Serve as much organic and locally produced food as possible
Choose vegetarian as much as possible (consider including articles in the
conference packet or newsletters about why vegetarian helps the planet -
you would be surprised at how many people feel strongly about having meat
options for meals.) We have generally had some meat options available, and
also vegan options, to satisfy most people's needs, but recommend those with
more specialized requirements bring their own food.
Offer re-usable mugs for sale or "rent" instead of throw-away
coffee cups (tape and markers for labeling works, or just having washable
mugs out and racks for the dirty ones works, too - depending on what the
site's kitchen prefers) We have also purchased compostable coffee cups (Baggasse)
from Green Earth Office
Supply for those who did not bring a mug. These can be written on
directly, so they can be re-used, then composted! No problem with getting
tape in the dishwasher that way.
Have many, obvious places to recycle materials
Obviously paper, plastic, aluminum - the usual.
Consider having special recycling stations for things like tennis shoes,
cell phones, etc, and encourage folks to bring their unusual recyclables
for these stations (which may not be readily available where they come
from)
Click here for
examples of these types of recycling programs.
Consider having "freecycle" bins, or gear swaps, where people can bring
unwanted outdoor gear/clothing and others can pick it up for free. Make
sure it is labeled clearly enough to not be mistaken for lost and found,
so folks' missing items don't get freecycled accidentally!
Have a BookCrossing area
- a "tea room" or "coffee house" where people can gather is a nice place
for this. People can bring their books to "release into the wild" and
then track their progress on their journeys! A great way to recycle and
share books with the world. Or just have a plain old book swap area.
Compost food waste - if the site where the conference is being held has
composting already set up, that is great! If not, have someone who works
at a site with composting bring materials (containers, signs, etc) and volunteers
to make it happen. Green
Earth Office Supply is a company from which we have purchased
compostable coffee cups (Baggasse) and compostable trash can liners for collecting
compost at meals. Excellent
Packaging is another company that has materials like this, but they are
for wholesale quantities only.
Reduce waste by keeping hand-outs/fliers to a minimum.
Make sure all workshop
presenters send their handouts to the webmaster for posting
online - that
way folks can download and print out later if they didn't get one rather
than the presenters having many extras.
Conference Materials:
Programs should be printed on recycled stock, with soy-based ink if possible.
Keep pages to a minimum, with no plastic bindings
Notebooks of recycled paper might be another nice addition to our
merchandise - it is another item many folks may have forgotten to
bring but wish they had. If not too expensive, we could have the
AEOE logo on the front, too. "for ideas of how to make the world
a better place!"
All printed with AEOE logos of
course! And some with conference logos as well...
Idea: package all of the above together into a "Conference Toolkit"!
Put all in Tote bag - notebook, pencil(s), mug, waterbottle, bandana and
frisbee!
NOTE:TEMPORARY SALES PERMIT: It
is required to get a temporary Seller's
Permit from the California
State Board of Equalization in order to sell merchandise, such as tee
shirts, mugs, pencils, bandanas, books, etc at conferences. Records/receipts
of any such sales must be carefully kept and turned in to the CFO for tax
purposes.
Transportation:
Encourage carpooling - have rewards/awards for most carpooled, farthest
carpooled, etc, charge fee for non-carpoolers. (money to scholarship fund)
Have ride share board (see below)/ transportation coordinator.
NEW: SpaceShare.com has all kinds of green conference planning tools! From a sophisticated ride-share online program to Greening Guides - a great resource!
