Events

                                               

and its Sustainability Committee proudly bring to you:

This Earth Day, Tuesday April 22nd 2008
come
Clean Clutter Consciously
- reduce - reuse - recycle -
Work Place Clutter

Waste disposal is a growing challenge for all businesses. Metro Vancouver has now banned materials such as cardboard and office paper from the landfill. Consumers are demanding responsible corporate practices and our landfills are nearing capacity.

On Earth Day, April 22nd, 2008, drop off your old equipment and supplies. We will recycle them responsibly for you at no charge and show you why it makes business sense to be wise about waste.

Our purpose is to invite you and your business to Think Strathcona First during your work place spring cleaning. We have invited several business partners to sponsor this event to get everyone in the community aware of how to safely dispose of waste without filling up the landfills.

** Most of the items will be reused and redistributed locally and worldwide! **

 Our Partners on-site at the Patricia Hotel Parking Lot picking up specifically noted items:

 

reBOOT Vancouver at 825 East Hastings St.

reBOOT Vancouver is a social purpose enterprise, active in the field of recycling, repair, and redistribution of redundant or discarded computers. Each computer system will first be screened to see if it can be repaired and reused by another person. If it cannot be redeployed in working condition then it will be dismantled and the parts will be separated and re streamed to be reused in an industrial process that continues to support the idea that nothing ends up in the landfill.

Taking working and defective:
• Computers
• Laptops
• Monitors
• Keyboards
• Mice
• Speakers
• Cables
• *Working only* stereo equipment
• Modems
• Printers
• Switches
• Hubs
• Wireless routers
• Video cards

For future electronic drop offs
please visit
www.rebootvancouver.ca
or call (604) 687-2777

 

Frogfile at 121 Heatley Avenue

Committed to supporting the efforts of business to reduce their impact on the environment by offering a Green Giving Program. Do you have lightly used office supplies that you are trying to get rid of? Through the Green Giving Program, Frogfile will pick up your lightly used office supplies on Earth day *free of charge* and distribute them to schools throughout the Greater Vancouver Regional District. Please ensure that all materials are sorted before drop off.

 

Will take *slightly used*:
• Binders
• Paper
• file folders
• file dividers
• staples
• staplers
• scissors
• pens
• pencils
• pencil sharpener
• markers
• tape
• calculators

For future donations please visit
www.frogfile.com
or call (604) 669-5949
To arrange a pick up for a small fee.

 

Third World Eye Care Society at 2453 commercial Drive

Collecting used eyeglasses and preparing them for distribution to developing countries around the world. TWECS consists of eye care professionals and individuals who collect used eyeglasses from the public and travel to Third World countries providing free eye care and eyeglasses to the poor.

 

Will take:
• eyeglasses

For future donations please visit www.twecs.ca or call (604) 874-2733

 

PITCH-IN CANADA

A national non-profit and charitable organization, established in 1967 that shares a common interest: to improve communities and the environment. Help Protect our Environment – cell phones and rechargeable batteries contain hazardous and toxic materials which should not go to landfills. Re-Use – some of the 60 million plus old cell phones old cell phones sitting in a desk drawer or at the back of a closet! They can be refurbished or remanufactured for re-use in emerging countries where they rely on wireless communication. Recycle – cell phones and batteries that cannot be reused can be recycled to recover materials.

 

Will Take:
• Cell phones

Will Not Take:
• Cell phone chargers
or accessories

For future donations please visit www.pitch-in.ca

 

We will also be accepting single use batteries for disposal.

Please do NOT bring:
• car batteries

 

Other service providers on site for info - but not providing free pickup on Earth Day:

United We Can

With the use of a truck and tricycle hauling, United We Can now offers container collection directly from larger volume commercial and residential consumers in the downtown area. We are proud to be able to provide this pick-up service to apartments, offices, hotels, restaurants, and bars with a "full refund" on the container deposits - though some customers choose to donate a portion of their refund to United We Can.

Sign up your business for FREE on Earth Day!

Fresh Start Recycling

Fresh Start Recycling also believes in Reduce - Reuse - Recycle and try to limit the impact on the environment by contributing reusable items to charity and recycling as much as possible. Using our truck and trailer combinations, we sort all material on site to determine what can be donated to charity, what can be recycled and what just has to go.

