Vancouver will brand itself as a ‘Green Capital’ to visiting businesses during the Winter Olympics, the mayor announced yesterday, part of an effort to attract clean-technology development to the city.
“Let’s own green,” said Gregor Robertson as he unveiled the city’s new business branding at a Vancouver Board of Trade luncheon. “Enough with the modesty.”
The logo is a stylized V of intersecting green and blue lines above the slogan: Vancouver Green Capital.
“Let’s make it our market advantage. Let’s claim what is rightfully ours and make sure the world knows it.”
Robertson would not get into specific details about how the brand might be used, other than to say it would be used during the Games at Vancouver House and at Olympic Live Sites.
Slideshow images during Robertson’s speech showed the brand used in city banners, as part of advertising at bus stops and as a decal on a white Toyota Prius hybrid.
He said a comprehensive branding strategy will be released in November along with the city’s new economic development strategy.
Robertson, describing himself as “salesman-in-chief” to the world, said the city is already an emerging hotspot for the green economy and is home to some major players like Ballard and Nexterra.
Part of the challenge, he said, would be in changing the world’s perception of the West Coast lifestyle.
“It’s important that the world sees that Vancouver is serious about business too. We can’t just be a laid-back place to chill out.”
He said there are a number of world cities competing to be recognized as green hubs, including San Jose and London.
“Vancouver has the potential to be a top five global clean-tech city, with a world-leading cluster of clean-tech innovation, jobs and investment.”
He added that B.C.’s clean energy technology sector has the potential to reach $5 to $6 billion by 2020.
