The Vancouver Convention Centre has earned the Global Biorisk Advisory Council (GBAC) Star accreditation for outbreak prevention, response and recovery, and been awarded the 2020 Clean Air Award by the National Air Filtration Association (NAFA).
Administered by GBAC, a division of the worldwide cleaning industry association ISSA, GBAC Star provides third-party validation that public facilities have rigorous protocols in place for thorough response to biorisk situations.
With the events venue’s achievement, all of B.C. Pavilion Corp.’s (PavCo) facilities have earned the accreditation. B.C. Place Stadium completed its successful application in September 2020.
“Our teams have been hard at work to further enhance our comprehensive safety and cleaning measures, considering every step in our processes and operations,” says Ken Cretney, president and CEO of PavCo. “By earning the gold standard of the Global Biorisk Advisory Council, both the Vancouver Convention Centre and B.C. Place have committed to providing the highest levels of environmental health and safety for events and activities that contribute to the social fabric and economic restart of our industry in British Columbia.”
The NAFA Clean Air Award recognizes excellence in air filtration, as well as outstanding effort in maintaining a clean and healthy indoor environment.
The Vancouver Convention Centre received the award for maintaining and improving air quality throughout the facility. Notably, air filters were upgraded to extend their lifespan from yearly to every two years, which has resulted in significant energy utilization savings for the building’s operation. The centre also maintains a comprehensive record-keeping program around the regular replacing of air filters, installing gaskets between air filters to prevent bypassing, installing instrumentation to measure pressure drop across air filters and more.
“2020 has shown us that there is no limit on the need to prioritize air quality when striving to create clean and healthy environments within facilities like ours,” says the convention centre’s general manager, Craig Lehto. “We will continue to look for ways to further these efforts as air filtration becomes even more foundational to hosting events and visitors in the future.”
Located on Vancouver’s downtown waterfront, the events venue is the world’s first double LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) platinum certified convention centre. It features two connected buildings with a combined total of 466,500 square feet of flexible meeting, exhibition, ballroom and plenary space.
