The Greenest Democratic
National Convention of All Time

More than 50,000 people came to the Mile High City during the history-making Democratic National Convention, held Aug. 25-28, 2008, and city officials and event planners made every effort to make it the most eco-friendly DNC of all time.

“The 2008 Democratic National Convention, like our great party, is about the future – the future of our country and the future of our planet,” said House Speaker and permanent Convention Chair Nancy Pelosi. "That is why we are ensuring that this Convention will be the greenest, most sustainable, most successful political Convention in history.”

This effort was in the works for quite some time. The Democratic National Convention Committee (DNCC) initiated a comprehensive greening plan a full year before the Convention and continues to incorporate sustainability principles in all aspects of planning and subsequent restoration. Meanwhile, the Denver 2008 Host Committee of the Democratic National Convention pledged to “conserve energy and natural resources, avoid waste and prevent pollution. When possible, we will mitigate the negative environmental consequences of our actions.”

Here’s a quick look at some of the green specifics.

Carbon Counting

For the first time in Democratic National Convention history, the DNCC comprehensively calculated the carbon footprint of the Convention with help from Camco, the Official Carbon Advisor. The ideal goal was to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as much as possible. Where emissions were unavoidable, the DNCC pledged to find verifiable carbon offset programs that benefit American renewable energy and agricultural and landfill methane capture projects. 

A Greener Arena

Much of the Convention took place at Downtown Denver's Pepsi Center, the home of the Denver Nuggets and Colorado Avalanche (not to mention a regular series of blockbuster concert events). Prior to the DNC, the Center announced that it would be the first arena in the United States to go 100 percent green, with the 19,000-seat arena operating entirely on renewable wind and solar energy. The switchover included new recycling bins, a hybrid vehicle-only parking area and a “no idling zone” outside the arena. At the Pepsi Center media pavilions, there were high-efficiency lighting systems and compact fluorescent, LED and solar powered lighting wherever possible, in addition to solar arrays and hydrogen fuel cells for cleaner power. In areas where generators were absolutely required, the goal was to fuel them by a minimum of 20 percent biodiesel.

Transportation

Denver was an ideal city for a convention the size of the Democratic National Convention, in part because it is such a walkable city and is well served by public transportation. Delegates and members of the media could walk to virtually all of the convention hot spots. The Pepsi Center, the Convention Center, the DNCC Headquarters Hotel and the DNCC offices are all located within walking distance of either the RTD light rail or the 16th Street mall shuttle, which is run on hybrid buses. Most delegation hotels were also accessible from these public transportation systems. The buses used to transport delegates and media from all the hotels to the Pepsi Center were either hybrid, alternative fuel or run on biodiesel. Bus idling was kept to a minimum to reduce air pollution, keeping those crystal clear Colorado skies looking their best. The Democratic National Convention’s Official Vehicle Provider, General Motors, worked with the DNCC’s transportation team to offer hybrid, E-85 and high fuel efficiency vehicles to support their fleet needs. All DNCC vehicles and bus miles were tracked and included in the convention’s carbon footprint calculations.

Freewheelin Bike Sharing Program

In May, Denver Host Committee President Elbra Wedgeworth and Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper unveiled plans for a bike-sharing program called Freewheelin, part of Denver's efforts to support healthy living and environmental sustainability during the Democratic National Convention.  The Freewheelin program was developed by Humana, Inc. in partnership with bike industry leaders. As part of the multi-pronged initiative, Humana and the not-for-profit Bikes Belong brought nearly 1,000 bikes to Denver during the Democratic National Convention in August. The bikes were used free of charge by anyone looking for an alternative to automobiles while the convention was in town.   

Green Frontier Fest

Held on the eve of the DNC at the Denver Performing Arts Complex, the Green Frontier Fest was an open-to-the-public event promoting green practices and highlighting the sustainable aspects of the Democratic National Convention. The free festival featured human-powered carnival rides for the kids, information booths hosted by eco-friendly businesses and organizations, as well as exhibits and artwork promoting eco-friendly messages. 

Waste Diversion

Inevitably, 50,000 people are going to create waste. But the DNCC’s goal for resource recovery systems at the Pepsi Center and the Colorado Convention Center was a minimum 85 percent diversion from the landfill. How was this to be accomplished? Through a comprehensive recycling, composting and waste minimization program – not to mention the help of hundreds of DNCC Green Team volunteers. Organic materials collected were composted returned to the soil. The Pepsi Center and the Colorado Convention Center staff worked to acquire sustainable and recyclable service ware. In this way, the city strove to create a long-term legacy of recycling and sourcing recyclable materials at these venues.

The Green Delegate Challenge

In April, House Speaker Pelosi and Convention organizers announced the Green Delegate Challenge, offering special rewards for the delegation or delegations that showed the highest level of commitment to offsetting their Convention carbon footprint. Delegations with the highest percentage of members offsetting their carbon were recognized in their seating section on the floor of the Pepsi Center during the Convention. Each delegate, alternate and super delegate from that state received a limited edition "green" prize. Progress was tracked on DemConvention.com, with the winning states recognized on the Web site in August.

Green Pages at www.DemConvention.com

In March, the DNCC launched a series of “green” pages on www.DemConvention.com highlighting the committee’s efforts to design waste out of the Convention by applying sustainable planning principles to every decision in the lead-up to the four-day event. DemConvention.com featured a carbon calculator to help Convention guests measure the carbon footprint generated by their individual trips to Denver, as well as an overview of the DNCC’s sustainable goals and objectives, a weekly innovative and easy “greening” tip, and behind-the-scenes “Green Screen” video of the DNCC’s efforts to create a sustainable event, along with the latest news and information.

Lean 'n' Green Guidelines

The greening task force of the Denver 2008 Convention Host Committee developed guidelines for caterers and restaurants to adopt as part of Denver's efforts to create a sustainable local environment for the DNC. The Lean 'N Green guidelines showcased the connection between healthy eating and a healthy planet. While the task force encouraged local caterers and restaurants to utilize the guidelines, they were not mandatory. Lean 'N Green meals were based on healthy nutrition guidelines and included a percentage of locally and/or organically produced ingredients.

Find out more about Green Denver here and here. 

Want to make your trip to Denver as eco-friendly as possible? Use the Denver Travel CO2e Emissions Calculation Tool, an easy-to-use online tool that calculates Carbon Dioxide (CO2) Equivalent (e) emissions that result from your vacation in Denver.

Planning an event? Make it as eco-friendly as possible by using the meeting planners' Denver Events CO2e Emissions Calculation Tool.