What exactly is a “carbon footprint”? The ASAE Convene Green Alliance (CGA) Focus Forum, “Carbon Footprinting Made Easy,” to be held November 8, 2011, at the
This learning opportunity begins at 9 a.m. with an “Around Orlando” Networking Breakfast, put on by the Orlando Convention Center District, the sponsor of the Focus Forum.
The program runs from 9:30 – 10:45 a.m., featuring Jeff Benavides, LEED AP O+M, senior project manager for EcoPreserve, a sustainability consulting firm dedicated to assisting businesses and organizations maximize building operational performance through benchmarking, analyses, upgrades, education, engagement, and certification.
He will review today’s green meeting trends and define and explore renewable energy credits, carbon offsets, and other resources that meeting professionals can use to reduce the carbon footprint of future meetings.
“We will demonstrate the many ways to reduce or offsetting the carbon footprint of meetings and show how to engage attendees around these sustainability initiatives,” said Benavides. “At this point, the meeting and events industry has largely seen an interest and movement with regard to green meetings. It’s safe to say that the stratification, classification and differentiation of ‘green’ meetings cross a wide spectrum in best practices in planning, coordinating and executing. The lack of a universally accepted process has left room for ‘green washing,’ especially when it comes to measuring environmental impact with hard data and public statements of successes.”
Benavides plans to educate meeting professionals about new tools and resources to sort through the clutter and realize the opportunities of reducing footprints through collaboration and showcasing of existing practices.
