Cobo Center to Host Green Event Certificate Training for Event Planners

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Cobo Center to Host Green Event Certificate Training for Event Planners

8/9/2018
Claude Molinari, general manager of SMG/Cobo Center, today announced that Cobo Center will host the Events Industry Council’s training for the Sustainable Event Professional Certificate (SEPC) September 11-12, 2018. This is the first offering to event planners for the certificate in the state of Michigan. Information on the SEPC training can be found here.

Mariela Mcllwraith, director, industry advancement for the Events Industry Council will conduct the SEPC training for Cobo Center employees and other event professionals as part of the Cobo Center Green Committee’s efforts to implement new and innovative green initiatives throughout the facility and community. The committee was established in 2011, and has garnered several community awards for Cobo, including the Keep Michigan Beautiful President’s Plaque in 2016.

“The sustainable practices that the Cobo Center has implemented over the last several years, including energy management, food recovery, and intensive materials reuse & recycling, are potent examples to all institutions, businesses, and residents in Detroit that we can, and indeed we must, all play a part in creating a sustainable future in Detroit for current and future generations,” said City of Detroit Director, Office of Sustainability, Joel Heeres. “I laud their leadership on these issues.”

Cobo Center became the ninth US convention center to achieve the Events Industry Council’s (EIC) ASTM/APEX Sustainable Event Standard Certification in 2015. Venues are certified after implementing a set of voluntary standards to create more sustainable meetings and events. Cobo successfully re-certified in 2017 and will apply again for recertification in 2019.

“Organizing our facility operations around the EIC sustainable event standard helps us create an ecosystem for our events that supports sustainability and encourages the industry to engage in green efforts,” said Molinari. “We set audacious goals each year for the Green Committee, and hosting the SECP training was one of them. Helping our employees achieve this certificate strengthens our commitment to the environment.”

Combining active learning and experiential elements, the SEPC program is designed to enable participants to implement their own sustainable events. Topics will include understanding the business value of sustainability for the events industry; practical solutions for improving your environmental performance in areas such as food and beverage; transportation; supply chain management; and effective methods for achieving corporate social responsibility goals. As part of the program, the participants will customize a roadmap for their own sustainable event.

"The Events Industry Council is pleased to be offering this certificate program for the first time in Michigan,” said Karen Kotowski, chief executive officer for the Events Industry Council. “Hosting the event in Detroit's Cobo Center, a venue that has received our third party audited venue certification, will allow us to reinforce the sustainability curriculum with experiential elements.”

About Cobo Center
With 723,000 square feet of exhibit space, Cobo Center boasts one of the largest contiguous exhibit floor spaces in North America and is the 17th largest convention center in the country. Visit online at www.cobocenter.com.

About SMG
Founded in 1977, SMG provides management services to 233 public assembly facilities including convention and exhibition centers, arenas, stadiums, theaters, performing arts centers, equestrian facilities, science centers and a variety of other venues. With facilities across the globe, SMG manages more than 15 million square feet of exhibition space and more than 1.5 million sports and entertainment seats. SMG provides venue management, sales, marketing, event booking and programming, construction and design consulting, and pre-opening service. For more information visit www.smgworld.com.

About the DRCFA
On Sept. 9, 2009, operational control of Cobo Center transferred to the Detroit Regional Convention Facility Authority, under a collaborative agreement by the Michigan State Legislature, the City of Detroit, and Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties. Each of these entities has an appointed member on the DRCFA Board. Larry Alexander is Chairman of the Board as the member appointed by the Governor of the State of Michigan. For more information visit www.drcfa.org.

Contact:
mklida@cobocenter.com