“We do this work because we want future generations to be able to experience all of the beauty and abundance of our planet.

For the past thirteen years, the Unitarian Universalist Association’s General Assembly has been living their faith by putting their Seven Principles into practice. They have engaged a dozen cities in the process of making their hotels and convention centers more sustainable, and in some cases, have influenced significant change.”

Rev. Chip Roush, Unitarian Universalist Association

Once again, Unitarian Universalist Association influenced change in their destination city. This time in Columbus, Ohio. Here are a few significant examples:

  • While the annual diversion rate for the Greater Columbus Convention Center is 35%, the diversion rate for the 2016 General Assembly was 61%.
  • Compost was processed in the Convention Center for the first time ever during the General Assembly, using a pulper and dehydrator. Six percent of the total waste was composted.
  • The Convention Center caterer switched from single use condiments to bulk condiment stations in multiple concession areas throughout the venue. Vendors modified their practices and communicated the changes to customers.

To put this massive effort into perspective, UUA General Assembly had 3,771 onsite attendees from 6 countries, 6,829 hotel room nights, and 111 exhibitor booths.

Other notable achievements in 2016 include:

  • All participant travel, venue and hotel emissions were 100% offset
  • Catered food was 48% local and 9% organic, by dollars spent
  • The average waste per person was 0.44 kg, the equivalent of four sticks of butter

Congratulations to the entire Event Sustainability Team! We are proud to partner with such passionate, dedicated professionals who genuinely care about doing the right thing.

Read the full case study.