Innovation & Sustainability

Tap into Greater Phoenix’s spirit of inspiration, adaptation, collaboration for your next meeting

 

In Greater Phoenix, innovation is our way of life. Since ancient times, the Sonoran Desert has evoked inspiration, adaptation, collaboration and innovation. This spirit is an indelible part of our identity and it inspires our approach to agriculture, technology, sustainability, hospitality, education, medicine, business and so many other aspects that continue to shape our future.

The result? Business is booming in the nation’s fifth-largest city. Technological and software companies are putting down roots at a rapid pace. Leading minds in energy, medicine, transportation and other industries see Phoenix as a landscape for turning cutting-edge ideas into tools and products that the world benefits from.

Planners and attendees will see firsthand the advantages of meeting in a destination that’s known for defying the odds and rising above expectations and perceptions. As our city's thought leaders, innovators, trailblazers and industry powerhouses invite you to capture this essence and incorporate it into your next event program.

When we say our hotels, resorts and venues are state of the art, those are not just words. You’ll see for yourself integrated adaptations to ensure a better way to meet, from environmentally friendly measures to steps that open the door to all people.

No one group holds the monopoly on looking ahead. Innovation is just as aspirational for associations (big or small) as high-tech companies that plan regular product launches. Big ideas require the proper setting to think out challenges and solutions. And Greater Phoenix is proving itself as the right place at the right time for tech-based companies creating new fleets of cars, better energy sources and generations of software upgrades.

Not only are meeting planners invited to tap into Greater Phoenix's intangibles — our energy and our spirit — but also our many tangible resources:

Experience The Innovation: Unique Venues

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Greater Phoenix is home to elite venues that run the gamut — from outdoor venues to new and reimagined downtown hotels. What sets our sites apart is the constant desire to push forward that mirrors the entire region’s smart growth.

Phoenix Convention Center

Inspired by the red-rock walls and turquoise waters of the Grand Canyon, the Phoenix Convention Center is one of the most beautiful and sophisticated convention centers in the United States. Located in the heard of downtown, this campus includes three ballrooms, 99 meeting/breakout rooms, a 2,300-seat performance hall, an Executive Conference Center and 80,000+ square feet of urban outdoor event space, referred to as Canyon on Third. Looking for a place to break ground on new event design? This is the venue for you.

Phoenix Bioscience Core

Home to more than a dozen research facilities, this 30-acre urban medical and bioscience campus offering more than 6 million square feet of academic and clinical space, and serves as a natural extension of the learning environment provided by the nearby convention center (just 3 blocks away). Groups, including medical and tech companies, will be interested to view the new Wexford Science & Technology center, complete with lab space and education venues, as well as the Health Sciences Education Building’s featured lecture halls, classrooms, and simulation and innovation labs. Complete your planning process by adding a keynote from the PBC's roster of speakers who are experts in medical training, research technology and patient care.

Ability360 Sports & Fitness Center

One of only a few centers in the U.S. that is specifically designed for individuals with disabilities, this state-of-the-art facility is leading the way in adaptive technology that provides innovative approaches to inclusive health, fitness and recreation programs to Paralympic athletes, military veterans and individuals with disabilities and their families. It also serves as a hub for sports medicine experts, coaches and world-renowned athletes and plays host to local, national and international adaptive sporting events.

Arizona State University

For the seventh year in a row, Arizona State University has been named No. 1 among the nation's most innovative universities by U.S. News & World Report. ASU has earned the top spot every year — ranking ahead of schools like MIT and Stanford — since the inception of the category in 2016.

Thinking Ahead: Sustainability

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At the heart of the tech revolution is a desire to learn more efficient methods for accomplishing our goals. In the same vein of companies encouraging employees to work smarter, not harder, it is incumbent on organizations to make the best use of their resources.

Yes, sustainability encompasses our efforts to reduce our carbon footprints, but it’s meaning extends to a whole new way of thinking about resources and how we use them to do business. Meetings and events are meant to spark new ideas and inspire better practices to ensure long-lasting success. Even days together as an entire company are precious, which is why planners must make the most of them to demonstrate the value of an event.

Enter Greater Phoenix, an already proven winner at incubating creative thought processes that ultimately lead to a new generation of accomplishing goals. The region is at the center of a statewide boom that’s seen a 20% increase in tech-related jobs on the sustainability spectrum. Today, these early game changes are passing the torch to newcomers that range from renewable energy, electric vehicles, global semiconductors, material science and , of course, stewards of this land:

Cloth & Flame

Known for its immersive and collaborative farm-to-table dinners in unexpected places, Cloth & Flame intentionally designed its experiences to foster connections — connection with the land, with others and with yourself. Having produced hundreds of events in unconventional spaces, this Sonoran Desert-based operation invites your attendees to escape the hustle and bustle of the meeting agenda, and the city, to enjoy a chef-prepared meal among wild landscapes and under stars. In terms of sustainability, Cloth & Flame pays to lease land for its community dinners, so areas that might otherwise be developed can act instead as a source of income for the landowner. In addition, 10% of every dinners' proceeds are donated to great coalitions that work to preserve migratory routes and wild places in our inimitable states. 

Footprint Center

A spectacular arena that is integrating ideals of Footprint, a locally based, plant-based fiber technology and material science company that’s creating a healthier planet by reducing dependency on single- and short-term-use plastics. With a goal of becoming a carbon-neutral and plastic-free venue, Footprint Center is seen as an innovation lab for the community, partners and visiting groups. And having hosted the NBA and WNBA Finals in the past year, there is no need to fret about the championship-level service events will receive.

Valley Metro Rail

Providing some of the most environmentally friendly transportation options in Greater Phoenix — including accessible and efficient rail transport from Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport to the convention center ($2) — Valley Metro Rail, bus, and vanpool prevented 248 million pounds of greenhouse gases and 9.8 million pounds of criteria air pollution from entering the earth’s atmosphere in fiscal year 2019. This is equivalent to taking over 23,000 cars off the road.

Phoenix Convention Center

Holding itself to the highest standard of sustainability, because the future of Phoenix depends on it, the PCC has implemented thoughtful, green thinking and design to achieve its goal as a premiere meeting and event space that will withstand the environmental tests of the future. Initiatives include contributing over 41 tons of compost feeds plants in city parks, watering its living wall and garden using condensation from the HVAC system, purchasing 31,000 chairs made from recycled car batteries and seatbelts, recycling more than 460 tons of material each year, 732 solar panels which generate enough output to power 14 homes for a year. 

City of Phoenix

City Council adopted eight 2050 environmental sustainability goals that articulate the community's desired long-term environmental outcomes that would fulfill the general plan aspirations of a sustainable desert city in the following areas: transportation, waste, water stewardship, building and land use, parks, reserves and open spaces, clean air, and local food systems. 

Experience the Evolution

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The world is always changing. Greater Phoenix remains at the forefront of scientific and technological development. Meetings and events can dream big here, knowing this is where the groundwork for solutions is laid.

As you innovate your gatherings to make the most of in-person interactions, this is the right destination for moving your organization forward. It’s in our DNA and will soon be in yours—once you’ve held your next meeting or event in Greater Phoenix.

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