Resources and Initiatives

• Survey on Housing Affordability and Green Housing, British Columbia Real Estate Association
  Provides information on the green choices BC residents are making at home. Data suggests about three out of every four British Columbians have already taken steps to make their homes more environmentally friendly. Water conservation, home energy assessments and general awareness of federal and provincial green programs are also addressed by the findings.
• Sustainability at Home Toolkit for BC *
  A toolkit created for British Columbians to help support the processes of reducing environmental impacts and put sustainable living concepts into practice. This tool provides the public with an explanation of sustainability and the root causes of un-sustainability and includes a list of questions to ask while making household decisions, simple suggestions for every room in a home, sustainable renovation tips and links to many other valuable resources.
• Eco-Strata Guide, One Earth Initiative*
  A guide for volunteer strata councils and residents of multi-family buildings. It offers practical ideas on how to get started in implementing more “green” practices in buildings. A hard copy guidebook is available, as well as a website at www.eco-strata.com.
• Green Bricks Education*
  Two building engineers have developed and deliver this curriculum in classrooms across the Lower Mainland. They teach kids about the impacts of buildings on the environment and better building construction and maintenance practices. Kids can enroll in the Green Brick Challenge to undertake some kind of green building initiative in their communities.
• Old School, Vancouver Heritage Foundation*
  A series of courses on how to preserve and retrofit heritage buildings in Vancouver. The courses are open to the general public, and also qualify as professional development credits for building professionals.

* Funded in part by The Real Estate Foundation of BC, which provides financial support for real estate-related projects. The Foundation funds many projects that directly benefit the public, such as post-secondary real estate education, public participation in community planning, non-profit affordable housing and environmental restoration initiatives.