The long awaited opening of our English Bay location is fast approaching. The design and construction of this restaurant has to be considered very carefully as we are targeting a LEED GOLD Certification for it. Sustainability has always been a priority of ours, we were a founding member of the Green Table Network and our menu is Ocean Wise approved. A LEED GOLD certified restaurant, one of the first in Canada, would be a huge win for us and the environment.
LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. It consists of a suite of rating systems for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings, homes and neighborhoods. Here are a just a few of the things we are doing at English Bay while we aim for LEED Gold certification:
Green features at Cactus Club English Bay include:
◦ A living, energy efficient green roof
◦ An organic herb garden on the second level of the restaurant
◦ Employees will be provided secure bike storage and a private shower and change area
◦ Bike racks will serve up to 5% of customers’ bicycles at all times
◦ Landscaping will feature water-efficient practices, such as rainwater irrigation.
◦ Restrooms will feature waterless urinals, which reduce water use by 30%
◦ Waste management tactics were employed by the construction team; 75% of materials used in building were salvaged or recycled
◦ At least half of all wood is FSC (Forrest Stewardship Council of Canada) certified
◦ At least 20% of all materials used are extracted or manufactured within 800km of restaurant
◦ A state-of-the-art heating and air conditioning system uses a heat recovery process where excess heat from the kitchen is purified and reused to heat the restaurant
◦ The building process has carefully considered air quality, using low emitting materials, adhesives, paints and sealants
◦ Through our Green Table membership, the restaurant team is committed to composting, green innovation and reducing energy consumption.