Business for Social Responsibility (BSR) has announced it is once again working to offset greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with its 2005 Annual Conference, being held in Washington, DC, in November.
Business for Social Responsibility (BSR) has announced it is once again working to offset greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with its 2005 Annual Conference, being held in Washington, DC, in November. Attendees' air and ground transportation, energy consumption in hotel rooms and meeting facilities, and the use and disposal of hotel services and supplies release harmful GHGs into the atmosphere, contributing to global warming.
To neutralize the impact of these activities, BSR is developing strategies in three key areas: transportation, facilities, and operations. Attendees are invited to help "green the meeting" by purchasing carbon credits to offset pollution caused by facility usage and travel to and from the Conference.
The Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, D.C., this year's Conference site, is implementing environment-friendly systems, including enhanced recycling programs in all spaces, a towel and sheet reuse program, and waste efficiency programs in catering. Internally, BSR is taking steps to green Conference operations through careful planning in the design and printing of Conference materials, by incorporating requirements for environmentally-preferable products into contracts with suppliers, and by reducing paper waste through e-mail correspondence and online registration systems.
In addition to working with the hotel to create a green meeting, work is underway to design an environment that embraces sustainable design -- bringing style, form, function, and fun to the Conference. Specifically, we are focusing on one of the most visible representations of the Conference -- the registration area and space dedicated to participant networking.
BSR has partnered with the Sustainable Style Foundation, Les Egoistes, LLC and others to incorporate elements of "sustainable style" to the Gala Reception. The goal -- promote cross-industry awareness and inspiration and to demonstrate the amount and breadth of sustainability efforts underway across the many and diverse style industries.
BSR says that it hopes by investing in these activities, the Conference will demonstrate BSR's commitment to environmental sustainability. Through these and other "greening" measures, BSR hopes to make tangible the concepts discussed in many Conference sessions to show how important -- and feasible -- it is for companies and organizations to "green" their operations.
Source: Business for Social Responsibility
