Sustainable Tourism

We hear it all the time from our visitors: "It's so beautiful and green here!" But in Vancouver, green is more than just a flattering colour. It's a steadfast commitment to sustainability.

Vancouver already has one of the smallest carbon footprints of any major North American city, and we're a recognized leader in green building and sustainable planning. Vancouver is a innovation member of the C40 Alliance of cities. In 2012 Vancouver launched an extensive community engagement process and created an ambitious Greenest City Action plan in 2012 to be the greenest city in the world by 2020. Important accomplishments included: over 50% of all trips in the city being by walking, cycling or public transit, reducing carbon emissions intensity for new buildings by 43% and reducing annual solid waste to landfill by 32%.

Not resting on its laurels, Vancouver is taking climate change seriously and in 2019 declared a climate emergency and on November 17, 2020, City Council approved the Climate Emergency Action Plan. This puts Vancouver on an accelerated track to ensure we reduce our carbon pollution by 50% by 2030, in alignment with the findings of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change to limit global warming to 1.5°C. Vancouver is also a member of Carbon Neutral Cities Alliance and reports its progress regularly.

What does this mean for the visitor for Vancouver? Destination Vancouver, with our Membership of more than 800 businesses and organizations has sought to build a sustainable and resilient industry that provides unforgettable experiences while contributing to the stewardship and renewal of our natural environment and social wellbeing in our host communities. This means careful planning and engagement with environmental & community organizations, government and economic development agencies to seek ways to make Vancouver the most welcoming city. Where visitors understand how their visit is contributing to a lighter environmental footprint and a positive social impact. We hope that through our collective respect for the environment and host communities, visitors will be inspired, and this will foster a desire to return and deepen your relationship with our city and its people.

To learn more about how Destination Vancouver is going about creating a more sustainable and resilient tourism destination please check out our 2024 Sustainable Goals and Impact Initiatives. These initiatives are informed by our participation in the Global Destination Sustainability Index. The index is designed for community destination management organizations who seek a structured & accountable way to drive impact in their communities. It is a process that leverages third-party evaluation of best practices in four core areas: Environmental, Social, Supplier and Destination Management practice.  Participation in the Global Destination Sustainability Index also creates opportunities to foster collaborative dialogue with over one hundred other cities around the world who are aligned with a shared purpose increase the long-term positive impact and resilience of tourism and events in our communities.