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New Orleans is a leading destination for meetings and conventions. With 43% of meeting attendees reporting that a destination’s environmental sustainability is a crucial factor in their decision to attend (MMGY research), New Orleans continues to showcase why it is Built to Host as a responsible and eco-friendly destination.
Here are just a few of the standout ways New Orleans is succeeding in positively impacting sustainability for meeting and event attendees. CRCL Oyster Shell Recycling Program.
The city’s commitment to sustainable practices shines through initiatives like it’s Oyster Shell Recycling Program – which has recycled over 13 million pounds of oyster shells, returning them to the Gulf to create 8,000 feet of reefs that slow erosion and build habitat for new oysters to grow. Glass Half Full.
The program transforms glass waste into sand and glass cullet resources for disaster relief and prevention, eco-construction and coastal restoration, new glass products, and more by collecting glass waste from residential and commercial spaces.
The commercial pickup program helps 80+ clients across multiple industries, including hotels, bars, restaurants, casinos, and offices, optimize their sustainability practices and cut garbage collection costs, helping to reduce the city’s environmental footprint. New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center.
As part of the facility’s ongoing $557 million capital improvement plan, which features modern designs, technical upgrades, and, most importantly, sustainable improvements, it has achieved and maintained LEED Gold Certification. The convention center is also the largest project in the U.S. certified under LEED v4.1 Operations and Maintenance and the first in the world to be awarded initial certification under LEED v4.1 O+M.
Throughout the multi-phase renovation project, the convention center has surpassed its goal of 50% waste diversion by diverting 84% of the waste produced during the project’s first stage, including about 461,650 pounds of waste from landfills. The Convention Center also recycles masonry, lights, scrap, cardboard, and plastic as much as possible, sending the discarded materials to local vendors and recycling companies.
Walkability – New Orleans’ compact geographic footprint makes it easy to navigate between hotels and meeting facilities and explore iconic neighborhoods from the French Quarter and the Central Business District to the Warehouse and Arts District. Nearly 200 world-class attractions and many of the city’s 1,500 restaurants are conveniently walkable from this two-mile stretch, which is all part of the complete destination experience.
There are more than 26,000 sleeping rooms within this radius, represented by national and independent hotel brands, and all of New Orleans’ neighborhoods are easily accessible to convention facilities. Single hotel meetings, large citywide conventions, and major sporting and special events all happen in the convenience of the downtown area, allowing meeting guests to save on transportation costs and commute time.
