Vancouver green leaders connect at Power Plant

• By
• Cecilia Lu

Image by Jonathan Evans Photography

The concept of Power Plant is simple: Fill a room with Vancouver’s green movers and shakers, lube ‘em up with organic cocktails and get them talking about how to collaborate

Granville magazine digital editor Hilary Henegar and I had a great night of networking at this month's Power Plant, hosted by the newly renovated and eco-minded restaurant The Refinery.

For those who couldn't make it, Power Plant is an event for sustainability professionals to network, sip and get to know other like-minded business leaders, social entrepreneurs, eco-adventurers and green artists. It happens only once every two months and tickets, while free, sell out early so make sure to follow @PowerPlantVan for updates.

The highlight of the event was seeing presentations from green community and business leaders in Vancouver. Each presenter got 10 slides at 20 seconds each to tell their story. Presentations could be anything from sharing about their company and acknowledging achievements to launching a new program and raising interest for partnerships.
 

First up was Boyd Cohen, CEO and founder of 3rdWhale Mobile, who was there to announce the recent merger between his company and the US-based GenGreen. The new company is GenGreen Life, a hyper-local resource for environmentally-conscious people, offering a whole spectrum of services catering to those wanting to lead the life conscientious. I can't wait to download their iPhone apps and connect with more local green businesses in Vancouver!

Next was Kevin Washbrook, founder and organizer of Bridge To A Cool Planet, an initiative aimed at bringing together the people of Vancouver to call for “real action on climate change” at the climate talks in Copenhagen in December. Kevin and I spoke afterwards about his passion to bring awareness about climate change through the International Day of Climate Action, on October 24, by gathering as many people as possible on the Cambie Bridge. “If you do one thing this year [for climate change], come to the bridge… This is not a protest,” Kevin stressed, “It’s a celebration!”

Bridge To a Cool Planet wants to work with all groups and organizations within Vancouver to help raise awareness about the Canadian government's stance on climate change. So much needs to be done in these three short weeks, so please get in touch with Kevin and see what you or your organization can do.

The third presentation was on Reel Youth, the brainchild of Mark Vonesch, who had a vision to support youth all over the world through media empowerment. The Reel Youth Film Festival comprises a series of short films created by youth in Nepal, South Korea, the US and from all across Canada, including the Vancouver area, and will premiere at the Vancouver International Film Festival on October 14 and 15. My business card was drawn for a DVD of their best of 2006 Festival, and I can't wait to watch the creative work of these aspiring young voices.

Finally, Christine Carter of Bullfrog Power took the stage. Bullfrog is Canada's leading 100 percent green energy provider, allowing customers to offset their home or business energy use by paying a little extra on top of their usual hydro bills. Bullfrog then invests the money into clean energy alternatives from wind and hydro facilities that have been certified as low impact by Environment Canada’s EcoLogo program.

The room was full of people dedicated to the environment, and it was great to see them all connecting. “Connector Stations” facilitated discussion by putting people together with others who have similar interests.

Hype around The Refinery's new eco-friendly renovations didn't disappoint—reclaimed fir beams, Kirei Board tables (an eco-friendly substitute for wood) and LED lighting. The list goes on, but what impressed me the most was the creation of a bike lock-up area and hired security exclusively for the event. I've always been wary about leaving my bike parked downtown, so it's great to see businesses making it easier and safer for cyclists to get to them.

Big shout out to (Jonathan Evans, the official photographer for the event, for letting us use his photos, as Hilary's camera unfortunately ran out of batteries.

Check out PHOTOS from the event >>>