• Grand Casino Arena, home of the Minnesota Wild, achieves 21 GOAL Medals for our sustainability efforts as a part of the GOAL 2024 awards - October 2024
• Green Sports Alliance Play to Zero Award Energy Leader for 50%+ reduction or offsets - July 2024
• Green Sports Alliance Play to Zero Award Waste Leader for 50%+ diversion from landfill - July 2024
• LEED Gold for Building Operations and Maintenance – June 2023
• 2020 USGBC WNC Leadership Awards – Innovative Project, Existing Building Performance – November 2020
• Event Industry Council (EIC) Sustainable Event Standards (SES) – Gold Certification – November 2020
• LEED Platinum for Building Operations and Maintenance – September 2019
• LEED Certified for Operations and Maintenance: Existing Buildings – September 2014
• Green Globes Certification for Existing Buildings – November 2017 (3 out of 4 Globes)
• Green Globes Certification for Existing Buildings – July 2014 (1 out of 4 Globes)
• APEX / ASTM Certification for Venues – October 2018 (level 2) 
• APEX / ASTM Certification for Venues – October 2016 (level 2) 
• APEX / ASTM Certificationfor Venues – August 2014 (level 1)

Awarded – October 2024

Grand Casino Arena, home of the Minnesota Wild, was awarded 21 GOAL Medals for outstanding sustainability efforts at the First Annual Venue & Event All-Stars Award Ceremony.

The GOAL Medals recognize leadership in a variety of sustainability-related topics from Environmental, to Social, to Governance. The ESG categories are broken into 10 various topics that GOAL Members can be recognized for various actions at either a bronze, silver, or gold level. The arena won four gold, 11 silver and six bronze medals.

Medals were won in the following categories:

• Energy & GHG Emissions
• Waste Reduction
• Health & Wellness
• ESG Strategy & Commitment
• Community Resilience
• Guest Engagement & Education
• Sustainable Partnerships

Awarded – September 2019

In September of 2019, Xcel Energy recognized Saint Paul RiverCentre and Grand Casino Arena with the 2019 Recognition of Excellence Award for their commitment to innovative energy solutions and for demonstrating outstanding achievements in saving energy and reducing carbon emissions in 2018 and 2019.

Awarded – November 2017

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recognized Saint Paul RiverCentre and Grand Casino Arena with a Food Recovery Challenge Achievement Award on November 22, 2017 for its work with a local composting facility to turn organic material into garden mulch and diverting more than 370 tons of food and organic waste from landfills in 2016.

Awarded – March 2014

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recognized Saint Paul RiverCentre and Grand Casino Arena with a Food Recovery Challenge Achievement Award on March 18, 2014. Through the Food Recovery Challenge, the EPA encourages organizations to donate food and recycle food scraps to reduce waste, feed the needy and save money. Saint Paul RiverCentre and Grand Casino Arena were recognized for their demonstrated commitment to improving sustainable food management practices.

Awarded - November 2012

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recognized Saint Paul RiverCentre and Grand Casino Arena with a Food Recovery Challenge Achievement Award on America Recycles Day, November 15, 2012. Through the Food Recovery Challenge, the EPA encourages organizations to donate food and recycle food scraps to reduce waste, feed the needy and save money. Saint Paul RiverCentre and Grand Casino Arena were recognized for significantly cutting food waste below previous years’ levels.

The City of Saint Paul honors outstanding achievements of individuals, businesses, and organizations that are demonstrating a commitment to environmental stewardship throughout Saint Paul and beyond. 

Mayor Chris Coleman and the Saint Paul City Council presented the 2015 Sustainable Saint  Paul – Green Practices Award to Saint Paul RiverCentre, Grand Casino Arena and the Minnesota Wild to honor their commitment to developing and using innovative practices to reduce toxicity, prevent pollution and lower environmental impact overall. The Sustainable Saint Paul Awards pay tribute to individuals and organizations that have demonstrated a commitment to environmental stewardship through leadership in their respective categories.

