by Danelle Dodds, Exhibit City News
When it comes to Huntington Place, sustainability is more than just a buzzword. The 2.4 million-square-foot building is the 16th largest convention center in the United States. Home to an average of 160 events a year and millions of people passing through its doors annually, Huntington Place serves as a model for environmental responsibility. It has earned the coveted, honeyed LEED Gold Certified building multiple times and is also the largest LEED facility in Michigan.
From the Roots
The tendrils of its efforts go back more than fifteen years. While it was built in 1960 and expanded in 1987, it was in the 21st century that Huntington Place began branching into deeper green territory.
If you trace the deep-seated roots back to their germination, you would have seen the first determined green seedlings sprouting from 2009 to 2011. In 2009, the Michigan state legislation brought together five figureheads who served as the Detroit Regional Convention Facility Authority. Their first act of business was to reimagine the convention center.
The efforts kept pushing through the soil in 2010, when the facility entered a lasting partnership with ASM Global. Selected to manage facility operations, the ASM Global management team established the Green Committee in 2011. This evolution solidified Huntington Place’s commitment to environmental responsibility and began its efforts toward a greener and more sustainable future.
Becky Bixby, interim general manager and LEED Green Associate, shares, “Since the establishment of the Green Committee in 2011, Huntington Place has prioritized green initiatives, extending our commitment beyond just events to include our employees. We take pride in conducting comprehensive training sessions to ensure our team fully understands and embraces our sustainability goals.”
Daily Practice
Their daily sustainability practices are evidence of that commitment. On any given day, the hive of environmental stewardship is buzzing. Members of the Green Committee give local groups a tour of the venue’s sustainability operations. Committee members from the catering company, event services, and operations teams meet to organize the recycling, composting, and donations from an event in the pre-show meetings. Other committee members unite with local agencies to bring them into the post-event donation network. Some team members foster relationships with local agencies or companies to align goals and exchange best practices to uplift the Detroit area’s green ecosystem. This activity is on top of the standard, internal sustainable practices in place.
They don’t strictly limit their best practices to their colony. Their pollinated green initiatives extend to the exhibitors who select Huntington Place. All exhibitors and design companies are urged to follow the robust recycling, reduction, and reuse procedures and policies implemented at Huntington Place. Event managers collaborate with show managers to define sustainability goals and objectives for their events, issuing post-event reports and certificates of appreciation for achieving those targets. These goals encompass waste diversion, energy reduction, and active participation in local community engagement. Throughout the center, signage is strategically placed to encourage attendees and visitors to adopt mindful green practices.
To further enhance its sustainability efforts, Huntington Place has implemented a transformative policy mandating all contractors to provide efficient dumpsters and compactors to remove event-generated waste from the venue thoroughly. This forward-thinking approach minimizes landfill contributions and aligns with its commitment to creating a responsible, green space.
One glance at their waste diversion metrics makes it easy to see their impact. The results are staggering. In 2023:
- 283 tons of material were diverted, equaling 49%.
- Fifty tons of food and landscape waste was composted.
- Seventy-five tons of cardboard were recycled.
- 2 tons of prepared, unserved food was donated to local food banks.
- Twenty-five tons of wood pallets were recycled or upcycled.
All Creatures, Great and Small
If you think their waste diversion is impressive, consider their donation of some of the show’s extra products. Huntington Place’s newly instituted program donates trees and mulch from car shows and events. These items are distributed to the local zoo to be repurposed in an eco-friendly manner.
The pledge to the planet and creatures goes to the top. The roof of Huntington Place is a 10,000-square-foot living green roof installed as part of the 2015 $279 million renovation. Its presence creates a natural habitat for birds and insects and provides insulation to cool and heat the building. Twelve varieties of sedum are planted over a waterproofing membrane with layers of root barrier and natural drainage. Runoff rainwater is reused and distributed through the irrigation system to water the green roof.
In 2017, Bees in the D, a local Detroit organization, installed five honeybee hives adjacent to the living green roof at Huntington Place, designating it as a foster hive-site. The buzzing activity of 250,000 honeybees during the vibrant summer along the Detroit Riverfront is attributed to the beehives on the convention center’s green roof. These five hives are part of a more extensive network of 200 honeybee hives strategically placed at 60 locations across five Michigan counties, collectively housing 12 million bees. All these hives are established by Bees in the D and supported by their dedicated army of volunteers.
From the swarm of their collective efforts, Huntington Place continues to contribute to the vibrant buzz of sustainability. “At Huntington Place, continuous improvement is our constant pursuit,” Bixby states, “Our leadership actively engages in discussions with other venues and organizations to exchange best practices in the field of sustainability.”
Their sweet contribution pollinates more than a lucrative backdrop to the convention world. They are a hive of sustainable success.
