Sharing a songbook with your pew partner is nothing new, but at this convention there will be more sharing with the elimination of specially printed songbooks – one of the many ways Columbus ‘09 is trying to make less of an impact on the environment.

“Sustainability has not been largely on our radar until the last two to three years,” said Rachel Swartzendruber Miller, associate director of convention planning. “Part of that has been brought about by the [Mennonite] Creation Care Network. … [They] really started encouraging us to look at sustainability.”

The Mennonite Creation Care Network – a network of people engaged in sustainability efforts within the church – created a “Green Guideline for Conference Planners” that encourages planners of regional and national assemblies to hold gatherings that place less of a strain on the environment.

“It has been good to see the convention planners thinking and working more at greening a large gathering,” said Luke Gascho, chair of the Creation Care Council, a leadership arm of the network. “We worked as the MCCN council in encouraging the planners to use the Green Guidelines which we developed about two years ago.”

Along with asking people to bring their own songbooks, planners ordered convention bags that are made out of recycled material.

“[In previous years] we went with the most affordable options but now we’re willing to pay a little extra to have recycled materials,” Swartzendruber Miller said. “And that’s something that’s becoming more of a priority.”

Also, unlike in years past, there will be no off-site events that require buses to haul thousands of youth and their sponsors.

Swartzendruber Miller recognizes that some of the changes – like the discontinuation of the convention songbook – might be a difficult for some people, “but we really hope that having sustainability as more of a focus, they’ll understand why we want to make that switch,” she said.

While planners may not have been as mindful of sustainability concerns at previous conventions, Swartzendruber Miller said they were ahead of the times in some respects.

“One of the things we did before it was cool was not to change linens every day,” Swartzendruber Miller said. “It was difficult at some points to convince hotels to do this because it was just not on their radar at all, and so now it’s becoming much easier to do this because it’s in the media and it’s hip and trendy to be green. … In that way we’re ahead of the curve, but in other ways we still have a ways to go.”

And with thousands of people in one building, choosing the convention center was also a priority.

The Greater Columbus Convention Center is in the application process to become certified in Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED). LEED is a nationally recognized third-party program that recognizes the operation of high-performance green buildings.

One way the convention center will become more sustainable is by using a single-stream recycling system.  Instead of separating all recyclable materials, they will be able to go into the same container: plastic with glass, for example.

Lighting will be managed more efficiently, with Neptun induction lamps; which save electricity, contain no mercury and last up to 10 years; motion detector switches; and a centralized lighting system controlled from one computer.

The convention center also uses an HVAC system that monitors heating and cooling from one room, adjusting the temperature according to occupancy. And for cleaning materials, the convention center uses Green Seal products that have less of an impact on local water systems and indoor air quality.

A day into the convention, however, there have been a few complaints about sustainability practices.

Many conventiongoers are wearing long-sleeved shirts due to the air-conditioned convention center, which is kept at an average temperature of 71 degrees.

Additionally, some attendees are complaining about the volume of waste generated by Aramark food services, which uses Styrofoam trays and cups and disposable plastic silverware in the dining hall.

“We’re kind of talking baby steps this time and making some noticeable changes,” Swartzendruber Miller said. “Our hope is to be classified as a green convention by 2011, which will be held at Pittsburgh. In Pittsburgh you’ll start to see major shifts.”