If your business has other unwanted office furniture items give them a call and schedule a responsible pick up.

What some attendees have said:

"I attended the January 24th "Sustainability 1.0" session you and your colleagues put together. I thought it was excellent in every dimension - great work! I look forward to hearing about any follow up. " ~ Keith Jardine, Sustainability consultant

" Just wanted to drop you a note and thank you for putting on such a great event last night! It was well organized and well attended and I was very impressed with the level of interest of the attendees. Your team did a great job. Look forward to working with you on new initiatives in the future. " ~ Christy Intihar, BC Hydro Program Manager

"Thanks for the awesome experience – still brings tears to my eyes." ~ Beth Ringdahl, EcoEco

"It is inspiring to see so many entrepreneurs, lot of them quite young, get together under the common goal of sustainability. And to realize that right here in Strathcona, part of the downtown eastside, we are gradually establishing a critical mass of green business cluster that, in Gregor's words, take care of nature and take care of each other, it is just so amazing" ~ Yan Zeng, City of Vancouver

"I want to congratulate everyone of you for your commitment and dedication to an extremely successful community event. Yesterday's Sustainability Expo came off without a hitch. I think every person who passed through the doors of ChapelArts was amazed and inspired by the positive energy that greeted them and the exciting prospects that were presented. I want to thank each of you for doing your part to make this session so wonderful. It's the energy and commitment of people like you who enable change for the better - thank you for being like that!" ~ Kira Gerwing, City of Vancouver

"This event was just terrific! One came away revitalized after listening to the ideas and discussing the businesses with the vendors, for example, Rachel Moscovich, Paul Merrick's sustainability analyst. Congratulations and very well done indeed." ~ Pat Canning, Strathcona resident

Press Releases:

BC Buzz
Video Piece on our Keynote Speaker Gregor Robertson
Click here to watch

BC Hydro
Article on the Expo: Vancouver business leaders tout benefits of going green
Click here to read
Article on the Expo: Investing in sustainability can pay off for small businesses
Click here to read

Vancouver Green Business Journal
Sustainability 1.0 - Green Business Event a Great Success!
Click here to read

Pictures:

Purdy Lee- Our Event Planner
Click here to have a look!

The Strathcona Business Improvement Association would like to thank all who participated attended our first Sustainability Expo 1.0: The Upside of Greening Your Business. It was the result of so many people coming together with passion and a common vision that made this event a reality. We were absolutely thrilled with the turnout and the positive feedback.

Dear fellow members of the Strathcona BIA Sustainability Committee,

I want to congratulate everyone of you for your commitment and dedication to an extremely successful community event. Yesterday’s Sustainability Expo came off without a hitch. I think every person who passed through the doors of ChapelArts was amazed and inspired by the positive energy that greeted them and the exciting prospects that were presented. I want to thank each of you for doing your part to make this session so wonderful. It’s the energy and commitment of people like you who enable change for the better - thank you for being like that!

CONGRATULATIONS ON SUCH A SUCCESSFUL EVENT!

Kira Gerwing
Planner, City of Vancouver

Thank you all for your wonderful comments and for all the support and effort you provided in making this an extremely successful event!

We could not have accomplished this without the participation of our sponsors, exhibitors, and panelists in making this event what it was, so thank you again! The collaborative effort from industry leaders like Marilyn Kopansky of Edible Planet, Toby Barazzuol of Eclipse Awards, and Gil Yaron of Frogfile, all of Strathcona, provided an educational forum full of information sharing and inquiry. These small businesses have embraced sustainability and strengthened their organizations as a result.

We called it Sustainability 1.0 for a reason... because there are a lot more events to come as we develop the green zone concept and mobilize the community. As Vancouver’s first small business approach to reclaiming Strathcona as Canada’s first Industrial Green Zone, our initial efforts were achieved. We hope that we’ve set the tone for this to happen in Strathcona now and in the coming years.

With the amazing number of visionaries in attendance, we trust everyone went home and back to work with new ideas of how to create a more sustainable community space. We trust everyone left with an enhanced commitment to the benefits of sustainability.

