Baird Center leads by example with sustainable strategies, tech
Baird Center leads by example with sustainable strategies, tech
Focus on sustainability is investment into the long-term well-being of Milwaukee
Focus on sustainability is investment into the long-term well-being of Milwaukee
As Baird Center was being revitalized, one of the key focuses was ensuring the building would play a positive role in Milwaukee’s long-term sustainability.
The $456 million expansion and modernization of Baird Center opened in May 2024 and increased the convention center’s footprint to 1.3 million square feet. Through the use of recycled materials in its construction and equipped with state-of-the-art green building features, Baird Center has raised the bar for sustainable practices within the convention, meeting and events industry.
This mission intersects with the Wisconsin Center District’s pillar to be a driving force in strengthening our community. By focusing on sustainability across the board, the organization has greatly minimized its food waste, carbon emissions, energy usage and assisted with conservation efforts in the city.
The Wisconsin Center District believes this is not only the right thing to do for the environment but is also a way to be a leader in the hospitality industry. Through an unwavering commitment to a greener future for the Milwaukee community, Baird Center earned LEED® Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), a prestigious recognition that only a handful of convention centers have earned and recently was honored with a 2025 Energy Efficiency Excellence Award from Focus on Energy.
“With the volume of activities and attendees that come through our facilities, sustainability can make a massive impact compared to a single household,” Wisconsin Center District Vice President and General Manager Brian Rutkowski said. “Focusing on these efforts is important because it ensures we’re not tapping into more resources than necessary. There are higher expenses to doing this, but imagine what impact we will have 10, 15, 20, 30 years from now.”
The work is not yet done. Rutkowski said the Wisconsin Center District is always seeking out new sustainable opportunities and continues to install new equipment to improve existing green efforts.
For more on that, we broke down three main areas where Baird Center has made a massive impact in its first year. From food waste to solar usage, here are the differences the expansion has made already.
The $456 million expansion and modernization of Baird Center opened in May 2024 and increased the convention center’s footprint to 1.3 million square feet. Through the use of recycled materials in its construction and equipped with state-of-the-art green building features, Baird Center has raised the bar for sustainable practices within the convention, meeting and events industry.
This mission intersects with the Wisconsin Center District’s pillar to be a driving force in strengthening our community. By focusing on sustainability across the board, the organization has greatly minimized its food waste, carbon emissions, energy usage and assisted with conservation efforts in the city.
The Wisconsin Center District believes this is not only the right thing to do for the environment but is also a way to be a leader in the hospitality industry. Through an unwavering commitment to a greener future for the Milwaukee community, Baird Center earned LEED® Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), a prestigious recognition that only a handful of convention centers have earned and recently was honored with a 2025 Energy Efficiency Excellence Award from Focus on Energy.
“With the volume of activities and attendees that come through our facilities, sustainability can make a massive impact compared to a single household,” Wisconsin Center District Vice President and General Manager Brian Rutkowski said. “Focusing on these efforts is important because it ensures we’re not tapping into more resources than necessary. There are higher expenses to doing this, but imagine what impact we will have 10, 15, 20, 30 years from now.”
The work is not yet done. Rutkowski said the Wisconsin Center District is always seeking out new sustainable opportunities and continues to install new equipment to improve existing green efforts.
For more on that, we broke down three main areas where Baird Center has made a massive impact in its first year. From food waste to solar usage, here are the differences the expansion has made already.
Food waste
Food waste
Baird Center produced around 11.5 tons of food waste in its first year, according to data tracked by Levy Restaurants, the exclusive catering partner of the WCD. Of this, more than nine tons were composted. That equals 78% of Baird Center’s food waste. Because of this focus on sustainability only 2.5 tons of waste needed to be incinerated or sent to landfills.
What exactly does that mean in terms of our global footprint? Well, food waste is the third largest emitter of greenhouse gas emissions behind only the United States and China, according to the Waste and Resources Action Programme, a United Kingdom-based NGO that focuses on promoting sustainable waste management and resource efficiency.
“It’s good for the environment, and it’s good for business,” Levy Restaurants Vice President of Sustainability Mary McCarthy said. “What we’ve found is that these sustainability initiatives are what our clients want. The events and people entering the building want this because it is good for the environment and also good for the community.”
Levy tracks all food waste using Waste Not 2.0, a tool that all Levy employees use at Baird Center. The app tracks the type of waste (overproduction, poor quality, leftovers, plate waste, trims, bones, shells, etc.) and also where it ends up.
One of the sustainable technologies Baird Center and Levy utilizes is an ORCA Digester, which is an in-house composting device. In the first year, the ORCA Digester composted 52,584 pounds of food. There are even discussions about adding a second Orca Digester in the South Building, Rutkowski said.
The Wisconsin Center District and Levy also work with local organization Composting Crusaders for some of our composting.
So, the amount of food waste which was kept from landfills through composting in the first year was around 18,127 net pounds of carbon dioxide. That’s the equivalent of 771 gallons of gasoline consumed in a year, an average passenger vehicle driving 17,565 miles or the entire energy usage of 0.86 homes in a single year.
