By Roy L Hales

In 2009, Gregor Robertson was elected mayor of Vancouver after campaigning to make it the greenest city in the World. Two years later, the Economist ranked Vancouver #2 in North America. In 2013, Vancouver was chosen as the planet’s first Global Earth Hour Capital. The judges were impressed by the city’s overall holistic approach to climate action. According to the city’s sustainability director, Amanda Pitre-Hayes, Vancouver has made significant progress.