Stay tuned for more events!

Think Green
Think Strathcona First.

Sustainability 1.0: The Upside of Greening your Business

Thursday, January 24, 2008 | 3:00pm-7:00pm

Chapel Arts | 304 Dunlevy Street, Vancouver BC 

The Strathcona Sustainability Committee

Toby Barazzuol - Sustainability Committee Chair

Toby Barazzuol is the founder of Eclipse Awards, a local company that specializes in creating personalized recognition awards and counts organizations such as NASA, Microsoft, Oracle, and the United Nations amongst its clients.  In 2002, Toby moved his company to Strathcona with the goal of making a positive contribution to the Dowtown Eastside.  Two years later Toby was honored as one of BC's top 40 under 40 by Business in Vancouver.   Over the past few years, Eclipse Awards has introduced sustainability to its operations while still maintaining a growth rate of 20-30% each year.
 
Toby currently serves as the Vice Chair of both the Strathcona BIA and the Strathcona Revitalization Committee. 
He believes that the next generation of businesses must take on a greater role of social responsiblity and operate more sustainably, but that doesn't mean they won't be profitable, healthy, inspiring and fun.

 

Cathy Kwan - Strathcona BIA Executive Director 

 

Purdy Lee - Event Planner

 

Beth Ringdalh

 

Celina Starnes - Sustainability 1.0 Calender Designer

Celina is an environmental educator with Metro Vancouver, as well as a freelance illustrator and graphic artist.  Having moved to Vancouver in 2007, she has made great strides to integrate herself into the environmental community.  She has participated in Metro Vancouver’s Sustainability breakfasts, Green Drinks, the BCSEA, and the Global Habitat Festival.  Most recently, she has contributed her artistic abilities to the Strathcona BIA in creating the Strathcona’s Sustainability Calendar.  She brought together a number of artists from the community to create an incredible resource for companies starting down the path of sustainable development.

Celina’s interests and passion for promoting the integrity of human relations and the environment has brought her from one end of the continent to the other and even to South America.  Between semesters at McGill’s School of Environment, she worked with endangered species research and environmental education.  She has also traveled throughout Western Canada, Northwestern USA and Bolivia, visiting and learning from intentional communities and ecovillages.

At McGill she worked with the Organic Food Coop and Gorilla Composting (a university wide program) as coordinator of communications, marketing and branding.  In her new home of Vancouver, she will continue to develop her abilities by cultivating positive change.

 

Danielle Carrie

 

Juan Carlos Villegas

 

Kira Gerwing, MScP

Kira Gerwing has been with the City of Vancouver Planning Department since 2005.  Her current focus is projects supporting the regeneration of Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, specifically through community economic development, land use planning and policy development.

Prior to working at the City, Kira was a regional planner for an environmental non-profit organisation with extensive experience in conservation planning along British Columbia’s coast.  She holds a Masters in Community and Regional Planning from the University of British Columbia and Bachelor of Geography from the University of Victoria. 

Kira’s core area of interest lies in partnering with marginalized communities to develop plans that synthesize their cultural and physical resources with traditional and community values.  She has provided community and professional workshops on strategic planning, land use policies, community economic development, and government-to-government consultation.
She is a member of the Planning Institute of British Columbia and a mother to two young children.
 

Lori Schlechtleitner

 

Marilyn Kopansky

Marilyn Kopansky is the co-founder and President of Edible Planet Catering. Edible Planet has provided 14 years of top quality catering to the film and television industry, and large public events in locations ranging from the Canadian Rockies to the Yangtze River in China.Marilyn and EP's recipe for success has been to combine the creative talents of the team with the best available products and ingredients to satisfy clients’ needs for exceptional service and cuisine. As a member of the Green Table, Get local and Ocean Wise, Edible Planet values sustainability and makes an effort to protect the integrity of the food source. Completion of a major renovation of their building at 460 Railway Street in Strathcona has enabled Edible Planet to serve a wider market through a café and production kitchen. Active in her community, Marilyn is a board member of the Pot Luck Café Society and Strathcona BIA. An energetic team builder and motivator, Marilyn encourages people to excel by enabling them to "operate in their genius". 

