Greenbuild, known as the largest expo dedicated to green building, recently released its 2017 sustainability report, with over 90 percent waste diversion and 25,000 pounds of show donations made clocking in as the top successes.

Greenbuild, held last November at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center, co-located its event with the ArchitectureBoston Expo, the largest annual building industry event in the northeast.

Waste Diversion

More than 24,000 people attended the 2017 event—up from the previous year’s 18,079—28 percent of whom were architects, engineers or designers. The other top three categories in attendance included LEED/research consulting firms (17 percent); government and utility (15 percent); and contractors, builders and developers (11 percent).

Runner1928, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Greenbuild, held last November at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center, co-located its event with the ArchitectureBoston Expo, the largest annual building industry event in the northeast.

In the report, announced and released by Informa Exhibitions U.S. and the U.S. Green Building Council, early plans for the expo included diverting 81 percent of waste associated with Greenbuild. The 2017 conference topped that expectation at 90.5 percent at the convention center, which was 5 percent higher than what was achieved when Greenbuild was in Boston in 2008, and is the highest in the conference’s history.

Otherwise, these measures are also a 44 percent increase over the convention center’s baseline diversion rate. According to the report, combined with a diversion rate of 96 percent for the Greenbuild Celebration held at the Boston Museum of Science, Greenbuild’s average diversion rate is 91 percent.

“We’re thrilled to have partnered with ABX, and together we exceeded not only last year’s diversion rate, but all previous Greenbuild diversion rates, which is a huge accomplishment for Greenbuild and the events industry,” said Lindsay Roberts, Greenbuild and ABX group director, Informa Exhibitions U.S.

Donations

During Greenbuild 2017, exhibitors from that expo and the co-located ABX show donated more than 25,000 pounds of materials including cement blocks, flooring, carpet, floor tiles and wood to local nonprofits, including Habitat for Humanity.

Carpet cut for the expo was done so in such a way that it could later be re-used by the general services contractor, Freeman. On top of this, 1,500 pounds of food donations were collected by the catering partner at the BCEC, Levy, and distributed to Boston Rescue Mission.

Increasing Engagement

This year’s expo legacy project was with The Green Building Tech Program at Madison Park Technical Vocational High School, a program geared toward raising awareness of green building technologies in the early development of the trades. As part of the endeavor, students came to the expo for a tour of the convention center, learning how LEED-certified buildings operate and how practices support major events going green.

In the spirit of the event, 14,500 attendees pledged to maintain sustainable practices while onsite in Boston, which included using a reusable water bottle and using public transportation. The show organizer, Informa, intentionally placed the Sustainability Hub in the main lobby, attracting these pledges.

Renewable Energy

The convention center purchased Renewable Energy Credits for all electricity used and carbon offsets for all-natural gas for the expo, resulting in all activities being sourced by 100 percent renewable energy. According to the report, this was Greenbuild’s first year reaching this milestone.

Greenbuild 2018 is set to be held Nov. 14-16, 2018, in Chicago's McCormick Place, the largest convention center in North America.