Oregon Convention Center staff celebrates Earth Month by taking action

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We like to say that every day is Earth Day at the Oregon Convention Center, and each day of Earth Month this year was packed with employee engagement activities, community involvement, and actions that had a beneficial impact on our local neighborhood and the environment.

Here are a few highlights...

GoLloyd Trash Mob

OCC and Metro staff joined other devoted volunteers for the annual Go Lloyd Trash Mob on April 17th.

The team spent their noon lunch hour cleaning up litter throughout Portland's Lloyd neighborhood, collecting 199 lbs exactly!

“It was a blast!” said Lisa Strong, OCC Sales Manager and Trash Mob participant.

Partially used water, OCC doesn’t waste a drop!



        Water repurpose - water bottles.jpg

OCC's guests will sometimes leave partially empty bottles of water behind, and for years due to health and sanitation concerns this water was simply going to waste. But the situation inspired our team to begin thinking outside the venue box for solutions.

We estimate about 37 gallons of water are left over per every 75 gallons. This water is now used for things we do every day, like cleaning the building and providing nourishment for our indoor plants. Some of this leftover water is also used to fill the vehicle scrubbers on our loading dock.

It is creative ideas like this that keep the OCC team moving the green-star standard of sustainability forward.

OCC sponsors and participates in #CSRshareDay global campaign

#CSRshareDay is a 24-hour online event, falling on or around Earth Day each year, where sustainability champions from around the world gather on Twitter to discuss and share the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) actions they’ve taken to make their businesses and communities more sustainable.

On April 23rd, OCC sustainability manager Ryan Harvey and waste reduction specialist Nancy Nordman served as hosts during an hour-long telling of OCC’s sustainability story (280 characters at a time), addressing clean energy, waste diversion, plastic pollution, and why client and local partnerships are the key to attaining goals. Assistant director of marketing Michelle Hedegard and communications manager Jon Smith posted messages, measurements, infographics and photos to support the effort.

The campaign is organized by Positive Impact Events, a UK-based nonprofit that provides education, resources and inspiration for the worldwide meetings and events industry. Their hope is that this year's campaign reached close to two million people.

Positive Impact reports that the 2019 campaign was covered by numerous media outlets, including The Iceberg, 3BL Media, MeetingNet, Meetings Today, International Meetings Review, Conference News, Odyssey Media Group, Conference & Meetings World, Exhibition News and Meetings Mean Biz.

OCC donates to Portland Rescue Mission and Blanchet House



        Portland Rescue Mission donation - Brandy Trotter.jpg

Residents of the region experiencing house-lessness have an array of needs. To assist these neighbors in need, the OCC team delivered 85 lbs of clothing (including lots of socks) and 40 lbs of toiletry items (toothbrushes, toothpaste, deodorant, etc) to the Portland Rescue Mission. The simple comforts that we take for granted can brighten someone’s day.

Another donation of $387.96 was made to Blanchet House, a local transitional housing program for men. The money was collected by the OCC through its Lost and Found. After the organization received the donation, it tweeted: "How cool that @oregoncc collects found money and donates it to Blanchet House every year! Thank you for supporting our work!"

Thanks to all the OCC team members who helped to collect the donation items and to executive assistant Brandy Trotter and waste reduction specialist Nancy Nordman who delivered them in person.

To learn more about what sustainability means at the Oregon Convention Center, please visit the recently expanded section on our website.

About the Oregon Convention Center
The Oregon Convention Center is owned by Metro and managed by the Metro Exposition and Recreation Commission. OCC is a sustainably operated LEED® Platinum facility that hosts groups from around the world and brings millions of dollars into the Portland and Oregon economy.

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Water repurpose - water bottles.jpg

Portland Rescue Mission donation - Brandy Trotter.jpg

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