It Feels Good to Grow Green

At COLLABORATE 09 — OAUG Forum, we continue to grow our efforts to “Go Green.” The OAUG is a global association and are striving to become better global citizens. Each year, we work to reduce the carbon footprint of this large conference and with your help, we’ll make great progress in ‘09. In fact, our location was chosen in part because Orlando is among the list of cities named the Best Places to MeetGreen.

Below is a list of ways COLLABORATE is implementing initiatives focused on sustainability, how the Orange County Convention Center has done its part, and what you can do to help reduce, reuse and recycle.

Eco-Friendly Initiatives at COLLABORATE 09

You asked and we delivered. Many of you requested that we slim down the program guide; education session abstracts are now available on the Web.
Speaker white papers and PowerPoint presentations are available for download via the conference Web site and are also provided on the CD proceedings. Handouts are not provided in breakout sessions to continue our efforts to make COLLABORATE a paperless conference.
Recycling is encouraged by providing recycling bins in all meeting space areas.
Reusable water bottles are offered to attendees instead of individual plastic water bottles. Water coolers can be found throughout the convention center so you can refill and reuse throughout the conference, eliminating the waste of thousands of plastic water bottles.
Electronic communication is used in lieu of printed signs wherever possible.
Registrations are collected via our online tool instead of mailed or faxed paper copies.
Marketing messages are increasingly sent via electronic means rather than printed materials.
You’ll find conference updates on the COLLABORATE Web site and via e-mail.

The Orange County Convention Center (OCCC) Green Facts

Recycling: Received ISO 14001:2004 certification for its environmental management system, which recovered 80% of all dry waste and 40% of all waste in 2006, diverted 9,000 tons of material for remanufacture and recycled 871 tons of cardboard and 5.8 tons of office paper
Food and Beverage: Provides water in coolers and pitchers rather than bottles, uses corn-based compostable clamshell box lunches and flatware, serves condiments in bulk rather than individual packaging and donates leftover food to a local food bank
Energy: Converts existing lighting to solid state (LED) to reduce energy consumption and spent-bulb generation; continuously monitors and “load matches” HVAC systems to reduce energy consumption
Water: Installed metering water faucets and waterless urinals in restrooms to conserve water
Environmental: Uses environmentally friendly maintenance products, including biodegradable solvents and cleaners and non-oil-based painting products, and converted select landscape areas to xeriscape
Solar Power (coming soon): OCCC was awarded $1.8 million grant from the State of Florida to assist in the development and installation of a one-megawatt rooftop photovoltaic (PV) system. The PV project will generate electricity from collected solar energy and is expected to produce 1,300-1,500 megawatt hours of power annually. It is anticipated to be completed during 2009.
Breaking Green: In 2007, OCCC became the first US convention center to be ISO 14001-certified for its recycling efforts

What You Can Do to Help

Bring your own coffee mug to fill up at break stations
Walk to the convention center from your hotel when possible. Orlando has great weather in May!
Ask your hotel to avoid printing your checkout bill and provide checkout services via TV. Ask for your receipt to be emailed when possible.
Ask your hotel to replace towels and change sheets every other day as opposed to daily.
Coordinate with your colleagues and share transportation to and from the airport.