban farms throughout the city provide fresh produce for local chefs in area restaurants and hotels. Don’t miss the herb and vegetable garden on the rooftop of Fairmont Waterfront Hotel, and ask the “Bee Team” for a tour of the honeybee hive.
There’s an abundance of restaurants where you can be sure that the ingredients on your plate are responsibly sourced. At Forage in downtown Vancouver, Chef Welbert Choi relies on his close connections to local fishers, foragers and farmers, along with British Columbia-area winemakers, brewers and distillers. In the lobby of Fairmont Pacific Rim, RawBar was honored with an Ocean Wise designation by the Vancouver Aquarium for its use of sustainably sourced seafood.
In 2011, city officials set an ambitious goal: to make Vancouver the greenest city in the world by 2020. A specific plan was put into place and since then, some of the most notable developments include restoring or enhancing more than 20 hectares of natural areas, creating nearly 200 miles of bicycling networks, and reducing greenhouse gases from city operations by 56 percent. (And by 2050, the city aims to reduce its greenhouse gas by at least 80 percent below 2007 levels.)
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