Nominated - December 2013

Each December, Venues Today (a leading international trade publication that covers the business side of entertainment and sports, particularly as it relates to venues) hands out its most prestigious honor, the Hall of Headlines Award. The award is given to members in five different categories – News, Bookings, Marketing, Concessions and this year’s new category, Operations. The awards are given to individuals who have made a difference in the facilities industry in the last 12 months, and recipients are nominated and elected by Venues Today readers. Senior Operations Manager for Grand Casino Arena and Saint Paul RiverCentre Matt Fujinaka was named as a finalist in the Operations category for his leadership in overseeing and executing their sustainability programs.

Awarded - November 2011

Saint Paul RiverCentre and Grand Casino Arena were recognized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as the 2011 WasteWise Midsize Business Partner of the Year. The facilities received the honor for the successful completion of their multifaceted sustainability initiative “50-50 in 2.” The EPA Partner of the Year award recognizes overall waste reduction achievements, efforts to purchase or manufacture recycled-content products and activities to promote WasteWise.

Awarded - October 2011

The Recycling Association of Minnesota presented the 2011 Green Project Award to Saint Paul RiverCentre and Grand Casino Arena to recognize the “50-50 in 2” waste reduction program. This award recognizes a special green project in Minnesota that has demonstrated outstanding environmental results.

Criteria for award:

• 6 months worth of data history to prove the green project is working well
• Demonstrate innovation through reducing waste, carbon footprint, water usage or other environmental issue important to Minnesota
• Goals to expand the program in the near future

Awarded - June 2011

The Minnesota Wild was recognized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for demonstrating environmental leadership in the community by diverting 2.5 tons of food waste from the waste stream. This effort was due to the “Rock and Wrap It Up!" program where unsold concession food is donated to local charities following events.

Awarded - May 2011

In May 2011, Saint Paul RiverCentre was recognized for their energy-efficiency achievements as the recipient of the 2011 Efficiency Partner Award. Grand Casino’s efficiency partner program is an annual invitational award program given to customers who have demonstrated extraordinary energy-efficiency efforts within the past year.

Awarded - September 2010

Jim Ibister, vice president of facility administration for the Minnesota Wild and general manager of Saint Paul RiverCentre, has been recognized by Meetings: Minnesota’s Hospitality Journal with a Vision Award for his efforts to make Saint Paul RiverCentre, and its sister venues, regional leaders in sustainability. The award recognizes an individual who made a positive impact on their community through either a specific event or ongoing initiative. Meetings: Minnesota’s Hospitality Journal created the Vision Awards in 2009 as a new way to reward the best practices of local hospitality professionals.

Awarded - June 2010

The Midwest Society of Association Executives (MSAE) presented Saint Paul RiverCentre with an Award of Excellence in Public Service for the venue’s multifaceted sustainability initiative “50-50 in 2.” The MSAE Awards of Excellence are designed to recognize association activities and programs that make a difference within associations, the community or both. The Award of Excellence in Public Service recognizes and pays tribute to an organization that has achieved outstanding results operating or supporting a program for the benefit of the community or society.

Awarded - April 2010

Honoring programs or projects that contribute to the development of waste prevention, reduction, recycling and related infrastructure.

Acknowledging groups and organizations that have demonstrated a commitment to environmental conservation, Mayor Chris Coleman presented the 2010 Sustainable Saint Paul Awards on April 28, 2010. The Sustainable Saint Paul Awards pay tribute to individuals and organizations that have demonstrated a commitment to environmental stewardship through leadership in their respective categories. By sponsoring these awards, Mayor Coleman encourages all residents, businesses, community groups and nonprofits in Saint Paul to implement similar projects. These efforts further enhance the city’s quality of life and make Saint Paul the Most Livable City in America. “These ten recipients represent the best in sustainable initiatives for this past year,” Mayor Coleman said. “Their dedication to making our environment better every day is an attitude I greatly admire. I am happy to be giving these awards to people and efforts that continue to make Saint Paul a national leader on environmental policy.”