Earth Day
In honor of Earth Day, we’d like to share what Seattle Center is doing to reduce the use of electricity, water, environmentally harmful materials and fossil fuels. We also want to say how happy and excited we are that we will soon house the first certified zero carbon Arena in the world when Climate Pledge Arena at Seattle Center opens this fall. Apart from the gamut of Arena sustainability features, here are some of the things we are doing on the grounds:
We use Green Purchasing Guidelines to help us direct the use of environmentally responsible materials in ALL business areas. Seattle Center’s Landscape Management Plan includes several “green” initiatives, and no glyphosate is used anywhere. We steam away our weeds. Bio-retention features at Broad Street Green and Theater Commons catch water from hardscape and building roofs, reducing the flow of water to Elliott Bay and Lake Union. Since 1989, Seattle Center has used a computerized system that monitors the amount of water used in campus irrigation and automatically adjusts to match time of year and rainfall rates. Plus, our water features automatically clean and reuse water. The largest living roof in Washington, at 1.5-acres, sits atop 5th Ave N Garage and the nation’s largest rooftop public community tops Mercer Garage.
Inside our buildings, an automated energy control system operates the Center’s heating and cooling plant, and an Energy Control System manages on/off cycles, outside air intake and activation of campus boilers and lighting circuits. LED lights are used throughout, reducing energy use by 50%. Marion Oliver McCaw Hall features a solar panel system that produces enough electricity to power the grand lobby lighting, and a heat recovery system there transfers the heat lost from building exhaust to the re-circulating air supply fans. The campus vehicle fleet uses battery/ electric, gas-electric hybrid and CNG to LPG and bio-diesel-capable power. All Armory food waste (when the Armory is open) is composted, and 114 waste containers on the grounds have integral recycle compartments for cans and bottles. Plus, our hundreds of trees and other plantings contribute oxygen and absorb carbon dioxide, so you can breathe easy on your next visit to our sustainable Center!
Happy Earth Day!
#didyouknow #seattlecenter #centerspotlight
About Seattle Center:
Connect to the extraordinary at Seattle Center, an active civic, arts and family gathering place in the core of our region. More than 30 cultural, educational, sports and entertainment organizations that reside on the grounds, together with a broad range of public and community programs, create thousands of events on the 74-acre campus and attract over 12 million visitors each year. At Seattle Center, part of Uptown Arts & Cultural District, our purpose is to create exceptional events, experiences and environments that delight and inspire the human spirit to build stronger communities. Activities at the Center generate $1.864 billion in business activity and $631 million in labor income.
