Greening the 2008 Democratic National Convention

Mission

The Blue Marble, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Image by Reto Stockli

Our mission is to produce the most environmentally sustainable political convention in modern American history.

We initiated our comprehensive greening plan a full year before the Convention and continue to incorporate sustainability principles in all aspects of our planning and restoration. Our programs range from minimizing waste at resource recovery stations to measuring our carbon footprint. Our goal is to holistically design-in environmental sustainability measures in every possible way, take responsibility for our impact on the climate and create a lasting environmental legacy for the Democratic Party and the city of Denver.

DNCC Offices

We are firm believers that greening starts at home. Our Denver offices are centrally located in an Energy Star building at the hub of the city’s mass transit lines. Many of our employees walk and bike to work. Inside, daylight is maximized and motion-sensor light switches and energy-efficient T8 fluorescent bulbs have been installed in every room. The walls are painted with low VOC paints, and our work stations include repurposed and recycled materials. We use energy efficient computers and appliances, locally-produced compostable bioware, non-toxic cleaners in the restrooms and have a successful building-wide single stream recycling program. For our printing needs, we print double-sided on 100 percent post-consumer recycled paper and recycle all print cartridges.

We have also incorporated sustainable planning principles into the work we do in these offices. For example, for the first time ever, the DNCC housing process is being handled entirely online, reducing our consumption by an estimated 50,000 to 100,000 sheets of paper.

Carbon

A Convention first, we are comprehensively calculating the carbon footprint of the Convention with help from Camco, our Official Carbon Advisor. Our goal is to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions as much as possible. Where emissions are unavoidable, we will look to verifiable carbon offset programs that benefit American renewable energy and agricultural and landfill methane capture projects.

To calculate the carbon emissions generated by your own trip to Denver for the Convention, click here.

Energy

We are also incorporating energy conservation measures into our planning for other official Convention venues. At the Pepsi Center media pavilions, we are selecting high-efficiency lighting systems and using compact fluorescent, LED and solar powered lighting wherever possible. We hope to include solar arrays to assist with clean power needs. In areas where generators will absolutely be required, our goal is to fuel them by a minimum of 20 percent biodiesel.

The Pepsi Center has also been working independently to institute long-term sustainability measures on site. The Pepsi Center is installing a permanent solar array that will be operational before the Convention and long after our nominee has been chosen in Denver. In conjunction with the Pepsi Center, as well as the Convention Center and Hyatt Regency Headquarters Hotel, a percentage of the power supplied to these venues will be 100% powered by wind energy through Green-e certified renewable energy credits.

Waste Diversion

Our goal for our resource recovery systems at the Pepsi Center and the Colorado Convention Center is a minimum 85 percent diversion from the landfill. We will accomplish this through a comprehensive recycling, composting and waste minimization program with the assistance of hundreds of our DNCC Green Team volunteers. Organic materials collected through our system will be composted, degrade within weeks and be returned to the soil.

We have been working closely with the Pepsi Center and the Convention Center staff to ensure sourcing of sustainable and recyclable service ware. Our focus is to not only lower our waste impact for the Convention, but to implement a long-term legacy of recycling and sourcing recyclable materials at these venues.

Sustainable Materials & Production

Choosing sustainable materials is at the heart of our greening plan. Sustainable sourcing, reuse and reduction of all materials are considerations for every facet of Convention planning and production. All contractors and subcontractors are chosen in part because of their demonstrated commitment to sustainable planning principles, and many have agreed to participate in our carbon tracking program. Sustainably-harvested wood products and rented or reused materials will be used everywhere possible. Materials used will be measured, tracked and wherever possible, reused or donated to community organizations and schools at the conclusion of the Convention.

The DNCC production team is currently designing the look and layout of the Convention hall, including the stage that will showcase our nominee. The DNCC is committed to implementing environmentally aware procedures throughout. These include using innovative technologies to replace disposable set pieces, low energy alternatives in lighting, reusable and or recyclable staging materials such as rental decking, and environmentally sustainable construction materials, such as recycled and/or recyclable carpeting, non-toxic adhesives and low VOC paints.

Transportation

The Pepsi Center, the Convention Center, the DNCC Headquarters Hotel and the DNCC offices are all located within walking distance of either the RTD light rail or the 16th Street mall shuttle, which is run on hybrid buses. A majority of delegation hotels are also accessible from these public transportation systems.

The buses used to transport delegates and media from all the hotels to the Pepsi Center will be either hybrid, alternative fuel or run on biodiesel. Bus idling will be kept to a minimum to reduce air pollution.

Our Official Vehicle Provider, General Motors, is working with the DNCC’s transportation team to offer hybrid, E-85 and high fuel efficiency vehicles to support our fleet needs.

All DNCC vehicles and bus miles will also be tracked and included in our carbon footprint calculations.

Green Community Service & Education

Giving back to the community hosting our Convention is a top priority for the DNCC. Our “DNCC Service Days” campaign focuses on three areas of importance to the Denver-area community: youth, environmental projects and the combined issues of homelessness and hunger. Local river clean-ups, tree-planting and tree care events are just part of how we create an environmental legacy in Denver and the surrounding communities.

Colorado is the home of many renewable energy research and renewable energy technologies. The National Renewable Energy Lab, the National Center for Atmospheric Research and many of the recent Nobel Prize winning scientists who shared the 2007 prize with Al Gore are located here. We hope to be able to share some of what Colorado has to offer in these areas during Convention week.

Legacy of Sustainability

The DNCC is devoted to leaving behind a strong legacy of sustainability and environmental stewardship both in Denver and for future Democratic Conventions. We believe we have a responsibility to not only green our Convention but to educate all who attend, as well as those who watch from their living rooms around the world. We hope you will join us in our greening efforts in 2008 and for years to come.