Moscone Center, San Francisco’s premier convention venue, has been awarded LEED Platinum certification for Existing Building Operations and Maintenance (EB:OM) — this certification is the highest level of LEED developed by the U.S. Green Building Council.
ASM Global Executive VP of convention centers Dan Hoffend said: “ASM Global is committed to making its portfolio of convention centers the most sustainable collection in the world.
“San Francisco’s Moscone Center is leading our effort to achieve this goal and raise the bar for the industry in state-of-the-art sustainability innovations.”
In 2019, following the completion of Moscone Center’s $551 million expansion program, the new Moscone North and South complex received the highest score possible in the world for LEED Platinum certification for new construction for a convention center.
With this latest re-recertification, the entire facility, including Moscone West, is now LEED EB:OM Platinum certified.
Honeycomb Strategies Principal said that the Moscone Center team’s “leadership is inspiring for the event industry as they show we can both serve our clients with first-in-class service, while also reducing the impact of our buildings in the cities in which we operate.”
Sustainability is at the core of the centre’s operations.
In addition to rooftop solar panels spanning Moscone South’s two roofs that provide the centre with approximately 19 per cent of its power, Moscone North and South have a greywater treatment system that recovers 56 million litres of water annually for reuse in landscaping, street cleaning and toilet flushing.
With sustainable catering options top of the mind for meeting planners, SAVOR, the culinary division of ASM Global, has developed menus focusing on sustainability, offering climate-friendly options, including plant-based, as well as fish and poultry dishes.
Compostable packaging, waste diversion, recycling and donation programs are also part of the efforts to reduce the carbon footprint.
The centre’s commitment to sustainability attracts top “mega conferences” that share these values. In 2023, the centre welcomed the 40,000 guest Dreamforce, billed as the “world’s largest AI event,” Workday Rising 2023, Google Cloud Next, TechCrunch Disrupt, RSA Conference, Config and Game Developers Conference, among others.
Moscone Center General Manager Leonie Patrick said: “San Francisco has always led the way with sustainability from banning plastic bags to styrofoam to-go containers in 2007.”
Moscone Center is the largest convention and exhibition complex in San Francisco, featuring over 73,000 square metres of exhibit space, up to 120 meeting rooms and over 20,000 square metres of pre-function terraces and lobbies.
Situated in the heart of downtown, the center is within convenient walking distance of nearly 20,000 hotel rooms.
It is owned by the City and County of San Francisco, with oversight provided by its Convention Facilities Department and managed by ASM Global.
