When I first heard about the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) program I was not quite sure what that meant.  I suddenly find myself now checking each location I go to for a convention or trade show or look at each meeting venue to see if they are a LEED certified building.  Trade Show Week recently reported that the Los Angeles Convention Center was named as a LEED certified building.  The LEED buildings are few across the United States and yet this is a growing number as more and more convention authorities try to keep up with the Jones’ in trying to meet the demands of the public that companies and buildings do all they can to join the environmental movement of “going green”.

The LEED certification is monitored by the U.S. Green Building Council.  Some of the benefits listed by the USGBC on their site for LEED certified buildings are:

LEED-certified buildings:

• Lower operating costs and increased asset value.
• Reduce waste sent to landfills.
• Conserve energy and water.
• Healthier and safer for occupants.
• Reduce harmful greenhouse gas emissions.
• Qualify for tax rebates, zoning allowances and other incentives in hundreds of cities.
• Demonstrate an owner’s commitment to environmental stewardship and social responsibility.

In order to determine if your building can be certified as a LEED building, you can go to the website and see the rating system.  I have been to a LEED rated building while I was in Portland, and they take the rating very serious and wear their badge with honor.  If you are a meeting planner or convention and trade show planner, you should check your facility to see if it too is a LEED certified building.  You can become popular amongst your peers if you are looking out for the environment while planning your convention or trade show.

I was reading about my friend Aaron Brazell and his thoughts on attending conferences and how we can make them a little more eco-friendly just by changing our habits and what we normally do like taxis, and our linens in our hotels and even so much as not to attend the conference in person and perhaps attend the conference online or in the back channel. It was this last idea that had me thinking about what conference planners and others are doing to help make their conference and trade show easier to attend and more eco-friendly.

I was thinking of the number of conferences I attend each year and the amount of travel I have with all the other things Aaron discusses with leaving that carbon footprint. I would love to see more conventions and trade shows make available online their conventions and meetings and seminars. I have attended conventions through the use of live streaming, where I had a chance to see a speaker that used their laptop to broadcast the presentation.

I know that as a convention center, being more “green” is important as I found out in Portland when speaking to them. many convention centers are trying to find ways to be more eco-friendly. I heard recently that the swag given away at one conference was being “recycled” which is a trend that I have heard from other organizers.

What are the things you are seeing at conventions and trade shows to make them more eco-friendly?

A unique opportunity was presented to me as a result of a guest visiting here at the Convention Insider. Don Riccardi a commenter knew the Executive Director at the Oregon Convention Center and knowing I was attending a conference at the center was able to get me an interview with Jeffrey Blosser. It was great to get a chance to sit with Jeff as I was already here in the area speaking at a conference at his facility.

The Oregon Convention Center as I have written about before was a nice place for the event where I was speaking. As I sat across from Jeff Blosser, I knew I was speaking to someone that really liked being a part of the convention center, and also someone that was steeped in the history of the facility as well. He has been apart of the center for nearly 20 years when Jeff began his job in 1989 when the convention center was still under construction. He has been through another expansion at the center in April of 2003. Jeff has 110 full time employees working at the convention center, and their facility handles about 600 events throughout the year with approximately 40 of those being large national conventions or trade shows. One of the largest shows that takes place in the center is the Farwest Nursery Show.

I was very impressed by the OCC’s commitment to “going green”. According to their site:

The Oregon Convention Center is the first convention center to receive certification under the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Existing Buildings’ (EB) rating system. The center has been upgrading fixtures and equipment in pursuit of LEED certification for the entire million square foot facility, which the center hopes to attain by Fall 2007.

From my conversation with Jeff it appears they are looking for that certification very soon in aproximately June of this year, and to insure that the facility continues with that tradition, he indicated to me that they are hiring a “Green Coordinator” to be the director of that charge In July of this year. Some of the things that really stood out to me was the fact that they are composting their food, using wind power, and making sure all of their purchasing is green certified products. They are looking into more green things like solar power now as well.

The Oregon Convention Center brings in $400 Million to the local economy with 5,000-6,000 jobs and $12Million in tax revenues. This is not the only facility owned but they also have The Expo Center and the Performing Arts Center in their lineup. Wanting to get some idea of what they have coming up that we could talk about here, Jeff indicated that they are working or getting a headquarters hotel facility to add to the center. If that comes to fruition, they will be able to house people attending the convention center.

I had a great time speaking with Jeff and I can say first hand that they have a very professional staff and made my work here easy. Thanks goes to them and the rest of their staff.

I think I spoke before about making a trip to Oregon to a conference in Portland at the Oregon Convention Center, and that time has come as I sit here in my hotel room working on my presentation for a web conference. That is part of the reason for my lack of posting here this week, I have been putting my presentation together and doing some other things including an interview of a new kid on the block that opened its doors last month. I won’t spoil the surprise but I was very excited to do this interview and can’t wait to get the post written up for our Friday Feature this week. Tune back in on Friday for the next Friday Feature.

I hope to see if I can get some pictures of the Oregon Convention Center and get those posted up here on the blog for people to see their facility in action. I might even try to get in an interview of someone at the facility. No promises but stay tuned for some pictures for sure. Now back to preparing for that presentation!

In May I will be speaking at a conference in Portland, Oregon called WebVisions which is to be held at the Oregon Convention Center.  The convention center has a total of 255,000 square feet of exhibit space, and 50 meeting rooms with all the amenities.  In fact it even has its own wine tasting facility called Appellation Oregon.

The Oregon Convention Center is operated and managed by Metropolitan Exposition Recreation Center, which also manages the Portland Center for the Performing Arts, and the Portland Metropolitan Exposition Center.  In reading their latest report on file on their site, apparently the Oregon Convention Center is planning to create a 600 room hotel to help bring in visitors to the hotel.  A decision  it seems that is slated to take place this spring. I can’t wait to see the facility and perhaps get to talk with some of the staff.

To book an event at the Oregon Convention Center you can contact Matt Pizzuti, Director of Sales and Marketing.