Green building is big business. Not only in cities like San Francisco and New York, but also in the southeastern United States. Where green has long been just the color of fried tomatoes and mint juleps, several convention centers have debuted environmentally friendly facilities and programs this year.
Among the centers—one new, one under construction, and two existing—setting examples for cities nationwide with their green efforts are the Raleigh Convention Center (RCC); the Jackson Convention Complex (JCC) in Jackson, MS; the Classic Center, Athens, GA; and the Charlotte Convention Center.
Largest among them is the new 510,000-sf center in Raleigh, NC, which opened in September. By the end of this year, the building will have hosted at least 17 conventions—many of which, such as the American Association for Sustainability in Higher Education—chose to meet in Raleigh because of the city's green convention center. Green initiatives, it seems, are good for business.
"To be competitive in our marketplace, and get some of the meetings that we want to go after, we had to have a green facility in place," said Loren Gold, executive vice president of the Greater Raleigh Convention and Visitors Bureau.
The RCC's most visible green feature, its massive floor-to-ceiling windows, has created energy efficiency, according to Gold. They let in an abundance of natural light, reducing the convention center's need for electricity, he said.
But there are dozens of less obvious eco-conscious details, too. For example, the building's restrooms are equipped with occupancy sensors, which turn off the lights when the rooms are empty. Its planters, meanwhile, are filled with low-maintenance greenery that requires minimal moisture, thereby conserving water.
Even the building's footprint is environmentally sound; construction crews salvaged and recycled 198 tons of construction debris.
The RCC is undergoing certification by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) as a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) building, Gold said.
Also pursuing LEED certification is the 330,000-sf Jackson Convention Complex. Adjacent to the existing Mississippi TelCom Center, the JCC is opening in January and features a 60,000-sf exhibit hall, a 25,000-sf ballroom, a 382-seat theater, as well as 10 meeting rooms.
Jackson is an unlikely place for a sustainable convention center—the city isn't currently home to a single LEED-certified building, according to the USGBC's LEED Projects Directory—but center officials wanted to go the extra mile, said JCC spokeswoman Angelique Minnifield. "This isn't something that was required," she said. "It's something that we wanted to do."
Like the RCC, the Jackson Convention Complex features a window-heavy design that maximizes natural light. It was built largely with materials from within a 500-mile radius of Jackson—so as to minimize pollution and fuel consumption from transporting supplies—and has many green attributes, including a reflective roof that conserves energy, bike racks and a shower for employees who bike to work, and priority parking spaces for workers who carpool or drive hybrid vehicles.
But new convention centers aren't the only meetings venues embracing environmental trends. Existing southern facilities are embracing sustainability, retrofitting green features when it's physically and financially feasible and implementing green programs when it isn't.
When the Classic Center in Athens, GA, for instance, installed new carpeting this year in its 27,000-sf Grand Hall North convention and trade show area, it selected a vendor known for its low carbon footprint. The 80,000-sf building installed recycling bins in both its back office and public areas, and plans to put more bins on its exterior grounds next year.
"We are considering three more green areas for next year, including food composting, improved storm water management, and experiential green roofs," said Philip Verrastro, assistant executive director at the Classic Center.
"Also, we hope to expand our exhibit space within the next three to five years from its current 30,000 sf to closer to 50,000 or 60,000 sf. If we are able to expand, which is contingent on the passage of a public referendum in 2010, we fully plan to obtain LEED certification for the addition." [The Classic will only pursue LEED certification for the expansion, as the certification for existing buildings is more difficult and expensive to get than the certification for new construction.]
Like the Classic Center, the 280,000-sf Charlotte Convention Center in Charlotte, NC, has committed itself to making slow but certain green improvements—despite the fact that it is almost 15 years old.
A full-scale green renovation would be cost-prohibitive, so instead the convention center has embraced dozens of everyday eco-initiatives.
Its in-house catering staff, for example, recycles all cooking oil, buys food locally, and uses biodegradable cups, post consumer recycled paper napkins, and recyclable paper boxes for box lunches. Its custodians, meanwhile, use 50 percent environmentally safe cleaners, while its office staff regularly recycles toner cartridges and batteries.
"These procedures all add up and make a big impact at the end of the day," said Molly Hedrick, senior director of communications for the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority. "We know that 67 percent of meeting planners keep green initiatives in mind when choosing a destination. With the industry being a major waste contributor, a big trend has turned towards taking a close look at these large facilities' initiatives."
Originally published Nov. 10, 2008