On behalf of the Board of Directors of Vancouver Airport Authority, Chair Annalisa King is pleased to announce the election of Suromitra Sanatani, LL.B. to the Board of Directors.   Suromitra was nominated by the Law Society of BC. 

A lawyer by training, Ms. Sanatani began her career in litigation before transitioning to senior corporate positions in the non-profit, public and private sectors, and most recently to the role of independent director.  She currently serves as Chair of the Royal Bank Global Asset Management Independent Review Committee, Chair of the RBC Indigo Independent Review Committee and a director of Purolator Holdings Ltd. and the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada.  She is the past Chair of the Board of Canada Post and previously served on the boards of Travel Alberta, Edmonton and Victoria International Airports and as Chair of the Royal British Columbia Museum. 

Ms. Sanatani is the former B.C. and Yukon Vice-President of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business.  She played a pivotal role in the establishment of Partnerships BC (now Infrastructure BC) where she served as Vice President, Corporate and Government Relations.  Her previous consultancy work included leading First Nations consultations across British Columbia and providing strategic advice to senior executives in the financial, utilities and transportation sectors. 

Vancouver Airport Authority is the non-share capital organization that manages Vancouver International Airport (YVR) in service of the community and economy that supports it. More information on the Airport Authority Board and its Directors can be found on our Leadership and Accountability page: Leadership and Accountability | YVR.

For this year’s YVR Green Excellence Award, we are encouraging businesses on Sea Island to submit nominations for environmental initiatives that fall into the following three categories:

1.  Environmental Innovation Award – Demonstration of creativity and ingenuity in the development and implementation of an environmental initiative.
2. Environmental Stewardship Award – An environmental initiative with the greatest positive environmental impact, encompassing carbon, energy, waste, water and broader ecosystem health.
3. The Community Eco-Champion Award – Initiatives that involve actively engaging local communities to promote environmental awareness and action.

Although the three award categories are broad, here are specific examples from last year’s winners:

• Environmental Innovation Award Winner – Purolator Inc. implemented and expanded their use of reusable pallet skid wrap in their operations, reducing their usage of plastic shrink wrap.
• Environmental Stewardship Award Winner – Air Canada electrified their ground support equipment by replacing several diesel tractors with electric counterparts.
• Community Eco-Champion Award Winner – Fairmont Vancouver Airport hosted several clean-ups at both McDonald Beach and YVR’s East Loading Dock, collecting 90 pounds of waste.

To learn more and submit a nomination for your organization’s project, program, or initiative, please review and complete the online nomination form by Monday, September 30, 2024, at 5:00PM (PST). If you know of another organization who has done great work in the above categories, nominate them as well through the form. 

Good luck to all nominees!