Q&A with Lindsay Smith: Sustainability Programs Manager at the Colorado Convention Center
The Colorado Convention Center is committed to helping clients host conference and events that consider the triple bottom line of economics, environment, and community. Helping you juggle all three of those concerns is Lindsay Smith, the CCC’s Sustainability Programs Manager, who knows the Center’s eco-friendly advantages backwards and forwards. VISIT DENVER caught up with Lindsay, who shared the ways in which Denver is leading the way in green meeting planning.
VISIT DENVER: Why are “green” meetings such a hot commodity these days?
Lindsay Smith: I think it's something that's in the collective consciousness right now of the general public. The meeting and events industry, also known as the "throw away industry" is inherently wasteful. Therefore, there's a lot of opportunity to reduce waste and implement efficient practices. Planners have the ability for improvement in all areas of sustainability, from waste reduction and diversion, to energy efficiency, to water consumption reduction, to improved air quality. In addition, attendees are beginning to recognize the impact of their meetings and are asking for change as well.
VISIT DENVER: Why is Denver leading the way in terms of green meeting planning?
LS: Environmental stewardship aligns with the ideals of the residents and visitors to Colorado. People not only value the natural environment, but also have an expectation regarding the enjoyment of the outdoor recreation and beauty that makes Colorado so unique. State and City leaders recognize this and are committed to exceeding this expectation. Programs developed and implemented within the Governor's Energy Office, Greenprint Denver, and other agencies provide assistance and develop infrastructure to assist the success of these programs. For example, in November 2008, the Colorado Convention Center attained Environmental Management Certification (ISO 14001) in a city wide effort. They also recently developed and signed the Rocky Mountain Greener Venues Partnership with the EPA and other major venues in the area, which focuses on several areas of sustainability. These are just a couple of examples of the measures in place that help planners effortlessly produce environmentally friendly meetings.
VISIT DENVER: Obviously, the CCC’s sustainable efforts are too numerous to go through here, but what are some of the areas where the Center is a real innovator?
LS: As far as we know, the fact that there is a person dedicated to sustainable practices here -- me! -- is a pretty unique thing. I'm available as a resource to clients if they have questions about anything relating to sustainability. We have a single-stream recycling program, and a back of house composting program, both of which will really help with our waste diversion goals. In addition, we have a 300-kilowatt hour roof top solar array (pictured right), which is the biggest roof-top system in Colorado!
In our efforts to conserve water, we replaced a majority of our landscape along 14th street with native plants or xeriscape (pictured right) which will reduce the water used for irrigation in this area by almost 70 percent. We also converted our toilets and urinals to low flush in December of 2007.
What else? Some of our other initiatives include timing our escalators and lights to each event schedule to conserve energy. Nearly 99 percent of our cleaning products are bio-degradable, bio-renewal, or Green Seal-certified products. We are planning on being a part of the city's Bike Program Share program to be launched in 2010. In our efforts to improve air quality, we offer 3 free hybrid parking spots in our parking garage, give free Eco-Passes to all our full time employees. We developed the anti-idling program with the city called Engines OFF.
On the catering side of things, there are opportunities to donate leftover food, as well as options for local and organic menu items.
VISIT DENVER: How does your job fit into the green planning process?
LS: There are the basic things -- we’ve created a checklist on the website that gives some idea of the best practices. We provide them with resources for bio-renewable products, or if they want to offset, we put them in touch with the right vendors. It’s also just letting them know the key elements – why having water stations is better than bottled water, things like that. And also we can help provide them with the tools needed to educate attendees about these practices and programs. A lot of planners don’t even know where to begin a lot of the time. There’s a lot of information to digest. So I help them digest it all.
VISIT DENVER: What’s the biggest misconception about planning a green meeting?
LS: That it's going to take up more time and more money. Also that it's going to radically change the way meeting planners do their jobs. In the meeting industry, people have been doing things a certain way for a long time. The biggest challenge is just to get this info out to them and to show that we can make it easy for them. In many cases, you really can save money by being more efficient and using fewer materials. A way the convention center helps planners save money is by not charging for recycling hauls from the exhibit halls. Therefore, the more recyclable materials they use, the more money they're going to save because they aren't adding to the trash haul, which is a billable item. Another example is by providing water stations in place of water bottles for each attendee. Water stations are not only cheaper, but waste less resource and do not contribute as much to landfills. Finally, using local vendors will reduce your carbon footprint and will reduce costs as well. We help to identify these vendors and make their information accessible to our clients. These are just a few examples of ways planners can save or at least come out even when planning a green meeting. Proving once again, these practices do not need to cost more than conventional practices, and instead they often save money!
VISIT DENVER: What are some of the CCC’s future green projects?
LS: We are currently working towards LEED Existing Building: Operations and Maintenance certification. I would also like to continue to increase the awareness and education of the general public and our own staff. Finally, the exciting thing about this industry is that it is constantly changing and evolving, therefore the next project is always on the horizon. We continually explore new ways to improve our operation and provide services for our clients.
Get the full scoop on the Colorado Convention Center's groundbreaking greening program here.
Find out more about "Greening Your Meeting".
Check out a "Green Denver Top 10".
Contact Lindsay Smith at (303) 228-8123 or lsmith@denverconvention.com.
Planning an event? Make it as eco-friendly as possible by using the meeting planners' Denver Events CO2e Emissions Calculation Tool, an easy-to-use online tool that calculates Carbon Dioxide (CO2) Equivalent (e) emissions that result from your Denver event.