Syracuse, N.Y.’s Oncenter Complex uses green to attract enviro orgs
Two Upstate New York organizations that frequently convene green have used Syracuse, N.Y.’s Oncenter Complex for their confabs due to the facility’s commitment to environmental sustainability.
The multivenue exhibition, convention and entertainment facility—composed of the Nicholas J. Pirro Convention Center at Oncenter, War Memorial Arena at Oncenter and John H. Mulroy Civic Center Theaters at Oncenter—was the “natural” choice for both groups as it is a meetings facility leader in implementing green practices and using eco-friendly products.
“They’re committed to it—they walk the talk,” says Tammy Rosanio, project manager and assistant to the executive director of the Syracuse Center of Excellence in Environmental and Energy Systems, which held its annual symposium at the facility last fall, bringing in 300 attendees from the private sector and academia over two days for workshops, events, receptions and dinners. “We’re always looking for facilities that not only implement their own environmental policies, but adhere to our standards and can show us that.
“They are at the forefront in this area, and doing things that people are talking about—offering a more sustainable facility for those in the community,” she continues, adding that the organization will hold its 2009 Eighth Annual Symposium on Environmental & Energy Systems at Oncenter.
Maureen Wakefield, continuing education coordinator for SUNY College of Environmental Sciences and Forestry, held the institution’s 7th Annual Green Building Conference—with approximately 257 attendees over two days, including 21 tabletop vendors—at Oncenter last March, and decided to return next March.
An interesting aspect of Wakefield’s program was that the subject matter could be very specifically tied to green efforts at the facility via speaker Terry Ettinger, a noted horticulturalist and landscape architect, who used Oncenter’s recent green landscaping renovation as a case study for attendees.
“Oncenter replaced 15,000 square feet of turf with a range of living items, which included nearly 10,000 shrubs, perennials, ornamental grasses and spring-flowering bulbs,” Wakefield says, citing materials from the facility. “The landscaper reduced the maintenance costs while improving the landscape. You don’t have to do anything—the water just comes. That was a good marriage of facility and program.”
Wakefield also cited “green” issues of another kind when describing her interaction with Oncenter.
“Being a SUNY school, we’re very fiscally conservative, so they were willing to work within our budget parameters,” she says. “They’ve been very supportive of our goals.”
According to Oncenter, the facility utilizes following practices to promote sustainability, among others:
Eco-friendly products and practices
- All sales support materials are printed on recycled paper
- All office, printer and copier paper is 100 percent recycled post-consumer fiber
- Trash liners, tissue paper, toilet paper and inkjet cartridges are made of recycled and post-consumer materials
- Restroom soap dispensers contain mild, biodegradable foam soap certified by Green Seal
- Leftover food scraps are composted
- A new carpet that meets LEED standards was installed in the ballroom
Green policies and procedures
- Implemented Johnson Diversey’s Healthy High Performance Cleaning program to select products and enact procedures that are less harmful to the environment when cleaning the facility, which also exposes building occupants, visitors and housekeeping personnel to fewer health risks and fosters improved indoor environments
- Formed the Oncenter “Green Team” to actively engage employees in improving the facility’s commitment to environmental quality and sustainability
Energy conservation
- The facility reduced its kilowatt-hours usage per year by nearly 30 percent from 2003 to 2007
- Installed occupancy sensors in rooms
- Installed the latest lighting and dimming systems on all lighting fixtures
For More Info
Oncenter Complex
www.oncenter.org
Syracuse Center of Excellence in Environmental and Energy Systems www.syracusecoe.org
SUNY College of Environmental Sciences and Forestry www.esf.edu
