Greening Venues: Sustainable Building Blocks

In the past year, facilities all over the world have applied for or received environmental certification as the awareness of sustainability has increased.

One of the most recent to receive certification was The Palazzo Las Vegas, silver-certified by the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification program.

“From the beginning, we were determined to create Las Vegas' first truly eco-friendly property, and we are extremely proud to have achieved it and be recognized for it,” said Sheldon Adelson, chairman and CEO of the Las Vegas Sands Corp., which owns The Palazzo.

The 3,000-room-plus hotel is in the same area as the Sands Expo & Convention Center/Venetian Resort Hotel Casino, which has a combined meeting and convention space of nearly 2.3 million square feet, according to company statements.

In addition to other measures, The Palazzo conserves enough water to provide each Nevada citizen with 266 eight-ounce glasses of water for a year and saves enough energy to light a 100-watt light bulb for 12,100 years, according to a press release. It also offers valet parking for bicycles.

Also in Las Vegas, MGM Mirage's massive CityCenter, with a three-level, 300,000 sq. ft. convention facility, is working toward LEED certification when it opens in 2009.

Others worldwide and in the U.S. have applied for or received various certifications or joined environmental efforts:

• The new Melbourne Convention Centre, opening in 2009, was awarded a six-star Green Star environmental rating, the first in the world for a convention center. The rating is administered by the Green Building Council of Australia. In addition to other measures, the convention center is being built with Forest Stewardship Council timber, sustainable furnishings and floor coverings, and environmentally friendly materials.
• The SMG-managed Colorado Convention Center in Denver now has the Meet Green program, which focuses on building operation, education and resources, and the industry as a whole. The goal is to make green meetings attainable for any meeting or conference. The convention center's also pursuing LEED-EB certification (for existing buildings) from the USGBC. Measures taken so far include retrofitting all of the toilets and urinals to low flow and a recycling program.
• The Merchandise Mart in downtown Chicago, a 4.2 million sq. ft., 25-story facility, received LEED-EB certification from the USGBC in November. The building was the first in the U.S. to sign a project development agreement under the Clinton Climate Initiative, which will help implement energy reduction initiatives as part of CCI's global Energy Efficiency Building Retrofit Program designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from existing facilities.
• Harrah's Entertainment joined the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Climate Leaders, an alliance between the EPA and U.S. businesses committed to pursuing climate-change strategies. The companies' casinos have had 74 green projects, which have cut annual resource spending by more than $10 million, eliminated 155.7 million pounds of carbon dioxide emissions, reduced indoor and outdoor lighting, and retrofitted heat recovery systems and thermostats.
• The Songdo Convention Center in Seoul, South Korea, is striving for LEED certification. The 1.3 million sq. ft. facility is scheduled to open this month.
• The SMG-managed Greater Columbus Convention Center in Columbus, Ohio, also is pursuing LEED-EB certification. The facility made a number of changes including new lighting fixtures and motion-activated occupancy sensors, mechanical systems maintained with environmentally friendly products, recycling programs and water-free urinals.
• The SeaGate Convention Centre in Toledo, Ohio, with 75,000 sq. ft. of exhibit space, is attempting LEED certification.
• The Virginia Beach Convention Center in Virginia is pursuing LEED certification. In addition, the Virginia Beach Convention & Visitors Bureau announced in November that the convention center would participate in the EPA's Energy Star Challenge, which calls for energy efficiency improvement of 10 percent or more for the more than 5 million commercial and industrial buildings in the U.S.