Green Meetings & Wellness Services

Columbus is known for being a green and clean community, thanks to its forward-thinking sustainability practices. Read on for more information on Columbus' sustainability practices and wellness services.

Jump to: Green Meetings | Wellness

Green Meetings

Managed by the Mayor’s Office of Environmental Stewardship, the Get Green Columbus initiative focuses on sustainable city operations and community collaboration. This initiative encompasses a wide range of areas including everything from renewable energy and green building design to conserving natural resources and RecyColumbus, a popular residential recycling program.

Regionally, the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission (MORPC), the Solid Waste Authority of Central Ohio (SWACO) and the Ohio EPA collaborated to create evolving guidelines for Sustainable Events throughout the Central Ohio area. Inspired by the ASTM Standards for Environmentally Sustainable Meetings, Events, Trade Shows and Conferences and the United Nations’ Green Meeting Guide, these guidelines provide a collection of environmental, social and economic sustainability practices that can be implemented by those planning or servicing the various components of a conference or event. The Sustainable Events Guideline can be found here.

The City of Columbus has won several awards for its sustainability efforts, which you can learn more about here. In late 2018, the city won the Bloomberg Climate Challenge, which includes more than $2.5 million in funding and in-kind technical consulting to accelerate efforts to reduce carbon emissions over a two-year period. You can read more about the award here.

Experience Columbus and the Greater Columbus Sports Commission

Experience Columbus is a member of the city’s GreenSpot Columbus program, designed to educate and recognize businesses that adopt green practices. An employee-led Green Team serves as stewards of the program and works to implement positive, sustainable changes within the organization and the community through lunch-and-learns, fundraising, service projects and more.

Proof of our commitment to green meetings can be found in the fact that Columbus is the first NCAA Women’s Final Four host city to receive “Evergreen” Sustainability Certification from the National Council for Responsible Sport. Learn more here.

Greater Columbus Convention Center Green Initiatives

The Greater Columbus Convention Center is committed to sustainable meetings. Learn more.


Indoor Hydroponic Smart Farm	Single-stream Recycling	Energy-efficient HVAC & Lighting	Green Seal Cleaning Products

Wellness

We understand the importance of wellness and look forward to supporting every group’s personal and professional well-being initiatives. Healthy activities to enhance each attendee’s conference experience could include:


Workout Sessions	Juice Bar	Healthy Snacks	Meditations	Massage Chairs

5K Races

A 5K fun run/walk is a common wellness initiative for groups. Downtown Columbus and the surrounding neighborhoods are proven sites for races — in fact, the OhioHealth Cap City Half Marathon, which takes place in Columbus every April, was voted the #2 half marathon in the nation by USA Today 10Best in 2024.

There are many choices of existing 5K routes or the opportunity to create an entirely new one. The Scioto Mile, a riverfront with miles of connected pathways, is a popular location for races as it provides a gleaming view of the city’s skyline. The option allows use of some of the existing downtown running/bicycle paths to minimize costs. The City of Columbus is a close partner with the Greater Columbus Events Council (operated by Experience Columbus) which allows for a seamless process of securing permits and scheduling any necessary closures.