 

Nelson Borges

 

Vicki Scully

 

Volunteers

David Lee

Stephanie Lee

Richard Jones

Travis Clyne

Tina Ngo 

 

Chapel Arts Skate Jam - Street Party - BBQ!!

Weekend of July 11-13

For more info, please visit:
Chapel Arts
Across the Board BC

ANITA M. BURKE

Until recently, Anita worked for Shell International as the advisor to the Shell International Committee of Managing Directors on the operationalisation of sustainable development and the energy portfolio implications of a carbon constrained future. During her 18 years of working in all aspects of the upstream and downstream portions of the oil business, she has delivered profitable technologies and organizational processes that have delivered on the sustainable development and climate change strategic vision.

Anita is internationally recognized as a thought leader in the area of sustainable development. She has helped to co-create visionary strategies for the future and practical, tactical actions to deliver on our need to go beyond organic and disentangle us from the hydrocarbon energy system. She is practical and passionate about local living economies and the processes that will contribute to the evolution of our relationship with the planet and each other.

Her deep belief in the mystery, commitment to seeking the Divine and the sometimes messy manifestation of the awakening soul, is the magic that underpins her work. She weaves the poet, healer, seeker and deep connection to the earth into the business pragmatics to resonate in a way that tantalizes the heart into right action.

She is currently writing, speaking internationally and advising governments and green businesses on social responsibility, operationalizing sustainable development and practical actions for delivering on socioeconomic change. She is also a partner in several innovative green businesses in both North America and China.
 

CHRISTY INTIHAR - BC Hydro 

Christy Intihar is the BC Hydro Power Smart program manager responsible for the development of conservation initiatives for small and medium businesses. She specializes in the creation and marketing of programs to assist businesses to identify and take action on energy conservation opportunities. Before joining BC Hydro Christy spent a number of years as a marketing and product manager in the high tech industry.

 

GREGOR ROBERTSON - Vancouver Fairview MLA and Co-founder of Happy Planet

Gregor brings a broad range of experience and a fresh perspective to BC politics. He is living proof that business success can happen while acting responsibly toward people and the environment.

Elected as the MLA for Vancouver Fairview on May 17, 2005, Gregor is committed to bringing this same successful balance to government. Gregor is the Opposition Critic for Small Business, Revenue and Deregulation, and the Co-Chair of the NDP Caucus Climate Change Task Force. He also sat on the Special Committee on Sustainable Aquaculture.

In 1994, Gregor co-founded Happy Planet, and grew the Vancouver-based socially responsible company up to 50 employees in 10 years. Happy Planet strives to produce exceptional juices, promote health and nutrition, support family farms and communities, and “grow a progressive business from which happiness flows.” Happy Planet has received the Ethics in Action Award in 2004, and was awarded the Vancouver Mayor’s Environmental Award for exemplary achievement in 2003.

 

DR JAMES TANSEY

James joined UBC in 2006 and is jointly appointed between the Sauder School of Business and the W. Maurice Young Centre for Applied Ethics. James’ research activities cover a number of areas including the social impacts and acceptability of new technologies including stem cells and biobanks. He has written extensively on the role of public consultation in the governance of industrial societies, industrial ecology, scenario methods and climate change. His current research focuses on emerging international markets for carbon exchange, social determinants of health in developed countries and the governance of biotechnology and genomics in Canada.

James Tansey received his PhD from the University of East Anglia in 1999. After a number of years in the Faculty of Graduate Studies at UBC in Canada, he spent two years in the UK as a lecturer in Science and Technology Studies with the Said Business School in Oxford, where he was also deputy director of the James Martin Institute for Science and Civilization.

James is Managing Editor of the journal Integrated Assessment and co-founder of a Canadian carbon offset entity called offsetters.com. He has taught on MBA, EMBA, Executive Education, MSc and Undergraduate programmes in the UK and Canada. He currently contributes to the MBA core and to graduate teaching in the Faculty of Graduate Studies. James has recently worked as an advisor and contributor to the World Economic Forum, the UK National Audit Office, Oxford Analytica, Cisco, Isis Innovation (Oxford), Environment Canada, Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency and the Asymmetric Threats Contingency Alliance.

