Toronto’s Direct Energy Centre, located at Exhibition Place, has been awarded LEED Gold certification for Existing Buildings: Operations and Maintenance. This achievement makes the facility one of the first convention centres, nationwide, to receive the Canada Green Building Council (CaGBC) distinction.
As the largest venue at Exhibition Place, the Direct Energy Centre welcomes over 5.3 million visitors each year. In an effort to reduce its carbon footprint, the facility adopted a variety of environmental and sustainable practices through the GREENSmart Program, Exhibition Place’s official Environmental Plan, established in 2004.
The Direct Energy Centre received a variety of facility upgrades to help the establishment achieve a LEED Gold status. These upgrades and changes include:
- New bathroom fixtures to reduce water use by 45 per cent;
- An increase in controllable lighting systems, reducing overall lighting energy consumption;
- An average of 72 per cent of show waste diverted from landfills; and
- Participation in the Toronto Smart Commute program, reducing conventional commuting trips by 52 per cent.
“It is a significant achievement to receive this prestigious certification. I wish to congratulate and thank all Exhibition Place staff for their hard work and consistent efforts on this project,” says Mark Grimes, Chair of the Board of Governors at Exhibition Place. “Having also been recently awarded 3RCertified Platinum Level from the Recycling Council of Ontario, Exhibition Place is once again proving itself to be a phenomenal leader in sustainability, energy reduction and waste management.”
The Allstream Conference Centre, located directly across the street from the Direct Energy Centre, was previously awarded a LEED Silver certification from the CaGBC in 2012.
