As an association, we know there are many areas where our members are best served through tapping into our large network of subject-matter experts – and unlike the sustainable philosophy of conservation – this is one resource we encourage our members to consume in abundance.
With that in mind, this summer IAVM members are encouraged to take advantage of the sustainability experts they’ll find at IAVM annual conference, VenueConnect; as well as the deep dive into sustainability one can find at the Green Sports Alliance’s Green Sports Alliance Summit. IAVM’s VenueConnect will be in New Orleans, July 27-30, and the Green Sports Alliance Summit for sports venues, stadiums and arenas will take place a month later on August 26-28 in New York.
Elaine Aye IIDA, LEED Fellow
Principal Green Building Services
Last year, IAVM formed a partnership with Green Sports Alliance (GSA), so we thought who better to speak to about both programs than Elaine Aye, IIDA, LEED Fellow and President of Green Building Services – and an IAVM member for the past 6 years. With over 30 years in the industry Elaine can clearly see the path taken thus far; and help us in our efforts to move towards a greener future for the industry and our planet.
How are you involved with IAVM’s sustainability education efforts?
Elaine: I am working with the team to establish potential training opportunities for our members, facilitating some training and exploring opportunities to bring additional education to our members around environmental best practices for their building operations.
How are you involved with Green Sports Alliance?
Elaine: I am a founding environmental advisor to the GSA and was actively involved in the initial program development. GBS helped to design and develop the roadmap for their members. This year at our summit in NYC we will be conducting two LEED trainings for their members.
Have you attended the Green Sports Summit?
Elaine: Yes, every year.
What are a couple of your top reasons you attend the Summit?
Elaine: To support the Green Support Summits and to see various firms and teams adopt sustainability practices within their organization.
Why should people go to both the Green Sports Summit and VenueConnect this year?
Elaine: One event is focused on all types of venues and sharing best practices about building operations and the other event focuses solely on sports venues, stadiums & arenas. They are very different events and someone can benefit from attending both of them.
What will the session at VenueConnect about sustainability focus on?
Elaine: We are facilitating a session to help venue & facility managers engage in meaningful discussions with their peers around best environmental practices that they can incorporate into their own facilities. The panel will provide some strategies, processes and case studies. We will then break members up into small groups and pose questions pertaining to challenges that they might be experiencing in their own facilities. The goal is that we will capture strategies that might be incorporated and share with the group at large.
What is one tip you can give me that every person inside a venue can do to help their venue be more sustainable?
Elaine: Empower your staff to find solutions & engage your management to provide resources and support so that the entire team can work towards common sustainability goals. Once this is done, whether it is a recycling program or a systems upgrade, you will be able to demonstrate more quantitative and qualitative results.
We hope that you’ll take advantage of both of these opportunities. Register here and learn more about the Green Sports Summit. Don’t miss visiting the sustainability session and GSA Booth at VenueConnect in New Orleans. Remember, the hotel cut off for VenueConnect is this Friday!
