Successful Meetings - November 2008 - (Page 38) Political Meetings > When Red and Blue Make Green energy use, worked out of a U.S. EPA-designated Energy Star office building, and noted that 80 percent of employees live within walking distance of the office or use public transportation for their commute. And it didn’t end there. Recycled carpeting was installed at the convention site, sitting on carpet padding made of 100 percent recycled foam material. The convention used recycled graphics printing machine ink cartridges, as well as banner materials with water-based components that do not contain green long before the Democrats came to town and the Colorado Convention Center even hired a sustainability director, Lindsay Smith, in January. According to Benedick, one of the legacy projects from the Democratic convention is the Green Meetings & Events page on the CVB’s website, which links to the Denver Event CO2e Emissions Calculation Tool. The calculator asks a series of questions about your event, projected energy consumption, waste, and travel by attendees, suppliers, and organizers, then allows planners to purchase carbon off- sets if they so choose. For the conDenver, a walkable city to begin with, had 1,000 free bikes (and helmets) for vention, delegates and visitors were visitors. Mayor John Hickenlooper, picIn perhaps the oddest encouraged to purchase offsets to tured at right in an appropriately green reduce the impact of their travel to sounding of all green iniblazer, challenged the city to be as environmentally friendly as possible. Denver. tiatives, the Molson Coors And, in perhaps the oddest Brewing Company donated fuel “extractable heavy metals or carsounding of all green initiatives, the for all of the General Motors cinogenic and allergenic colorants.” Molson Coors Brewing Company flex-fuel vehicles used during All housing confirmations, housing donated fuel for all of the General the Denver convention—the reports to the COA, and reservations Motors flex-fuel vehicles used during fuel, called E85, is primarily were handled electronically to avoid the convention—the fuel, called E85, ethanol-based and made from paper waste. Welcome kits for deleis primarily ethanol based and is waste beer. That’s right, beer. gates were available digitally instead made from waste beer. That’s right, of printed and mailed, and a map for beer. Waste beer is what the brewer attendees was printed on recycled paper. All convention vehiconsiders below quality standards or what is spilled during the cles were hybrid or flex-fuel and the “More to Minnesota packaging process. Not only is the ethanol fuel clean-burning, GOParty Card,” which looks like a credit card and drives traffic but it also helps Coors save on its own volatile organic comto local businesses by offering incentives and price breaks, was pound emissions. made from corn. COUNTRY FIRST Recycling was also a big part of the Republican National Back in Minnesota, in addition to the usual suspects—twoConvention. Waste Management Inc. and Coca-Cola Recycling sided printing, recycling bins for paper, cans, and bottles, and LLC were named Official Recycling Providers of the Convenoffice climate control—the Minneapolis-St. Paul Convention tion and implemented a closed-loop recycling program in which Office Administration (COA) incorporated power strips for elecall recyclables from the Xcel Energy Center and St. Paul Rivertronic equipment that were turned off after hours to reduce Centre were sorted and baled locally, with all polyethylene 38 successfulmeetings.com NOVEMBER 2008 SUCCESSFUL MEETINGS http://www.successfulmeetings.com
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