To qualify for the gold level of certification, the CBREconference offset more than 200% of its carbon dioxide emissionsthat affect climate and more than 60% of each of the emissionscovered by the program that affect health. The Leonardo Academy'sprogram to certify the emissions of such events, called "Cleanerand Greener," addresses the emissions that affect human health andclimate.

Michael Arny, president of Leonardo Academy, notes that theacademy worked with CBRE to calculate the emissions caused by theevent and to gather donations to support offsetting the emissions.For example, the Canadian firm Bull Frog Power donated 59,077kilowatts of renewable electricity generated by wind power andlow-head hydro to help cover the electricity used by the conferencecenter for the event. Basin Electric Power Cooperative, aconsumer-owned, regional cooperative based in Bismarck, ND, donated1.9 million kilowatt hours of green tags, also known as renewableenergy certificates, from its waste heat recovery projects locatedin North Dakota and South Dakota.