 |
|
|
September 2008
Site Selection Checklist
Is that facility really green?
Convention centers and destinations are going green at a far faster rate than the events they host. Often, this is due to green policies mandated by their city or state. For example, Houston, Dallas, San Diego and Austin are all within the EPA’s “Top 10 local government green power purchasers.” But the rise in green facilities also gives rise to green facility claims. At times, it’s like the Wild West out there, with green press releases and announcements made daily. Without industry standards, however, who’s to say what constitutes “green”? What you consider green may differ dramatically from others.
With this session of the EXPO/Red 7 Media Green Event Summit, held in June in San Francisco, we brought together facility managers from recognized green facilities to determine what we should expect to see on a site inspection of a green facility.
Panelists:
Jeff Blosser, Executive Director, Oregon Convention Center
With nearly 30 years of facility management, Jeff was the Executive Director responsible for obtaining the Oregon Convention Center’s LEED certification in 2004. He has served on the International Association of Assembly Managers (IAAM) Board of Directors twice, and currently represents the convention and exposition centers as the IAAM representative to the Convention Industry Council.
Bob Sauter, Assistant General Manager, The Moscone Center, San Francisco
Bob spent more than 30 years as a service contractor prior to joining Moscone eight years ago. Bob is a past board member of the Exhibition Services and Contractors Association (ESCA), and is responsible for an active recycling team credited with contributing to several Moscone state and national environmental awards. Bob is also active in local efforts to green neighborhood gardens.
Arlene Campbell, General Manager, Direct Energy Centre, Toronto
In addition to serving as General Manager of Canada’s largest exhibition and convention center, Arlene is also General Manager of Sales & Events for Exhibition Place, Canada’s largest entertainment venue. She is on the Board of Tourism Toronto, and serves on the IAEE Committee for Environmentally Responsible Exhibitions and Events.
What should we look for in a green destination?
Sauter: Political commitment. Where does city hall stand? How behind the process of greening are they?
Blosser: I’d also look at how the design of the facility and the design of the city matches the environmental issues the city is claiming to address. For instance, in Portland, we have a substantial mass transit system that allows people to get to and from the airport, and in and around the city. So the city is backing its environmental stance.
Campbell: I would also look to the CVB. If you go to the CVB Web site and they don’t have green information, then I doubt the destination is very green. Hopefully there’s green data about accommodations, transit and other green options available to you.
Sauter: I think you should also ask them what they’ve done to green their cities. San Francisco banned the use of Styrofoam in restaurants a couple years ago. Last year, we banned plastic shopping bags. Now we’re working on bottled water. Those are definitive, measurable steps that a city has taken to demonstrate a commitment.
Blosser: You might ask about food donation and recycling programs, too — not just in the building, but the whole city. In Portland, restaurants and hotels are very involved in composting, as is the facility. A city has to make a commitment for residents as well as businesses to truly be a green destination.
How important is the LEED designation in choosing a building?
Blosser: LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is the U.S. Green Building Council’s certification program for green buildings. It sets specific standards buildings must adhere to. For new buildings, the LEED certification is certifying that green construction practices were used. For existing buildings, the LEED EB designation is about the building’s operational procedures. So if a convention center tells you they’re LEED certified, you need to find out whether it’s new build or existing build, if you care about the difference between operational procedures versus green building materials.
The Oregon Convention Center got its LEED certification under the existing building process. You have to re-certify every five years. There are prerequisites relative to indoor air quality, your energy program, the chemicals that you use inside and outside the building, the type of irrigation you use, the type of landscaping, heat island issues, etc. There are 12 to 14 major categories of reports you have to submit annually. It’s time consuming, and it’s expensive, and we’ve found some of the requirements don’t work well for our industry. A building has to make a real a commitment to this. If you come to a LEED-certified facility, you can pretty much guarantee that building is green. But there are plenty of buildings that haven’t been LEED certified, but are very committed to being sustainable.
Sauter: Now that LEED certification has become a determining factor for clients, we’re looking at whether it makes sense for us to become certified. But I can tell you, we’ve followed LEED practices for years. We’ve just never committed to the paperwork.
