We’re pleased to report that the SMG-managed Greater Ft. Lauderdale/Broward County Convention Center is well on its way to becoming a certified green facility. We have registered with the U.S. Green Building Council for LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) certification for Existing Buildings: Operations & Management certification. The goal for our 600,000 square foot Convention Center is to achieve LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification for Existing Buildings: Operations & Management by August 2011, three years after receiving our official registration of the project.
About the U.S. Green Building Council
The Washington, D.C.-based U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), founded in 1993, is a national coalition of corporations, builders, universities, government agencies and nonprofit organizations working to promote environmentally responsible, profitable and healthy buildings. (www.usgbc.org)
About LEED
Developed by the USGBC, LEED provides a framework for identifying and implementing practical and measurable green building design, construction, operations, and maintenance solutions aimed at improving performance in five key areas: site development; water efficiency; energy efficiency; materials and resources; and indoor environmental quality. LEED is the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high-performance green buildings granted by the USGBC. LEED certification provides independent, third-party verification that a building project is environmentally responsible, sustainable, and able to provide a healthy place to live and work.
A Green Business Vision and Commitment
If you’re wondering why all this talk about sustainability and reducing our carbon footprint is important to the convention industry, we believe it’s because eco-friendly business practices and green construction make our world a healthier place and secure the future of our planet. What could be more important than that? Many of us already recycle, conserve water and reduce energy consumption at home, and the time is right to expand those sustainability practices to our workplaces, too.
Our commitment to achieving our LEED goals is second to none. Retrofitting a building to achieve LEED certification requires more resources and time than building a new one, which is why few other convention centers have achieved certification for Existing Buildings.
Enthusiasm for this challenging, eco-friendly project has fueled our excitement and provided the resources necessary to make it a reality. SMG, our parent company, committed up to $3 million to complete the conversion of our Center into a state-of-the-art, energy-efficient and environmentally sound, carbon neutral building. The Broward County Board of County Commissioners and Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau continue to support our efforts every step of the way.
“Experiencing this vision become a reality as our Convention Center moves closer to LEED certification is even more exciting than I thought it could be,” said Nicki Grossman, President/CEO of the Greater Fort Lauderdale/Broward County Convention Center. “We are positioning ourselves as a ‘LEEDer’ among convention centers with a truly state-of-the-art facility in a fantastic destination.”
From the eco-friendly sustainable products we select to the array of items we recycle and countless other new ways of viewing how we work and conduct meetings and events here at the Center, going green this project touches affects every aspect of our day-to-day operations.
We’re determined to be the most energy-efficient, least polluting and healthiest of convention centers, and we hope that you -- our meeting planners and guests -- will enjoy visiting our truly green facility as much as we enjoy working here every day. As the economy rebounds, we think the preference for green convention facilities will boom and we’re determined to be well ahead of the green curve!
Stay tuned for upcoming blog posts, where we’ll keep you informed about our green progress toward LEED certification and share any helpful tips we learn along the way.
Sustainably yours,
The Green Team
This article was previously published at the www.ftlauderdalecc.com blog.
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