Make Your Conference Green

There are times when you just need to get together face-to-face with colleagues at a conference; especially when it’s focused on hands-on exploration. Green is everywhere and events like our Innovations in Learning Conference offer us a unique opportunity to learn about simple ways to reduce carbon emissions.

What we’re doing

Reduction of paper – We’ve created a sponsorship opportunity to provide each attendee a USB flash drive with conference materials. Flash drives are a reusable tool for store all types of files.

Conference bags and name tags – Our conference bags are reusable / recyclable.

Hotel – We’ve selected the Fairmont San Jose to host this event. According to corporatemeetings.com:

"Installation of energy-saving components is also an objective at the 805-room Fairmont San Jose in California, according to Les Voorhees, director of engineering at the property. Voorhees heads up The Fairmont San Jose's Green Team initiative, an employee program that encourages associates to identify ways for the property to save energy. Some of the changes already in place include dimmable fluorescent lights rather than incandescent lamps, and guest room thermostats with sensors that are programmed to manage heating and cooling demands based on occupancy.

"Greening the hotel is a no-brainer because there is always a payback for owners and guests," Voorhees says.

One of The Fairmont San Jose's most visible marketing/conservation promotions is a clear air initiative that offers free parking to overnight hotel guests who drive hybrid cars. To launch the program last summer, the hotel displayed a Toyota Prius in the main lobby, a hybrid that runs on gas and electricity as it racks up 55 miles per gallon. The Fairmont's agenda with its clear air campaign is to heighten guest awareness of the hotel's commitment to improve air and energy not only within its walls, but also in the wider environment."

Local products – Our wine tasting event features local wine from the Los Gatos area, eliminating the need to ship products.

What you can do

Travel – Look for airlines with green initiatives. Google has a special feature on their Map service that helps you find green travel options.

Vehicle Rental - If you’ll be renting a vehicle while at the conference, consider Green Collections at such companies as Hertz. http://offers.hertz.com/greencollection/index.cfm?uniqueid=8930

Reduce your carbon footprint - Offsetting your carbon (or climate) footprint allows you to become part of the solution to climate change by supporting the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions equal to your carbon footprint. Become part of the solution by visiting http://carbonfund.org. They have a carbon footprint calculator you can use to calculate your footprint.

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