Democratic Convention Red, White and Blue, and Green All Over

BOSTON, Massachusetts, June 26, 2004 (ENS) - The Democrats will celebrate at Boston's FleetCenter this week with confetti made from recycled paper and biodegradable balloons. Renewable energy will power the entire Democratic National Convention, and greenhouse gas reduction projects will offset the carbon dioxide emitted by delegates, speakers and media as they travel to Boston and home again.

The Democratic National Convention Committee (DNCC) and Boston 2004, Inc., the host committee for the 2004 Democratic National Convention, have been working for months to make this the greenest political convention ever.

Democratic Presidential candidate John Kerry winds up to throw the ceremonial first pitch Sunday at Fenway Park for the Boston Red Sox versus the New York Yankees baseball game. (Photo courtesy JohnKerry.com)

Rod O'Connor, DNCC chief executive officer, calls the convention "the most environmentally friendly in our nation's history."

The organizers started with electricity. Working with the Coalition for Environmentally Responsible Conventions and the FleetCenter electricity supplier Constellation NewEnergy, they obtained renewable energy certificates, purchasing power generated by wind, hydro, biomass, and solar. The green electricity was certified to the Green-e standard by the non-profit Center for Resource Solutions.

The Convention will also utilize a 250 kilowatt fuel cell power plant, supplied by Connecticut-based FuelCell Energy, Inc. to power convention events. The unit generates enough electricity to power a 300 room hotel. It will convert natural gas, supplied by Keyspan Energy, through a patented internal reforming process into the hydrogen needed to electrochemically produce electricity.

The fuel cell will produce 99.9 percent less harmful air pollution and 59 percent less carbon dioxide than traditional power plants that generate electricity by burning coal, oil or gas, and will use half as much fuel per kilowatt hour of electricity as conventional power plants. It will limit harmful emissions in the area around the FleetCenter during the convention.

Convention Chairman New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson was Energy Secretary in the Clinton administration. (Photo courtesy Democratic National Convention Committee)

Getting around Boston might be tough with convention related traffic, but the air will be cleaner than usual due to hybrid pickup trucks and buses provided to the DNCC by General Motors. Hybrid buses provide 60 percent greater fuel economy and 90 percent fewer emissions than regular transit buses. The pickups are 10-15 percent more fuel efficient.

Delegates will be encouraged to walk from their hotels to the convention, and bus drivers have been instructed not to idle their vehicles longer than the five minutes allowed under the Massachusetts anti-idling law.

The DNCC and Boston 2004 have partnered with The Greater Boston Food Bank's Second Helping program to "rescue" unused food from the convention provide it to hunger-relief agencies in our community. For instance, Lundy's of Boston, which is providing catering for the non-network lots and the media workspace, has agreed to donate all of its unused food at the end of the convention week to The Greater Boston Food Bank.

Two events will use food grown on Massachusetts farms - the 15,000-person media party and the Massachusetts delegation party. In addition to supporting state farmers and local economies, choosing local food avoids the pollution associated with shipping and transporting food over long distances.

The media buffet, when it closes the remaining food will be eaten by others or composted. (Photo courtesy DNC)

Careful thought has been put into reducing, reusing and recycling the tons of paper normally generated by a national political convention.

First, to prevent the waste of paper, the DNCC and Boston 2004, Inc. are doing as much of their work as possible online. The online hotel reservation system, Passkey is handling the reservation system for some 109,000 hotel rooms at 63 hotels and three universities. Organizers say this system previously required the use of more than 100,000 individual sheets of paper.

The DNCC also saves paper by using a sophisticated Intranet that allows staff to communicate electronically rather than on paper.

When paper is an absolute necessity, convention organizers are using recycled white paper in all of their office operations and in all media work stations. Bins for the recycling of mixed paper, cans, and bottles will be conveniently located throughout the FleetCenter and media work stations, including the press pavilion and workspace.

Forever young, 71 year old Little Richard electrifies the DNC media party. (Photo courtesy DNC)

The first day's waste paper will be gathered and shipped to the Haverhill Paperboard Mill in Haverhill, Massachusetts. There it will be repulped and manufactured into paperboard, cut into sheets, wrapped, and palletized for shipment to the poster print shop.

The Journeyman Press in Newburyport, Massachusetts will receive the paperboard, print the posters and ship them back to Boston for distribution to convention attendees. The poster will note that it was made from 100% recycled materials from the first day of the convention and organizers say it is intended to serve as a reminder of the Democratic Party's commitment to the environment.

Once the convention is over, the construction materials used to create the event will not end up in the trash. The DNCC and Boston 2004 are working with Shawmut Design and Construction to get these valuable material into the hands of people who will make good use of them.

Materials used to construct the convention will be reused when the event is over. (Photo courtesy DNC)

These reuse organizations will make the construction materials available to local non-profits and low-income homeowners in the Boston area. Shawmut estimates that 500 sheets of masonite, 250 sheets of plywood, and 700 sheets of homosote board will be donated to the reuse organizations. Thousands of feet of telephone and data cabling will be recycled.

In addition, Shawmut crews will separate at the jobsite and recycle 1,500 sheets of unpainted sheetrock.

The DNCC has agreed to donate all of its empty bottles and cans to Work, Inc., a nationally recognized non-profit that is a pioneer in developing community programs for individuals with disabilities. The DNCC and Boston 2004, Inc. will donate their computers and unused office supplies to the Boston Public Schools after the convention closes on Thursday night.

Julie Burns, executive director of Boston 2004, Inc. said, "The environmental plan for this convention serves as an example of the great strides being made to incorporate conservation initiatives and green building techniques into large events and construction projects throughout the city of Boston. I am proud of the efforts that our local companies have made to incorporate these innovative techniques and conservation measures into their work with the convention."