FLASHBACK TO 2008: At the Green Developers Dialogue, Tim Pringle illustrated how Green Value had moved from market-niche to market-share on Vancouver Island
Note to Reader:
The Ecological Accounting Protocol has its roots in the Green Value strategy that was initiated by Tim Pringle in 2006 when he was the Executive Director of the Real Estate Foundation of BC. In 2008, he presented the results of his statistical analysis regarding investment decisions to demonstrate that BC was at a tipping point.
At the time, a change in thinking was taking place. This set the stage for development of an economic tool to make real the notion of ‘watersheds as infrastructure assets’ a decade later.
Watch the YouTube video of Tim Pringle summarizing his key findings:
Investment decisions show that Green Value has moved from market-niche to market-share on Vancouver Island
In 2006, the Real Estate Foundation of British Columbia (REFBC) launched a strategy for Vancouver Island and coastal regions.
The goal was to encourage local and regional governments to engage policies and practices that accommodate settlement growth and change without irrevocable damage to the ecology that underlies the well being of Island/coastal communities.
In short, the REFBC promotes Green Value Strategies as the preferred approach to use and conservation of land.
Green Developers Dialogue
In conjunction with the 2008 Gaining Ground Sustainable Development Leadership Summit held in Victoria, the REFBC organized a Green Developers Roundtable as a consultation opportunity to support the CAVI-Convening for Action on Vancouver Island program.
Representatives of projects in the Comox Valley, mid-Island and south-Island regions participated. The roundtable purpose was to initiate a Green Value Dialogue with the Vancouver Island development community.
“We organized the roundtable event to engage the major Vancouver Island developers in a conversation about the factors that facilitate or hinder their efforts to design, plan for and implement 
development incorporating Green Value Strategies on Vancouver Island,” said Jack Hall, REFBC Chair.
“In particular, we asked them to offer observations about the local or regional government context. The roundtable was the first step in an educational process that will parallel what we already have underway with local government.”
The roundtable was facilitated by Patrick Condon, James Taylor Chair in Landscape and Liveable Environments at the University of British Columbia The James Taylor Chair creates publications for a wide audience to summarize and disseminate research on sustainable community design.
To Learn More:
To view the agenda, please click on this link to the Program Outline.
From Market-Niche to Market-Share
Tim Pringle, REFBC Executive Director, presented a statistical review by the Foundation of research it is conducting to quantify the extent of GreenValue development underway and in the permit process on Vancouver Island.
The analysis tracks dollar value as well as type of development.
“To borrow a quote from Patrick Condon, the key finding is that overnight Green Value development has moved from market-niche to market-share,” reported Tim Pringle.
“In 2006 and 2007, development defined as ‘deep green’ accounted for about 10% of the value of residential building permits in five regional districts.”
“Looking at what is currently on the books for projects with a value greater than $15 million, Green Value development accounts for roughly a 60% market share, a six-fold increase.”
“Deep Green projects are defined as those which address landscape, watershed and site scale values. Deep Green projects include strategies that will be applied substantially to realize the planning and implementation goals that are fundamental to future prosperity, quality of life, and reducing the ecological footprint (of settlement activity).”
To Learn More:
To view a video clip of Tim Pringle summarizing the key findings, click on the following link to Implementation of Green Value Development Strategies on Vancouver Island.
Download a copy of the PowerPoint presentation slides prepared by Tim Pringle.
About the Gaining Ground Series
The Gaining Ground Summit was the third in a series of annual events to be held in Victoria.
It brought together leaders and leadership teams from ‘champion cities’—North American places large and small that have made significant progress in urban sustainability programs—to explore their initiatives and the conditions that currently foster or frustrate whole-city shift toward sustainability.
As a way of studying successful formulas for leadership, policy creation, civic engagement, innovation, and performance measurement, the conference focus was on places that have been able to fast-track their emissions reduction goals and other sustainability programs.
To leverage the value of so much assembled expertise, the conference invited political, professional, business and organizational leadership from BC’s cities, communities and regions to the conference—to exchange ideas, foster local learning, build capacity, inspire, and assist progress toward the goals of the British Columbia’s Green Cities and Climate Change Initiatives.
