Online Exclusive: A Giant with a Small Footprint: The Walter E. Washington Convention Center
Home to the AAO-HNSF 2012 Annual Meeting & OTO EXPO, the convention center is at the forefront of implementing environmentally friendly initiatives to make our world a greener place. The convention center’s management is proud that the steps it has taken will have a great influence on the health and well being of our environment for years to come. As one of the largest buildings in the District of Columbia, the convention center has an extensive recycling program and its employees are committed to reducing its carbon footprint. It uses products that marry high quality with environmental responsibility in their quest to reduce human exposure to potentially harmful contaminants. The convention center was designed to be environmentally friendly. Its modern, steel and glass exterior hints at the level of energy efficient practices used both inside and outside of the three-building facility. The exterior walls are made of clear, low-emission glass that reflects natural light and minimizes indoor temperature fluctuations. Meeting rooms with exterior windows are equipped with system-controlled shades for solar heat management. High-efficiency lighting and sensor systems are used throughout the building. A sophisticated lighting automation system operates at light levels of 10 percent when halls and public areas are unoccupied, 50 percent during move-in and move out, and 100 percent during an event. Because water is one of the planet’s most precious resources, convention center management works to maximize the building’s efficiency and minimize its influence on the local environment. Like most modern facilities, the bathroom fixtures are highly efficient to reduce the burden placed on the water supply and wastewater systems. The convention center’s storm water management system was designed to support the District of Columbia’s storm system. Rainwater is fed into nine large underground collection tanks, which filter and slowly release the water into the District’s storm system. This reduces peak demand on the city’s storm system and improves the operation of its treatment plant. No green initiative would be complete without an extensive recycling program. The “Know the Code” recycle compliance program uses a color-coded approach to separating waste at the source. The convention center was the first to offer color-coded recycling stations, which can be found in all exhibit halls and meeting rooms. As you walk through the halls during the annual meeting, you’ll notice that the convention center strives to recycle just about everything. The most common materials are glass, aluminum, plastic, cardboard, and mixed paper. All leftover food is donated to the DC Central Kitchen, a nationally recognized nonprofit organization that not only runs the largest soup kitchen in the city, but also offers food service training to disadvantaged adults. The City of Washington, DC, has Adopted Green Initiatives, Too. The National Park Service controls 70 percent of land in Washington, DC. There are 250,000 acres of parkland in the Greater Washington Metropolitan area. In 2007, DC was named the most walkable city in the United States in a study by the Brookings Institute. In late 2006, the city council passed an initiative making the nation’s capital the first major city to require developers to adhere to guidelines established by the U.S. Green Building Council. The Washington Nationals Ballpark is striving to be the country’s first green-certified ballpark. DC’s hotels have implemented green initiatives, including wind power, renewable energy credits, recycling, and adopt-a-park programs with neighborhood green spaces. See you in Washington, DC! – See more at: http://aaobulletin.365.staging2.ascendmedia.com/Highlight.aspx?id=5093&p=416#sthash.NBUKyFhN.dpuf
Home to the AAO-HNSF 2012 Annual Meeting & OTO EXPO, the convention center is at the forefront of implementing environmentally friendly initiatives to make our world a greener place. The convention center’s management is proud that the steps it has taken will have a great influence on the health and well being of our environment for years to come. As one of the largest buildings in the District of Columbia, the convention center has an extensive recycling program and its employees are committed to reducing its carbon footprint. It uses products that marry high quality with environmental responsibility in their quest to reduce human exposure to potentially harmful contaminants.
The convention center was designed to be environmentally friendly. Its modern, steel and glass exterior hints at the level of energy efficient practices used both inside and outside of the three-building facility. The exterior walls are made of clear, low-emission glass that reflects natural light and minimizes indoor temperature fluctuations. Meeting rooms with exterior windows are equipped with system-controlled shades for solar heat management. High-efficiency lighting and sensor systems are used throughout the building. A sophisticated lighting automation system operates at light levels of 10 percent when halls and public areas are unoccupied, 50 percent during move-in and move out, and 100 percent during an event.
Because water is one of the planet’s most precious resources, convention center management works to maximize the building’s efficiency and minimize its influence on the local environment. Like most modern facilities, the bathroom fixtures are highly efficient to reduce the burden placed on the water supply and wastewater systems. The convention center’s storm water management system was designed to support the District of Columbia’s storm system. Rainwater is fed into nine large underground collection tanks, which filter and slowly release the water into the District’s storm system. This reduces peak demand on the city’s storm system and improves the operation of its treatment plant.
No green initiative would be complete without an extensive recycling program. The “Know the Code” recycle compliance program uses a color-coded approach to separating waste at the source. The convention center was the first to offer color-coded recycling stations, which can be found in all exhibit halls and meeting rooms.
As you walk through the halls during the annual meeting, you’ll notice that the convention center strives to recycle just about everything. The most common materials are glass, aluminum, plastic, cardboard, and mixed paper. All leftover food is donated to the DC Central Kitchen, a nationally recognized nonprofit organization that not only runs the largest soup kitchen in the city, but also offers food service training to disadvantaged adults.
The City of Washington, DC, has Adopted Green Initiatives, Too.
The National Park Service controls 70 percent of land in Washington, DC. There are 250,000 acres of parkland in the Greater Washington Metropolitan area.
In 2007, DC was named the most walkable city in the United States in a study by the Brookings Institute.
In late 2006, the city council passed an initiative making the nation’s capital the first major city to require developers to adhere to guidelines established by the U.S. Green Building Council.
The Washington Nationals Ballpark is striving to be the country’s first green-certified ballpark.
DC’s hotels have implemented green initiatives, including wind power, renewable energy credits, recycling, and adopt-a-park programs with neighborhood green spaces.
See you in Washington, DC!
– See more at: http://aaobulletin.365.staging2.ascendmedia.com/Highlight.aspx?id=5093&p=416#sthash.NBUKyFhN.dpuf