How Wood from a Trade Show is Helping LA-area Communities Rebuild -

After a recent trade show, the Los Angeles Convention Center was strapped with more than 8,000 pounds of wood, about 60 percent more than an average LACC event, destined for the landfills. But that wasn’t about to happen.

Thanks to a partnership with the ANE Foundation, a local crisis care organization serving vulnerable populations, the wood became a vital resource for recovery efforts in Altadena, CA, where the Eaton Fire destroyed more than 9,000 buildings last year. It will be repurposed for a variety of uses, such as building makeshift walls, fences, and covering exposed pipes.

The effort was part of a larger sustainability program at LACC, spearheaded by Enjoli Ferrari, the venue’s senior sustainability manager.

“The donation highlights how collaboration between event organizers, venues, and local nonprofits can turn waste into meaningful community support—proving that sustainability efforts can extend far beyond environmental impact to helping people rebuild their lives,” added Ferrari.

Ferrari came to the LACC about one year ago with a long history of environmental nonprofit experience, which helped her establish relationships key to the convention center’s sustainability efforts. EM caught up with her about what’s happening on the sustainability front.

(Photo: Los Angeles Convention Center)

Event Marketer: LACC has one of the most established sustainability programs in the nation. How is it evolving?

Enjoli Ferrari: Our venue got the first Gold LEED certification back in 2015, and our certification has been renewed three times since. Our efforts are focused on four main areas: energy conservation, water conservation, waste reduction and recovery, and social responsibility.

The waste reduction ties in beautifully with our social responsibility efforts through our community donation program, which is how we were able to donate the wood. That program now has about 50 community care collaborators, including schools, shelters, gardens and other organizations. We have also recently grown the number of waste streams from seven to 13, including carpet, wood and metal. We are tasked with diverting 75 percent of LACC’s waste this year, so we work hard to keep things out of landfills.

As part of our construction project, we’re expanding our solar array, currently at 2.21 megawatts. The additional panels will be placed over the new event space that will connect our South and West buildings. Also, we are aligning with the 2028 Summer Olympics goals on waste reduction and enhancing biodiversity by California native plants, among other initiatives. LA28 wants to leave the city better than it was when it came.

Here, on-site, we’re creating a sustainability wall that will be an opportunity to learn about our work and also to take a selfie and celebrate their commitment to sustainability.

EM: Sustainability reporting can be complicated. How do you approach it?

EF: We track everything from electricity to water bills to waste diversion to even free tickets given away to local organizations. We submit regular reports to the City of Los Angeles that owns our convention center, and use a sustainability tracking platform by Legends Global that operates it. The platform also allows us to see how we compare to other venues in the portfolio and identify areas of improvement. When an organizer asks us for sustainability information, we can provide a very granular report.

How can brands contribute to your venue sustainability efforts?

EF: We encourage our clients to rent as much as possible and work with their providers to ensure that what was brought in will be packed out. Until 2014, Los Angeles was home to the second-largest landfill in the country, with over 700 acres of trash. People don’t realize how much material becomes trash that comes during events, and waste never goes away. So it’s key to be conscious of the waste streams that move through event spaces and being creative by working with companies that can divert that. Everything starts with awareness.