LAS VEGAS SPRINGS PRESERVE
ADDRESS: 333 S. Valley View Blvd., Las Vegas, NV 89107
WEB SITE: www.springspreserve.org
CLEAN & GREEN: This 180-acre preserve opened last month. Although it sits within sight of the Las Vegas Strip, it offers myriad event spaces with an organic feel thanks to natural features such as trees and rock formations.
EVENT AREAS: The 13,700-square-foot outdoor amphitheater and stage in the Crossroads Commons offers plenty of seating with six tiered decks. Meeting rooms at the Preserve are equipped with high-speed Internet, cordless microphones and remote-controlled video projection systems.
FAIR TRADE: The venue's construction used environmentally friendly elements such as Forest Steward Council-approved lumber, straw bales and rammed earth. Solar chimneys remove heat from the buildings.
ORGANIC OUTLOOK: Wolfgang Puck Catering supplies the Preserve with high-end fare. The 3,910-square-foot Desert Living Center aims for a platinum rating for environmental design from the U.S. Green Building Council.
METRO TORONTO CONVENTION CENTRE
ADDRESS: 255 Front St. W., Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5V 2W6
WEB SITE: www.mtccc.com
CLEAN & GREEN: Featuring a sleek, contemporary look, the MTCC offers 460,000 square feet of exhibit space, 64 meeting rooms and two carpeted ballrooms.
EVENT AREAS: The John W.H. Bassett Theatre seats 1,330 people in a facility with a stage area offering flexible light and sound. Plus, every seat provides unobstructed sightlines.
FAIR TRADE: The MTCC donates more than 2,000 pounds of food annually to feed the needy. Other green programs include computer and ink cartridge recycling, and a 300,000-square-foot landscaped roof over the convention center's parking lot with a park and benches for the public.
ORGANIC OUTLOOK: The MTCC pioneered the concept of zero-waste events, administrators say. At these events, the Centre avoids adding to landfills by recycling and composting organics, plastics, paper, metal, glass, textiles and wood.
THE MELBOURNE MARRIOTT
ADDRESS: Corner of Exhibition and Lonsdale Streets, Melbourne, Victoria 3000, Australia
WEB SITE: www.marriott.com.au/melmc
CLEAN & GREEN: This five-star hotel in the heart of Melbourne offers five meeting rooms, a business center and catering services. Amenities include a heated saltwater pool, spa, sauna and gym.
EVENT AREAS: The largest meeting room, the Exhibition, has a 120-guest capacity; it features floor-to-ceiling windows. Overall, the hotel offers about 4,000 square feet of event space.
FAIR TRADE: Energy- and water-saving strategies won the hotel a Melbourne City Award last year for its contribution to the environment. Green policies include changing all room lighting to low-energy bulbs, installing restriction valves on all taps and emphasizing recycling.
ORGANIC OUTLOOK: Sample fresh local produce at the hotel's restaurant, Essence.
ORCHARD GARDEN HOTEL
ADDRESS: 466 Bush St., San Francisco, CA 94108
WEB SITE: www.theorchardgardenhotel.com
CLEAN & GREEN: The hotel's concrete, steel, glass, aluminum, drapes and shower curtains contain recycled content.
EVENT AREAS: The hotel offers 1,500 square feet of meeting space, including an executive boardroom and a rooftop deck.
FAIR TRADE: The restaurant Roots in the hotel's lobby offers organic cuisine as well as sustainable meat and seafood. Features such as energy-efficient lighting, wood furniture certified by the FSC, and carpet pads made of 100 percent recycled content make the restaurant a green place to dine.
ORGANIC OUTLOOK: Combine two junior suites for a function area with 500 square feet of outdoor space.