MARY STURGEON-Consultant, Junxion Strategy Inc.

With 17 years of agency experience working with dozens of non-profit, government and commercial clients, Mary brings a wide breadth of strategic communications counsel and consulting capabilities to Junxion Strategy.
 
She has a singular focus on client service, and is of the firm belief that to be effective, communications strategies must be driven by and support an organization’s primary operational objectives. Curious and analytical, Mary digs deeply with her clients to fully understand both the internal and external landscapes in which they operate. She is a keen strategist and strong writer, skilled at filtering complex data into information that helps people and organizations to understand new ideas and embrace change.
 
Mary comes to Junxion after more than 12 years at Porter Novelli Canada, where she helped to establish its roots as a small independent public relations firm, and as part of the executive team, grow it into one of Canada’s leading full-service communications agencies. During that period, she conceived and led the spin-off of a complementary agency, Alchemy PR, and as President, steered its growth for more than three years. 
 
She is a member of the board of directors of the BC Sustainable Energy Association, and is an executive of SHIFT, a Vancouver-based community-building initiative that seeks to inspire local, citizen-created action on climate change.

 

TOBY BARAZZUOL

Toby Barazzuol is the founder of Eclipse Awards, a local company that specializes in creating personalized recognition awards and counts organizations such as NASA, Microsoft, Oracle, and the United Nations amongst its clients.  In 2002, Toby moved his company to Strathcona with the goal of making a positive contribution to the Dowtown Eastside.  Two years later Toby was honored as one of BC's top 40 under 40 by Business in Vancouver.   Over the past few years, Eclipse Awards has introduced sustainability to its operations while still maintaining a growth rate of 20-30% each year.
 
Toby currently serves as the Vice Chair of both the Strathcona BIA and the Strathcona Revitalization Committee. 
He believes that the next generation of businesses must take on a greater role of social responsiblity and operate more sustainably, but that doesn't mean they won't be profitable, healthy, inspiring and fun.

BIA members from Strathcona, Hastings-Sunrise, Chinatown, Gastown and Downtown, business owners, employees, non-profit organizations, community members and residents should attend. 

Attendance is complimentary and anyone interested is welcome to attend. 

 

3:00pm-3:30pm   

*Registration/Expo Open 

3:30pm-4:30pm   

Panel Discussion: The Upside of Greening your Business.

Attend this session to learn what sustainability means and discover the true benefits and costs of greening your business.  Hear from successful local businesses as they discuss why they embraced sustainability and how it has strengthened their organizations. Their answers may surprise you.

Moderator: Anita Burke, The Catalyst Institute
Panelists:  Marilyn Kopansky of Edible Planet; Toby Barazzuol of Eclipse Awards; Gil Yaron of Frogfile

4:35pm-4:50pm    

The Business Case for Conservation - Christy Intihar, BC Hydro Power Smart Program Manager

5:00pm-6:00pm   

Panel Discussion: Going Green-Incentives, Resources and Marketing Strategies

This session will explore the resources and incentives that are available to help businesses go green.  Learn more about the tools and assistance that are available to help your organization adopt sustainability. 

Moderator:  James Tansey, The Sauder School of Business
Panelists:  Maureen Cureton - Vancity Energy Manager, Mary Sturgeon of Junxion Strategy, André LaRivière of Green Tables, Amy Robinson of the Sustainability Purchasing Network 

6:00pm-6:30pm    

Expo Open

6:30pm-7:00pm    

Keynote Session featuring Hon. Gregor Robertson, MLA Vancouver-Fairview and co-founder of Happy Planet.

7:00pm   

Wrap Up, Thank you and Draw Prizes!

 

*Registration open throughout the event

**Times are subject to change. Check back for Updates!

 

 

 

The Strathcona BIA Annual Member Christmas Social is being held on Wednesday November 28th from 4pm to 7pm. BIA members are invited to join us to socialize with fellow members while enjoying festive drinks and delicious appetizers. Please register online by: Friday November 23, 2007.  

https://secure.thriva.com/ThrivaRegister/Registration.aspx?IDTD=2507636&IDRPH=2509090&COID=1702507627+1702530913&RHL=-1

Please phone 604-258-2720 if you have any questions.