Broward County Convention Center Brings Home the Gold!

This summer has truly been an exciting one for us here at the SMG-managed Ft. Lauderdale Convention Center. In addition to hosting VenueConnect in July, we are pleased to announce that the Convention Center has been awarded Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED^®) for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance Gold certification! Our venue is the first convention center in Florida to be LEED certified on any level and one of only three in the nation to achieve LEED Gold certification for an Existing Building.

The other week, we happily celebrated our achievement at a luncheon with our distinguished clients, vendors, staff, Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau employees, esteemed Broward County Commissioners Stacy Ritter and Suzanne Gunzburger, SMG President and CEO Wes Westley, SMG Executive Vice President of Marketing Services and Human Resources Maureen Ginty, U.S. Green Building Council representative Anthony Alfonso  of Holland & Knight, and Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau president/CEO Nicki Grossman, who shared the good news with the audience.

“This is truly a great day for Broward County as we bring home the gold and celebrate the successful transformation of our Convention Center into a model of sustainability,” Grossman said. “Thanks to the dedication of the entire Convention Center team and with the unwavering support of the Broward County Board of County Commissioners and SMG, we have reached an Olympic goal that no other Florida convention center has attained.”

The Convention Center's LEED for Existing Buildings Gold certification process began in 2008 with enthusiastic support from the Broward County Board of County Commissioners and the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau, as well as a commitment from SMG, to convert the 600,000-square-foot facility into an energy-efficient and environmentally sound, carbon neutral building. The first step was engaging Sustainable Options, LLC, Green Building Consultants, to audit the building’s existing energy use and environmental practices. Sustainable Options continued to work with the Convention Center throughout the LEED certification process with full support from all Convention Center departments.

Numerous eco-friendly enhancements have been made to the Convention Center’s daily operations, from water usage and lighting to recycling, energy conservation and more, including:

• A revamped landscape design that reduces irrigation needs by using verdant plants and trees indigenous to South Florida and less water-dependent turf grass, all of which are irrigated by an efficient micro-drip system that uses an estimated 65 percent less water than the previous sprinkler system, contributing to an overall goal of reducing the Convention Center's water usage for irrigation from 10 million gallons annually to less than 5 million.

• A retrofit of the older, less energy-efficient lighting with a combination of new more energy-efficient fluorescents, LEDs, CFLs and induction lighting to reduce both heat and energy, resulting in a savings of 18 percent off the electric bill.

• A retrofit of all older plumbing fixtures with low-flow kits to reduce water consumption in restrooms, producing a savings in water consumption of more than 45 percent.

• The replacement of two 19-year-old water-cooled chillers with new, more energy-efficient Trane Earthwise® water-cooled chillers; along with upgrades to the air-handling and ventilation system, including CO² sensors for enhanced indoor air quality.

• An upgrade to the building’s energy management system, including temperature and lighting controls, to enhance the comfort of building occupants while maintaining control of energy using systems in the building to achieve high performance.

• Through staff training and working with clients, we went from annually recycling a mere 8 percent of its total waste stream to recycling 58 percent of its total waste stream in the past year, including an estimated 150 tons of brochures, wood pallets, cardboard, carpet and padding, clear sheet plastic, plastic table cloths, lamps and bulbs, shrink wrap, twine, landscaping debris and batteries, as well as plastic bottles, glass and cans.

• The installation of a state-of-the-art, commercial organic waste decomposition machine known as the “Digester,” which turns all organic kitchen waste into “gray water” that is similar to waste water from a sink, which is then recycled at the water treatment plant and returned as potable water.

• The purchase of Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) for off-site renewable wind and hydro energy systems. The Convention Center's most recent green power purchase will help keep 20,722,187 pounds of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere, which can be equated to planting 85,276 fully-grown trees.

• To improve indoor/outdoor air quality for building occupants, smoking is no longer permitted within 25 feet of any building opening. No-smoking signage has been placed throughout the facility to alert visitors of this policy and specific designated smoking areas have been provided.

• A touch-screen kiosk has been installed in the building's main lobby, which allows patrons to view our “real-time” energy savings and learn about the improvements made over the past three years.

• On the culinary front, SAVOR, our creative team of food and beverage professionals, follows sustainable practices in the kitchen, from energy-efficient food preparation, non-toxic cleaning, recycling, and water conservation to purchasing locally produced food and beverages whenever possible.  Donations are made to local food banks when appropriate and all other organic waste is disposed of in the “Digester,” which means virtually “zero” organic waste is disposed of in landfills.

Additionally, to demonstrate our commitment to maintaining the highest standards in sustainability and energy conservation, we have already registered with the USGBC for LEED for Existing Buildings recertification, which is scheduled to occur in five years. As a part of this commitment, we have hired Julia Johnson, who is accredited as a LEED AP+, from Sustainable Options as our dedicated sustainable programs manager. We look forward to being a LEEDer among convention centers for many years to come!

This article was previously published at the www.ftlauderdalecc.com blog.