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Conference Greening

We are working hard to make sure that the IMPACT Conference leaves a positive impact on the environment! Please email stacy.tolos@gmail.com or jenny.magill@gmail.com if you have ideas, questions, or comments about IMPACT's green efforts.

Planning Committee Greening Efforts

Planning the Conference:

All conference planning was accomplished by a committee of dedicated volunteers from across the United States - who communicated via conference calls and email, using no paper and no fuel for transportation!

Food:

The dining company providing food at the conference is called Chartwells, which is part of Compass USA. Their page on Northeastern's site can be found here, and information on sustainability can be found here. The college and university division can be found here. Chartwells is committed to being a socially responsible food service company. Vegetarian and vegan food will be available and recycling is a central part of the company's sustainability plan.

Giveaways:

In the past, the campus conference gave away dozens of paper flyers to each person advertising various social change initiatives across the country. This year, we are giving away a flash drive to each person -- with all of this information loaded onto it! We will prevent the printing of thousands of sheets of paper and potentially the use of environmentally-unfriendly inks, yet everyone will still go home with all kinds of valuable information!

Printed Program:

This year's program will be half of the size of the program used in the past conferences, and will also be printed on recycled paper. The program will feature detailed explanations of how program participants can reduce their carbon footprint while participating in the conference.

How YOU Can Green Your Participation in the Conference!

Transportation:

Seek transportation that uses the least amount of fuel. Carpool with friends to reduce the amount of fuel needed per person. Find a friend with a hybrid car, invite him/her to the conference, and drive together using half the amount of fuel! If you are flying to the conference, consider offsetting your carbon through an organization such as Rainforest 2 Reef or Carbon Fund.

Lodging:

Turn off the air-conditioning/heating when you leave the room for the day or set it to a moderate temperature. Turn off all of the lights on your way out. Try taking "military showers" - turn the water on only when you need to rinse rather than having it on the entire time. Unplug your computer/laptop when you are not using it so that it stops using energy. Only charge your phone for the amount given in the instructions; otherwise, it is needlessly using more energy while plugged into the wall.

Eating:

Try eating a vegetarian or vegan diet. Believe it or not, you can make a large positive impact on the Earth by eating a vegetarian or vegan diet, or merely reducing your meat intake. "Nearly half of the water and 80 percent of the agricultural land in the United States are used to raise animals for food."

John Robbins, The Food Revolution, Conari Press: Boston, 2001, p. 256.

Marlow Vesterby and Kenneth Krupa, "Major Uses of Land in the United States, 1997," U.S. Department of Agriculture Statistical Bulletin.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle:

Think about the resources that you are using during a meal. Reduce the amount of food you take to only that which you know you will eat. If you are still hungry you can always go back for more. Take only the number of napkins you need. You can always go back for more. Only take the utensils that you need. Bring a water bottle to the conference and bring it to meals and to workshops so that you will not have to buy or drink water from plastic bottles (and use water fountains to refill your bottle). Recycle aluminum, plastic, and paper in the appropriate bins. If you can't find them, ask!