Vancouver's Royal Centre unwrapped
RBC, 3M and Mannington to recycle building wrap that changed the city skyline during Vancouver 2010
VANCOUVER, March 24, 2010 — RBC and 3M
Canada announced that the wrap of the 36-storey Royal Centre
in downtown Vancouver will begin coming down today to be recycled
into high-recycled-content commercial flooring tile.
The façade of the Royal Centre at the corner of Burrard
and West Georgia streets, which featured an iconic photograph
of Canadian Olympic Women's Freestyle Skier Kristi Richards
flying through the air, instantly became a tourist attraction
and the subject of hundreds of photographs taken by tourists
and visiting Olympic athletes.
"The image of Kristi Richards in mid-flight clearly
struck a chord with our clients, employees, our Vancouver
downtown community, and thousands of visitors during the Olympic
and Paralympic Winter Games," said Graham MacLachlan,
RBC Regional President for B.C. "We are pleased that
the wrap was a part of people's photographs and memories from
Vancouver 2010, and that it will continue to have value beyond
the Games as recycled building material."
Richards is part of the RBC Olympians program and the Royal
Centre is the regional headquarters for RBC and home to its
main bank branch in Vancouver. As a long standing supporter
of the Canadian Olympic and Paralympic Teams, RBC was premier
national partner of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic
Winter Games and helped showcase Olympic and Paralympic sport
as presenting partner of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic
Torch Relays.
The Royal Centre wrap was the largest of its kind in Canada
measuring 115.8 metres high and 33.8 metres wide (380 feet
x 111 feet). The Tower wrap measured 3,918.7 square metres
(42,180 square feet) and the wrap of the building's Atrium
was 648.3 square metres (6,978 square feet). The wrap consisted
of two applications: the windows were covered with 3M Scotchcal
Perforated Window Graphic Film, and the concrete was covered
with 3M Scotchcal Graphic Film for Textured Surfaces both
provided by 3M Canada.
"3M's graphics helped RBC celebrate its Olympic sponsorship
by creating a dramatic visual impact at the Games," said
Richard Chartrand, vice-president, display and graphics business,
3M Canada. "We developed this recycling program to help
limit environmental impact after the Games and we're very
pleased to see RBC is a part of this initiative. This recycling
program represents a significant step in the right direction
for the graphics industry."
After the materials have been removed, they will be consolidated
and shipped to Mannington, a leading flooring manufacturer
based in New Jersey. There they will be ground up and incorporated
as a binding agent in limestone tiles. Leveraging its experience
in repurposing various building materials into hard surface
flooring, Mannington developed the first known way of recycling
post-use adhesive-backed graphic materials.
Crews will work for approximately seven days to remove and
collect the wrap materials so they can be recycled properly.
About RBC
RBC is recognized among the world's financial, social and
environmental leaders and is listed on the 2009-2010 Dow Jones
Sustainability World Index and the DJSI North American Index.
RBC has been named one of Canada's Greenest Employers, one
of Canada's Best Diversity Employers, one of Canada's 50 Most
Socially Responsible Corporations and one of the Best Workplaces
in Canada. RBC is also listed on the Jantzi Social Index,
the FTSE4Good Index, and the Canadian Carbon Disclosure Project
Leadership Index. As one of Canada's largest corporate donors,
RBC supports a broad range of community initiatives, through
donations, sponsorships and employee volunteer activities.
In 2009, RBC contributed more than $105 million to community
causes worldwide, through donations of more than $52.6 million,
and an additional $52.5 million in sponsorship of community
events and national organizations.
About 3M Canada
Established in 1951, 3M Canada Company was one of the first
international subsidiaries opened by 3M and remains one of
the largest. 3M Canada's head office and original manufacturing
site is in London, Ontario where approximately half of the
company's 1,800 employees work. Other Ontario plants are located
in Toronto, Brockville, and Perth with one in Morden, Manitoba.
Sales offices are located in major cities nationwide and a
national service network supports customers.
3M and Scotchcal are trademarks of 3M. Used under licence
in Canada.
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Pictures available at:
www.3m.ca/2010
For media queries:
RBC Media Relations
Christie Smith
604-665-4031
Christie.Smith@rbc.com
3M Canada
Jacqui Newell,
Public Relations Coordinator
1-800-265-1840 ext. 2564, 519-451-2500 ext. 2564
jnewell@mmm.com
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