“When we’re talking about the scale of a convention center, overproduction is inevitable,” McCarthy said. “When that happens, we want to make the best use of that food. It’s part of our commitment at Levy to reduce our food waste by 50% by 2030 at all our locations, including Baird Center.”
Another way Levy repurposes food not used in service is by offering it to employees for family meals. Levy is also actively seeking a local non-profit partner to donate unused or overproduced food.
Those aren’t the only efforts with food and beverages that Baird Center and Levy are focused on in the future. Other initiatives include:
Sustainable menu design: Working more with ingredients with less harmful environmental impacts.
Sustainable food sourcing: Emphasize locally sourced ingredients and also sourcing from sustainably-minded partners.
Sustainable vessels: Using more China, glassware and other reusable food vessels and dinnerware and less single-use vessels.
“For a hands-down, unequivocally great event with delicious food and beverage, we want to provide sustainability storytelling beside it,” McCarthy said. “Our hope is that people leave thinking differently or hopefully learning something new, big or small, about sustainability. Things like it can be fun and delicious, and I hope they carry that into their day-to-day lives"
What exactly does that mean in terms of our global footprint? Well, food waste is the third largest emitter of greenhouse gas emissions behind only the United States and China, according to the Waste and Resources Action Programme, a United Kingdom-based NGO that focuses on promoting sustainable waste management and resource efficiency.
“It’s good for the environment, and it’s good for business,” Levy Restaurants Vice President of Sustainability Mary McCarthy said. “What we’ve found is that these sustainability initiatives are what our clients want. The events and people entering the building want this because it is good for the environment and also good for the community.”
Levy tracks all food waste using Waste Not 2.0, a tool that all Levy employees use at Baird Center. The app tracks the type of waste (overproduction, poor quality, leftovers, plate waste, trims, bones, shells, etc.) and also where it ends up.
One of the sustainable technologies Baird Center and Levy utilizes is an ORCA Digester, which is an in-house composting device. In the first year, the ORCA Digester composted 52,584 pounds of food. There are even discussions about adding a second Orca Digester in the South Building, Rutkowski said.
The Wisconsin Center District and Levy also work with local organization Composting Crusaders for some of our composting.
So, the amount of food waste which was kept from landfills through composting in the first year was around 18,127 net pounds of carbon dioxide. That’s the equivalent of 771 gallons of gasoline consumed in a year, an average passenger vehicle driving 17,565 miles or the entire energy usage of 0.86 homes in a single year.
“When we’re talking about the scale of a convention center, overproduction is inevitable,” McCarthy said. “When that happens, we want to make the best use of that food. It’s part of our commitment at Levy to reduce our food waste by 50% by 2030 at all our locations, including Baird Center.”
Another way Levy repurposes food not used in service is by offering it to employees for family meals. Levy is also actively seeking a local non-profit partner to donate unused or overproduced food.
Those aren’t the only efforts with food and beverages that Baird Center and Levy are focused on in the future. Other initiatives include:
Sustainable menu design: Working more with ingredients with less harmful environmental impacts.
Sustainable food sourcing: Emphasize locally sourced ingredients and also sourcing from sustainably-minded partners.
Sustainable vessels: Using more China, glassware and other reusable food vessels and dinnerware and less single-use vessels.
“For a hands-down, unequivocally great event with delicious food and beverage, we want to provide sustainability storytelling beside it,” McCarthy said. “Our hope is that people leave thinking differently or hopefully learning something new, big or small, about sustainability. Things like it can be fun and delicious, and I hope they carry that into their day-to-day lives"
Preserving our freshwater resources
Preserving our freshwater resources
One of Milwaukee’s most treasured assets is our abundance of freshwater. That’s why we’re called a Fresh Coast community. From the mighty Lake Michigan to the three rivers running through the heart of the city, we all must do our part to preserve and protect these precious natural resources.
Baird Center is committed to that mission in various ways. One of the biggest is Baird Center’s underground stormwater detention system, which features a 320,000-gallon StormTrap®. This system helps prevent flooding the city’s sewer system during heavy rainfalls. By releasing water gradually instead of just cascading into the water system all at once, Baird Center helps prevents the sewer system from being overwhelmed during these critical times.
“When we get major rainfall in Milwaukee, that sometimes means the sewer system is opened up into the rivers,” Rutkowski said. “That’s the last thing you want to happen, so this is how we do our part to help prevent that from happening. It’s a responsible way of getting it back into the city.”
Another example of Baird Center’s sustainability efforts was the installation of water refill stations during the expansion. That effort is currently being expanded to the south building where all water fountains are being converted to water refill stations. The existing refill stations have already saved nearly 11,000 plastic bottles in the first year.
Additionally, Baird Center is installing Drop Water stations in the exhibit halls. These machines are modern water filling stations that allow users to refill their bottles and even select flavors to infuse in their water and add things like caffeine or carbonation. Disposable biodegradable bottles will be available with at least one machine.
“We didn’t always have people coming with their own water bottles, but now it’s harder to find people who don’t,” Rutkowski said. “Water refill stations make a big difference, and we don’t want people waiting in line for one station. We want access to water everywhere we can offer it.”
