The Raleigh Convention Center stands as a shining example of the City of Raleigh's commitment to sustainable development. This LEED Silver Certified center was built with sustainability in mind, starting at the bottom with selection of the site to the materials chosen, continuing all the way to the top with consideration for resource efficiency to green cleaning practices and water efficient landscaping.  Raleigh is a certificated 4-STAR community,and the first community in North Carolina to achieve certification through the national STAR Community Rating System(STAR) for excellence in sustainability.

Consistent with their philosophy, the RCC adopted an innovative new approach to replace their chemical water treatment program on their cooling towers.  The program uses a treatment process that uses the leaves from a particular species of Sphagnum moss that grows naturally on the US-Canadian border.  The program has been in place for about two years now and has been a resounding success.  Not only did they eliminate chemicals used for water treatment from their facilty, they reduced their makeup water consumption significantly due to the moss's ability to act as a natural water softener, which allows water to be reused longer before being sent to drain.