Every facility says they recycle, but how can I verify where everything goes once it leaves the building?
Campbell: Ask us to detail our recycling programs. Our hand towels, for instance, all go to a farm called Planet Earth. When you use a hand towel in our building, it’s collected in a clear plastic bag, and it goes to a farm about 40 miles north of Toronto. It’s lying in a field, composting. You can actually visit the site. We rely somewhat on the city for a waste audit, but we’re trying to introduce these audits event by event.
Sauter: You can also ask for the diversion statistics. Our recycling manager produces statistics for us every month of what’s been donated, what’s been reused and what’s been recycled, by material type. We hover right in the 60 percent diversion range.
Take a tour of the back of the house, too. Is there a specialized crew? Is there specialized equipment? In our building you’ll see a wood chipper that crushes leftover crates and pallets and brings them down to manageable pieces.
I also think it’s fair for you to ask us about the markets we have for the products left behind in our building. Meet with the recycling team, ask them what they’re doing, show them that you’re interested, and you’d be amazed at the results that you get.
Blosser: And talk to us during your site inspection about what you want, so we both have an understanding of what we can do for free or at a reasonable price. If you still want to do more, great. We can add sustainability stations, for instance, but there’s a labor issue. Let us know how green you really need us to be.
What green requests can and can’t you meet — either economically or realistically?
Campbell: At the close of a design show, we ended up with construction material left behind that couldn’t be put into regular recycling bins — and we hadn’t been made aware of it in advance. With another show moving in immediately, we had to get the material off the floor. We quickly arranged to ship it all offsite and have it sorted and sent to recycling.
Things we can’t do — we don’t always have the capital equipment needed for some recycling. One show wanted us to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to purchase new equipment just for their upcoming show. We developed a short-term plan for a partial equipment purchase and committed to a second phase of capital investment later.
Sauter: It’s difficult to recycle at concession stands. Folks don’t throw things in the right bins, so if you want it to work, you’ll have to staff for it. You’ve got to have a body there telling guests, “napkins go here and food waste goes here.”
Recycling for specialized material, like oil, can be difficult, too. We can usually get it done with enough advance notice.
Blosser: We’ve had experts come in and insist that we sort recycling in the back of the house. That doesn’t work for us. First, we have jurisdictional issues with how we handle material in the building. And we don’t have room in the back of the house to dump out every plastic bag and go through it and sort it. Our process is to provide the correct receptacles in the front of the house so it gets back properly.
What should I be asking you during the inspection about energy usage?
Sauter: Ask about the procedures for lighting. We keep the exhibit hall lights down at a safe level during move-in and move-out. It doesn’t work for all events, but for most events we provide full lights an hour prior to and an hour after. We’ve often offered to shut off all the escalators, but most clients don’t care for that. So we’ll leave one running during move-in and move-out. We retrofitted all of our lighting to be motion sensitive so they’ll go out when you leave. We’ve retrofitted, of course, the entire building, which I imagine most everyone has done by this point, to CFLs. And we also have the city’s largest solar project on our roof.
Blosser: I would ask about renewable energy, too. The Oregon Convention Center uses 60 percent wind energy, and we’re trying to get to 100 percent.
Here’s a partial list of items you can request from your facility. Not all of these items can be provided by all facilities — and many will come with additional costs:
• Recycling stations in meeting rooms, ballrooms and lobbies. Stations to separate mixed paper, cans/plastic bottles and glass.
• Customized recycling stations in specific areas of each exhibit hall. Specify that during move-in and move-out, these stations will include all of the above, as well as exhibit- and industry-specific waste endemic to your event.
• Lists of organizations that will provide alternative options for recycling, reusing and reducing waste.
• Cardboard recycling procedures.
• One point of contact before, during and after your event to assist with all sustainable/recycling needs.
• Attendant on site to provide services as a waste stream coordinator.
• Informational signage near trash containers and recycling stations detailing post-consumer recycling programs.
• Reduced heating/air conditioning during move-in/move-out to conserve energy loss.
• Reduced light levels to 50 percent during move-in/move-out.