Baird Center is committed to that mission in various ways. One of the biggest is Baird Center’s underground stormwater detention system, which features a 320,000-gallon StormTrap®. This system helps prevent flooding the city’s sewer system during heavy rainfalls. By releasing water gradually instead of just cascading into the water system all at once, Baird Center helps prevents the sewer system from being overwhelmed during these critical times.
“When we get major rainfall in Milwaukee, that sometimes means the sewer system is opened up into the rivers,” Rutkowski said. “That’s the last thing you want to happen, so this is how we do our part to help prevent that from happening. It’s a responsible way of getting it back into the city.”
Another example of Baird Center’s sustainability efforts was the installation of water refill stations during the expansion. That effort is currently being expanded to the south building where all water fountains are being converted to water refill stations. The existing refill stations have already saved nearly 11,000 plastic bottles in the first year.
Additionally, Baird Center is installing Drop Water stations in the exhibit halls. These machines are modern water filling stations that allow users to refill their bottles and even select flavors to infuse in their water and add things like caffeine or carbonation. Disposable biodegradable bottles will be available with at least one machine.
“We didn’t always have people coming with their own water bottles, but now it’s harder to find people who don’t,” Rutkowski said. “Water refill stations make a big difference, and we don’t want people waiting in line for one station. We want access to water everywhere we can offer it.”
Solar savings
Solar savings
With a record number of events coming through with even larger crowds, the Wisconsin Center District worked to ensure to conserve and limit our energy footprint. A solar panel array was installed on the roof to help offset energy use. The array has the capability to produce 98,130 Kilowatt-hours of energy, which is the equivalent of CO2 emissions from 7,488,199 smartphones charged.
In year one, Baird Center has produced an average of 122.76 megawatt-hours. That’s saved more than 190,000 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions and is the equivalent of planting nearly 1,500 trees.
“That’s a very significant impact to the grid,” Rutkowski said. “We run 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. That can be a lot of energy, so whatever we can do to support that and mitigate that in any way has a meaningful impact in the long-term. A certain percentage of the building might not be hitting the grid at all. That’s wild to think about.”
Beyond its solar capabilities, Baird Center has also implemented a few other energy efficient features. These include:
LED lighting installed in both front and back of house in the north building. The lighting is equipped with occupancy sensors that engage based on people using a space and daylight levels. Efforts are underway to convert all of the south building lighting to LED.
LowE glass windows installed in the expansion. These keep the temperature in the building consistent by reflecting the interior temperatures back inside, increasing energy efficiency.
Rutkowski said this works well with Wisconsin’s climate and its seasonal swings from hot summers to the super cold winters.
Plus, as some clients have mentioned, having natural light is a blessing not offered by all event spaces.
“We have a ton of glass on this building, and that is a big hit with our guests because it makes the space feel nice and open,” Rutkwoski said. “You’re not in a box. Natural light goes a long way.”
In year one, Baird Center has produced an average of 122.76 megawatt-hours. That’s saved more than 190,000 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions and is the equivalent of planting nearly 1,500 trees.
“That’s a very significant impact to the grid,” Rutkowski said. “We run 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. That can be a lot of energy, so whatever we can do to support that and mitigate that in any way has a meaningful impact in the long-term. A certain percentage of the building might not be hitting the grid at all. That’s wild to think about.”
Beyond its solar capabilities, Baird Center has also implemented a few other energy efficient features. These include:
LED lighting installed in both front and back of house in the north building. The lighting is equipped with occupancy sensors that engage based on people using a space and daylight levels. Efforts are underway to convert all of the south building lighting to LED.
LowE glass windows installed in the expansion. These keep the temperature in the building consistent by reflecting the interior temperatures back inside, increasing energy efficiency.
Rutkowski said this works well with Wisconsin’s climate and its seasonal swings from hot summers to the super cold winters.
Plus, as some clients have mentioned, having natural light is a blessing not offered by all event spaces.
“We have a ton of glass on this building, and that is a big hit with our guests because it makes the space feel nice and open,” Rutkwoski said. “You’re not in a box. Natural light goes a long way.”
What’s next
What’s next
Many efforts are already underway to build on what was initially included in the Baird Center expansion project.
Rutkowski said that the Wisconsin Center District will continue to explore new ways to improve sustainability across the board at all of its facilities.
“We are always examining where we are at because the second you stop and think you’ve got it all figured out, you’re already falling behind,” he said. “Internally, within our operations and our efforts, we want to figure out what we can do better and working with partners to figure out how to do that. That means continuing to update and upgrade. We’ve come a long way, but there’s still more opportunity out there. I’m excited for it.”
Rutkowski said that the Wisconsin Center District will continue to explore new ways to improve sustainability across the board at all of its facilities.
“We are always examining where we are at because the second you stop and think you’ve got it all figured out, you’re already falling behind,” he said. “Internally, within our operations and our efforts, we want to figure out what we can do better and working with partners to figure out how to do that. That means continuing to update and upgrade. We’ve come a long way, but there’s still more opportunity out there. I’m excited for it.”