Convention Centers Move to Sustainability

The Los Angeles Convention Center, one of the largest in the country, is the latest to join the environmental movement, but it is just one of several.

Pouria Abbassi, general manager and chief executive of the LACC, recently announced plans to obtain Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design certification, better known as LEED, from the U.S. Green Building Council by the end of June.

Meanwhile, venues from as far away as Kuala Lampur, Malaysia, and as close as Madison, Wis., announce their own plans for environmental sustainability.

"It is a very ambitious and aggressive goal," Abbassi said of the Los Angeles Convention Center's plans, but, "it is a goal that we will obtain."

Convention center management already has taken steps toward certification, including replacing exterior signage that announces upcoming events with light-emitting diode (LED) signs, replacing showfloor lighting for a 50-percent energy savings, improving the air conditioning efficiency by 38 percent with a recent upgrade and making a commitment to purchase 20 percent of the electricity used in the convention center from renewable sources.

Abbassi said his team is also taking scheduled upkeep projects and turning them into ways to improve the building's sustainability.

"We're replacing the roof of the West Hall this year and putting in a cool roof," he added. The new roof — a $1 million project — will reflect sunlight and keep heat from the building.

The convention center also has more than 200 urinals that will need to be replaced in the near future, and Abbassi said the new fixtures will be low-flow or waterless.

Finally, while the convention center already has solar panels that help power the building, Abbassi said, "We want to add to our solar panel array."

Management also is exploring whether it can use reclaimed water for landscaping upkeep.

"We're looking at every area that is possible," Abbassi said.

And the LACC is just one of many convention centers talking about sustainability.

Officials are already saying that the Toronto Congress Centre will be one of the world's most sustainable facilities when it opens its expansion in January.

Construction started with the objective of recycling 95 percent of the waste from the demolition of a building torn down to make way for the new one. To date, about 75 percent of the materials have been recycled.

The project also included the installation of energy efficient lighting with interior daylight sensors, occupancy sensors and compact fluorescent bulbs. Other features of the expansion are a living roof, low water-use plumbing fixtures, natural light and tabletops designed to eliminate the need for linens.

According to a release from the convention center, plans are underway to purchase renewable energy and incorporate photovoltaic lighting, among other initiatives.

Other news in sustainable convention center development has also been announced:

• The Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre in Kuala Lumpur has achieved benchmark status with the Green Globe Company Standard, which places the center ahead of similar facilities in Asia in terms of environmental sustainability.
• Monona Terrace in Madison, Wis., earned LEED silver certification last month at a cost of about $111,000. Among some of the changes made to achieve the certification were using non-toxic cleaning products, purchasing 10 percent of the center's energy from renewable sources, expanding the recycling program to reach a 49-percent rate and using less energy.
• Global Spectrum is introducing a program to conserve energy, recycle goods and promote a healthy living environment at the St. Charles Convention Center, which the company operates in St. Charles, Mo. The plan includes a recycling program, switching to non-toxic cleaning solutions and changing incandescent light bulbs to fluorescent lights.