This past year’s Greenbuild International Conference and Expo marked the second year in a row that the annual conference achieved TRUE Zero Waste certification at the Platinum level. By incorporating the rating system, the show’s sponsors, Informa and the U.S. Green Building Council, were able to elevate their tracking processes while also capturing waste reduction efforts, and ultimately achieved a TRUE waste diversion of 93 percent and achieved 62 points.
The Greenbuild 2018 “traditional diversion rate” (the percentage of waste that was composted, recycled, or donated) was 85.4 percent. But when reduction and reuse were factored in, that rate jumped to 93 percent, enabling them to achieve TRUE Zero Waste certification, which requires a diversion rate or a TRUE calculated diversion rate of 90 percent for certification.
The TRUE Zero Waste certification system goes far beyond measuring and tracking ways in which waste is reduced, reused, recycled, or composted to calculating how waste is diverted from landfill, incineration, and the environment. It helps drive a circular closed loop economy, enables businesses to achieve their sustainability, waste and corporate social responsibility goals; helps facilities cut their carbon footprint and conserve resources; and creates new materials and jobs.
Greenbuild is genuinely dedicated to sustainability across the board, from the educational sessions presented at the conference to the products on the show floor to the way the event is produced. Learn more about the event’s sustainability impact in their 2018 Greenbuild Sustainability Report.