BRANSON, MO.—The Branson Convention Center recently launched a task force of employees to investigate how the facility could lessen its environmental impact through green initiatives. After several months of research and planning the task force has begun implementing their recommendations with a new sustainability plan.
“SMG has a long history worldwide of conducting business with a focus on being environmentally friendly,” said Branson Convention Center General Manager Marc Mulherin. “When SMG transitioned into the management role with the Convention Center we knew launching this task force would be one of our first priorities.”
The initiatives of the Branson Convention Center’s sustainability plan include several common-thinking ideas like turning off lights when not in the room. Many of the ways the Center is reducing its impact on the environment cannot be seen, like using non-toxic chemicals for cleaning or LED light bulbs. One small change with a big impact one might notice when inside the Branson Convention Center is the strategic timing of when the escalators are running and the scheduling of the HVAC.
“Escalators use a tremendous amount of electricity,” said Mulherin. “By turning off the escalators and slightly lowering or raising temperatures when certain areas are not being used we can really reduce our resource consumption in a significant manner.”
Two other cornerstones to the new sustainability plan are composting and recycling. Almost 75 percent of the waste generated by commercial food operations can be composted. Food waste composting reduces waste disposal costs, conserves landfill space, and highlights the commitment the Branson Convention Center is making to being green. Composting is a natural process that turns organic material into a nutrient-rich soil amendment that is valuable to industries and the environment. With its new commitment to sustainability the Branson Convention Center now recycles nearly a dozen different materials, everything from paper to light bulbs. Since September 1, in less than one month, the Convention Center has diverted over 900 pounds of glass from landfills.
Go to the Branson Convention Center.
