A Green Conference
The Local Government Commission (LGC) and its conference partners work hard each year to reduce the amount of waste generated and energy consumed to produce the New Partners for Smart Growth Conference.
The carbon footprint for conferences is largely related to travel to and from the conference, as well as lodging for participants, meeting facilities, planning, and event activities. As we have done for the past three events, we will provide participants the opportunity to purchase carbon offsets to offset their travel to attend the conference.
HDR Inc., a conference sponsor and long-time project partner, is our Sustainability Advisor for this event and is providing resources to calculate the event's estimated carbon footprint and support related to incorporating sustainable considerations into meeting planning and delivery.
The LGC is working closely with the San Diego Sheraton Hotel & Marina to conserve resources used during our event, to ensure on-site recycling is available, and that only reusable utensils, napkins and tablecloths are used during the event. We will also work with these facilities to ensure that wherever possible condiments and food are served in bulk, and that locally grown food is incorporated into the conference menu.
The Sheraton San Diego Hotel and Marina has many “green” policies and programs in place that help them achieve their goals of resource conservation, energy efficiency, and waste reduction. In 2010, the Sheraton San Diego Hotel & Marina was certified at the Gold Level by Green Seal, making the most sustainable convention hotel in San Diego also the largest hotel to be certified at the Gold level. The Sheraton San Diego Hotel & Marina is owned by Host Hotels & Resorts® (Host) and managed by Starwood Hotels & Resorts (Starwood.) More details on their impressive programs:
- Sheraton Goes Green (PDF)
- Sheraton San Diego Hotel & Marina Awarded Certification at the Gold Level for the Green Seal Environmental Standard for Lodging Properties (PDF)
The LGC have secured Old Town Trolley & SEAL Tours of San Diego to provide trolleys for all of the tours of model projects that need transportation. All the trolleys in the fleet used by this local company run on clean-burning propane.
Help us Reduce the Carbon Footprint of the Conference
The LGC needs your help in reducing the overall carbon footprint of this event. Travel to the event is the single largest carbon generator associated with producing the conference each year. As a participant, speaker or sponsor planning to attend—you can help us offset some of this carbon by adding a nominal "carbon offset fee" of $12 to your conference registration, using the online registration system or a separate registration form provided to you by LGC staff. You can also choose to increase your support this effort by adding two or three or even four "carbon offset fees" to your registration.
In an effort to demonstrate our commitment to this effort and inspire others to participate, the LGC will MATCH every $12 offset fee purchased by others attending the event! For example, if 250 people pay the $12 offset fee ($3000), the LGC will match that amount, doubling the amount of carbon that will be offset through this effort.
Carbon offsets will be purchased from 3 Degrees to support the Garcia River Conservation-Based Forest Management Project (southwestern Mendocino County), the first large, non-profit-owned working forest in California. The project will reduce CO2 emissions by more than 77,000 metric tons annually. These reductions will be validated and verified through the Climate Action Reserve. The event's estimated carbon footprint is 1,485 metric tons of CO2 equivalent (akin to the annual emissions of 284 cars), with conference travel accounting for 94% of the total. We hope that at least 20% of attendees will participate in our offset efforts. To help inspire you to do so, the LGC will match every offset fee purchased by attendees, and we've purchased this volume of offsets in advance to ensure we achieve our goal.
All who participate in this effort will be recognized on-site at the conference and on the conference web site after the event. Thank you in advance!
Carbon Reduction At Last Year's Conference
For details on the efforts undertaken to make the 10th Annual conference in Charlotte, NC a greener conference, visit last year's "A Green Conference" page.
