More than 400,000 people will visit downtown Grand Rapids during the 2.5 weeks of Art Prize. The world’s largest art competition challenging local and international artists around the world is a premiere event in it’s eighth year. With that many visitors comes an excess of CO2e (Carbon Dioxide Equivalent) emissions from transportation to and from the area as well as an increase in waste, water and energy usage.
The organizers of Art Prize understand this impact and have recently released the first Art Prize Sustainability Guide. The guide encourages alternative transportation (bus, biking, walking), waste diversion, water share (reduction of single use bottles) and serves as a resource for the more than 170 Art Prize venues.
The Art Prize team worked with many community partners including the U.S. Green Building Council West Michigan Chapter (USGBC-WM) to create a useful guide to help venues implement green building practices that will reduce their negative impact on the environment both during and long after the 19 day event ends.
Grand Rapids has a long history of environmental leadership. Named America’s Most Sustainable City by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and most recently the 10th city in the world to form a 2030 District. The Grand Rapids 2030 District is a groundbreaking, private & public led, collaborative high-performance building district focused on fostering a sustainable, efficient, thriving downtown Grand Rapids. 2030 Districts represent more than 285 million square feet across the US & Canada with a goal to reduce building energy use, water use and transportation GHG (Greenhouse Gas) emissions by 50% by the year 2030.
The Art Prize Sustainability Plan encompasses environmental, social, and fiscal responsibility and centers on four themes: climate change, waste management, social equity, and healthy living. The guide covers impact, measurement and planning and is sure to be a valuable resource for visitors and venue owners. For more information visit: www.artprize.org/about/sustainability
