Home Personnel Profile Rebecca Marshall Monitors, Maintains Sustainability Program at New York’s Busy Jacob K....

Rebecca Marshall Monitors, Maintains Sustainability Program at New York’s Busy Jacob K. Javits Center

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Name: Rebecca Marshall
Title: Energy and Sustainability Manager
Company: Jacob K. Javits Convention Center of New York
Years in position: Two
Primary responsibilities: “My primary responsibilities are monitoring and maintaining our sustainability program and ensuring that the facility is complying with the State mandates regarding sustainability such as Executive Orders 4 and 88.”
Convention Center’s most significant sustainability-related accomplishment: “The green roof has become a signature feature of our recent top-to-bottom renovation. As the second largest of its kind in the country, the nearly seven-acre green roof is serving as a model for sustainability nationwide, reducing our energy consumption while becoming a living laboratory for various groups such as Drexel University, Cooper Union and the New York City Audubon.”
Convention Center’s most significant sustainability-related challenge moving forward: “Our main challenge is continuing to focus on ways to improve our sustainability and ensure the ecosystem on our roof continues to evolve and serve has a habitat for wildlife.”  

NEW YORK—Rebecca Marshall, Energy and Sustainability Manager at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, says there was a time when the Center was the No. 1 bird killer in New York City. Birds failed to see the windows of the Center as a barrier and collided with the glass. Thanks to the addition of a new glass façade and a 6.75-acre green roof, however, the Center has become an urban sanctuary for wildlife—an amazing turnaround for any building, Marshall says. Bird collisions have declined by 90 percent.

As Energy and Sustainability Manager for the Javits Center, Marshall oversees the progress of the green roof—the second largest of its kind in the United States and the largest in the Northeast. She also oversees other aspects of the Center’s sustainability program.

“Our sustainability program helps the Javits Center improve the quality of life for our employees, our customers and the community around us, and I take that responsibility very seriously,” Marshall says. “The mission of the Javits Center has always been to support New York—and our sustainability program is a natural extension of that important mission.”

Upgrades Producing Real Results

It was almost two years ago when the Javits Center officially celebrated its renovation that began in 2009. In addition to the green roof and thousands of window panels consisting of high-performing, energy-efficient glass, 2,400 skylight panels were added. The building now features an upgraded, high-efficiency HVAC system, which involved the replacement of more than 100 mechanical units, each weighing 20,000 pounds. This upgrade helped to improve the indoor air quality of the Center. The Javits Center is on track to reduce energy consumption by at least 26 percent when compared to a pre-renovation benchmark.

Marshall says an energy dashboard supplied by an outside vendor is used to track water, electricity and gas consumption. “There are real-time meters where we can see actual consumption down to five minute intervals,” she says. “From the dashboard, we can generate reports showing consumption throughout several years.”

The Javits Center has reduced water consumption by 2.9 million gallons—primarily due to the installation of low flow fixtures and sensors in all the newly renovated restrooms. From a waste management standpoint, success is often driven by the organizations holding events.

“The building can only achieve certain levels of reduction without the help of our customers,” Marshall says. “There are shows that specifically ask for certain programs based on the values of that show. For example, one of our customers has a great composting program. Composting at the Javits Center is something that is typically done via back of house and not on the show floor. However, that organization and its volunteers focused heavily on their own composting program. We also work very closely with every show that seeks to donate their usable items.”

Building in Pursuit of LEED Certification

The New York Convention Center Operation Corp., operator of the Javits Center, is pursuing LEED certification for the Center. The application for the certification is currently under review by the U.S. Green Building Council. “We should know our level of certification in a couple of months,” Marshall says.

Marshall, who earned a B.A. in History, B.S. in Environmental Policy and a Masters of City and Regional Planning from Rutgers University, says she has a long history of interest in sustainability. “When I was working for Hillsborough Township in New Jersey, I worked with a volunteer who helped organize the township’s Sustainability Committee. Her dedication to a greener environment inspired me to follow this path professionally. She was committed to incorporating sustainability into every aspect of her life—at work and at home—and I believe I have brought that same passion to the Javits Center.”

When asked what she enjoys most about her work, Marshall said, “I love knowing that what I am doing is part of a bigger picture—a new unprecedented effort to enhance the quality of life for the residents—and the wildlife—around us. Sustainability doesn’t have boundaries and the work we are doing here is having a significant impact on the West Side community.”

Go to the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center of New York.

Glenn Hasek can be reached at editor@greenlodgingnews.com.

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