In announcing the release of the 2018 Greenbuild Sustainability Report, Informa and the U.S. Green Building Council have highlighted metrics and benchmarks regarding community involvement, sustainable sourcing and carbon footprint reduction impacts from the 2018 Greenbuild International Conference and Expo.
The conference—held in November at McCormick Place in Chicago—achieved an overall 86% waste diversion rate.
“We had a lot of ‘firsts’ in 2018 and tried new approaches that worked well,” said Sherida Sessa, Greenbuild brand director, Informa.
“Our hope is that these achievements will be adopted through the events industry. Greenbuild’s education is about sustainability in the built environment, but the way the event is produced leads to these sustainability wins. We’re extraordinarily grateful to our vendors and partners for helping us to cross these milestones.”
U.S. Green Building Council
In announcing the release of the 2018 Greenbuild Sustainability Report, Informa and the U.S. Green Building Council have highlighted valuable metrics and benchmarks regarding community involvement, sustainable souring and carbon footprint reduction impacts from the 2018 Greenbuild International Conference and Expo.
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U.S. Green Building Council |
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In announcing the release of the 2018 Greenbuild Sustainability Report, Informa and the U.S. Green Building Council have highlighted valuable metrics and benchmarks regarding community involvement, sustainable souring and carbon footprint reduction impacts from the 2018 Greenbuild International Conference and Expo.
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Through a review of objectives, goals and best practices, the report details sustainability incentives that had been employed for the 2018 event. In addition, case studies also provided a detailed overview of various sustainability strategies including waste diversion, performance tracking, community engagement and engagement from attendees and stockholders, as well as sourcing and donation of materials.
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Kim Heavner, vice president, conference and events at USGBC stated, “Greenbuild continuously seeks to set the standard for event sustainability. This is only possible through the support of incredible partners and vendors as well as our Greenbuild Host Committee.”
Monitoring seven sustainability objectives, the report shows the progress at Greenbuild in the following highlights:
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Waste Management: Informa, USGBC, McCormick Place, Freeman and local vendors worked together to optimize waste management tactics resulting in an 86% waste diversion rate.
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Stakeholder Engagement: In 2018, attendees were asked to think about sustainability prior to the conference. In participating in specific pledges and reserving of a printed expo guide, results indicated a reduction in overall print quantity and leftover paper.
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Sustainable Sourcing: Greenbuild removed all plastic straws from all concession areas throughout the convention center.
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Performance Tracking: Greenbuild achieved a 93% Total Resource Use and Efficiency zero waste certification, certifying them at the Platinum level for the second year in a row.
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Greenhouse Gas Emissions: The incentive to feature catered meals containing plated lunches that were 100% vegan (total of 3,500 meals), reduced Greenbuild’s carbon footprint by more than the equivalent of 9.35 metric tons of carbon dioxide.
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Community Impact: In creating the 2018 Greenbuild Legacy Project—led by the Illinois Green Alliance—the Greenbuild 2018 Host Committee chose to support the Science Giants Program at Project Exploration, an education group dedicated to making science available to youth from underrepresented communities. This year, students built a garden and harvest for Inspiration Kitchens, a local restaurant that employs and serves homeless and previously incarcerated individuals.
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Hospitality Industry: The Greenbuild sustainability team and partners shared how Greenbuild incorporates sustainability throughout the event, as well as offered actions and information on including greener practices into any event management strategy through an educational session.
“We’re thrilled to have made such great strides for event sustainability,” said Sessa.
As Greenbuild continues to demonstrate leadership through prioritizing sustainability, it’s organized this year’s conference to take place Nov. 20-22, in Atlanta.
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Registration is slated to open this summer.
