New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center Wins Prestigious “Love Your City Award,” Honoring Sustainability Commitments

Members of the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center Team Celebrate with the Love Your City – Best Overall Award

(Left to Right) Erik Fructuoso, Facility Operations Foreman and True Waste Advisor; Floyd Griffin, Director of Event Operations; Linda Baynham, Director of Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility; Adam Straight, Vice President of Operations; Erik Gonzales, Assistant Director of Event Operations.

LifeCity, an initiative that supports economic development in key areas like housing, food, and stormwater management, has awarded the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center a “Love Your City Award” in the Best Overall category at an awards ceremony held on March 31. The awards highlight individuals and organizations that assess, improve, and address their impact in their communities through reductions in energy use, contributions to the local economy, commitments to providing equitable opportunities for all, and more.

This marks the first award received by the Convention Center in the 10-year history of this event. The Best Overall Award was awarded to the Convention Center for improvements to its energy usage, waste reduction efforts, new green infrastructure, and more. In total, 10 areas of impact were measured and judged by a panel who deemed the Convention Center to be one of the best companies in New Orleans in their commitments to the sustainability of their facility and the environmental health of New Orleans. The New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center’s Director of Sustainability, Linda Baynham, spearheads these initiatives.

“This award celebrates our determination to reduce our impact on the environment.  It is not only important to our community but expected by our clients who bring thousands of visitors to New Orleans annually,” says Convention Center President Michael J. Sawaya. “The kind of cutting-edge improvements we are making, such as our change to LED lights in our exhibit halls, or the construction of our new environmentally-friendly pedestrian park, means that our ambitious $557 million dollar Capital Improvement Plan is already paying dividends for us and the city of New Orleans.”

Proceeds from the 2022 Love Your City Awards Gala were donated to VEGGI Vietnamese Farmers Cooperative, located in New Orleans East, to assist in flood prevention efforts.

About the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center

With 1.1 million square feet of prime exhibit space, in an entirely contiguous hall, the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center provides the largest single exhibit space in the country, features an award-winning staff, first class amenities, and is the sixth largest convention center in the nation. A leading contributor to the city’s robust tourism economy, the Convention Center’s event activity has produced $90.1 billion in economic impact since its 1985 opening, including $5.7 billion in new tax revenue for state and local governments.