Democratic National Convention Going Green

As Denver gears up to host the Democratic National Convention later this month, the host committee and the city are doing their part to encourage environmentally friendly practices during the convention. They laid out several goals and commitments on their website, they are:

• Minimizing any potentially negative environmental impacts of the 2008 Convention on our community;
• Creating a new green standard for all conventions that can be reproduced in the future, here in Denver and elsewhere;
• Demonstrating the economic and community benefits of greening;
• Educating our own citizens and our guests about green and healthy choices they make in their own lives; and
• Building an enduring positive environmental legacy that will echo here and around the country long after the last delegate leaves Denver.

All of this is in an effort to host the “greenest political convention in the history of the planet.” according to Denver Mayor John W. Hickenlooper.

The Denver 2008 Host Committee, in partnership with the Mayor’s Office and Greenprint Denver program, has put into place 10 focused task teams and over 100 volunteers from the public, private, and non-profit sectors to address the various aspects of greening by designing and implementing solid work plans focused not only on the convention, but also on creating a legacy for Denver.

As the convention gets closer, we look forward to seeing more examples and models for running large scale events while incorporating green practices. In September, we will be looking to the Republican National Convention green planning and practices as they too try to make their event more eco-friendly.