• Turn off lights and air conditioning in unused meeting rooms.
• Use environmentally responsible cleaning products.
• Use recycled paper products in bathrooms.
• Create space for donated items at the end of the show.
• Require a waste audit of the show.
• Specifics about the recycling company that will be hired to haul and separate the materials.
Food service specifics
• Locally grown food products based on seasonal availability.
• Sustainable and organic menus available upon request.
• China, glassware and flatware for all meeting rooms and ballrooms.
• Post-consumer recycled, biodegradable plates and cups in concession areas.
• Condiments served in bulk containers.
• Post-consumer recycled pull and tear napkins.
• Bar service with standard glassware, recyclable bottles and biodegradable plastic barware.
• Composting of food waste and biodegradable products for all events.
• Donation program for excess foods to be sent to local homeless shelters or other organizations.
• Juices provided in carafes.
• No prefilled water glasses.
• Staffed sustainability stations aiding guests in proper disposal of food waste and biodegradable waste.
Source: Jeff Blosser, Executive Director, Oregon Convention Center
How green is the destination?
• Ask what the city’s current recycling rate is and determine how it compares with other cities. Analyze by type of material.
• Ask if the city has an urban composting program. If so, how is it measured and what constitutes its success?
• Ask if the city supports a carbon offset program and how it can be made available to your attendees.
• Ask what the city’s mandates are on the restaurant community.
• Ask if the city has been rated by the Green Guide, the EPA or other organizations.
• Ask whether the city has any building projects registered with the United States Green Building Council for certification under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program.
• How is the city’s vehicle fleet powered?
• How is the city’s taxi fleet powered?
• Ask if the city has a tree-planting program.
• What other eco-friendly practices has the city put in place?
• Does the CVB have a green focus? Does the CVB Web site assist in planning a green meeting, offering links to programs offered in the city?
• What are the green options for accommodations?
• Does the city have an overall green plan/policy as part of its mandate, which is reflected in the various departments such as economic development, transit and waste? Is there a green portal on the city Web site? Are there specific goals for energy reduction, waste diversion, air quality and incentives for green businesses?
• What are the mass transit options for attendees? What is the cost and how convenient and accessible are they?
How green is the facility?
• What is the facility’s environmental policy?
• Ask for an outline of the facility’s current recycling program.
• Ask to see the monthly statistics on the percentage of waste diversion by types of material.
• Does the facility prepare a waste audit for each event, showing diversion by material type? Are there goals for diversion? Has the facility verified that items are diverted and don’t end up in landfill sites? Can it meet requirements you may have for confirmation of downstream disposition methods?
• Is the facility LEED certified or certified by other environmental agencies?
• Ask if the facility has won any awards for its programs.
• Inspect both front and back of house practices and come away with an understanding of the process.
• What would the facility recommend as measurable and achievable goals for your event?
• Ask the caterer how green they can be. Can they provide organic or vegetarian menus?
• Ask about restroom products used.
• Ask about cleaning products used.
• Ask whether lighting has been converted to current standards.
• Ask about A/C and escalator operation as well as lighting levels during move-in/move-out.
• Ask what the facility does to offset its power usage.
• How does the facility benchmark energy and water usage?
• What green power options are in place for powering your event?
• What is the staff’s commitment to green? Is there a staff committee? Does staff live and breathe green? Do staff carpool or use transit?
• What green training is in place for staff?
• What is the annual capital investment set aside for green initiatives?
• How does the facility educate its attendees about green initiatives minimizing their impact on the environment?
• Are initiatives in place to minimize the environmental impact of F&B service, such as compostable small wares, china service, water in jugs vs. bottles, collection of organic waste, local food or food from suppliers using sustainable practices or no endangered species?
• What procedures are in place to conserve water? Low-flow toilets, etc.?
Sources: Bob Sauter, Assistant General Manager, The Moscone Center; Jeff Blosser, Executive Director, Oregon Convention Center; Arlene Campbell, General Manager, Direct Energy Centre, Toronto
|
|
|
Stay informed with Expo's weekly e-newsletter:
Get daily industry news via RSS  What is RSS?
|
|
|
|
