Green Initiatives

As part of our commitment to the principles of sustainability embodied by Fortune Brainstorm GREEN, we have developed the following guidelines to reduce the conference’s environmental impact. These measures represent best practices in environmental stewardship, and we hope they might encourage others to work toward producing events that stress more responsible use of our natural resources and minimize the carbon footprint. We welcome your feedback—and continue to evaluate, track, and improve our efforts at Fortune Live Media events as new sustainability standards, technologies, and mitigation options develop.

Venue

Organization, Planning, and Program

Evaluate and select venue based in part on the site’s environmental practices and ability to accommodate our green goals.
Advise participants and presenters that the event will strive to minimize environmental impacts. Encourage participants to respect and assist this process as they feel appropriate.
For all goods procured for the conference, give preference to the most local vendors and the most environmentally appropriate, locally produced products available.
Keep printed materials to a minimum. Any printed paper aims to have certified recycled content, with high proportion of postconsumer content, processed chlorine-free and printed with soy-based inks.
Reduce the size of printed conference agenda, and place the full program and other relevant data online only.
Minimize the environmental impact of transportation during the conference.
Stream the conference to a virtual audience online. Registration is complimentary and the content is available online for 12 months following the event.
Seek sponsors and partners who reflect positive environmental values and practices.
Provide guidelines to sponsors and participants to minimize waste, and create a presence that maintains the sustainability goals and values of the event.

Venue Management

Work with venue management and staff to set benchmarks and ramp up overall green initiatives at the hotel for the Brainstorm GREEN conference—and beyond.

Guest Arrival and Departure

Decrease the amount of paper handed to guest at check-in and check-out, with goal of paperless process.
Recycle key cards and holders.
Offer hybrid or high-efficiency vehicles for guest ground transportation, whenever possible.
Discourage idling of ground transport vehicles while waiting for guests.
Offer guests at check-in the option of e-mailing receipt. Hotel to ask if express check-out required to avoid unnecessary printing, and encourage in-room video check-out, if available. Use recycled paper to print all hotel receipts.

Guest Rooms

Offer in-room recycling.
Offer all guests the option to reuse linens.
Donate unused room amenities to a local shelter.
Minimize paper and notepads in the rooms and, where necessary, supply recycled paper goods.
Deliver newspapers upon request only and in reusable cloth bags.

Meeting Space

Encourage recycling by providing recycling bins in all meeting space areas.
Utilize cloth linens, ceramic or glass drinkware and tableware, and metal flatware for all meal functions.
Prohibit plastic water bottles and replace with reusable water bottles.
Provide filtered water refill stations.
Serve water at meal functions on request only.
Prohibit use of Styrofoam plates, cups, or containers.
Supply conference with notepads and pens of recycled materials.
Oxygenate the space with plants.
Use recyclable or biodegradable serving products, instead of plastic or Styrofoam for staff (if ceramic or glassware is not available).
Reduce AC and lighting, and ensure both are turned off when room is not in use.

Food and Beverage

Compost food waste or donate to local food programs.
Create menus using healthier organic options from sustainable local farmers, as well as from the venue’s own garden.
Coffee will be Rain Forest Alliance-certified.
Teas will be Organic Fair Trade-certified.

Business Center

Set all printers in the business center to print 2-sided.
Utilize recycled printer cartridges.
Set office equipment (computers, printers, etc.) to go into “sleep” mode after a few minutes.

Awareness

Ensure hotel’s green initiatives are available to attendees on request.
Train hotel staff to comply with green standards: reduce, reuse, and recycle.

Facilities and Amenities

Venue maintains cutting-edge laundry water recycling system to minimize water use.
Venue offers “Ambassadors of the Environment” program to educate guests on the local Southern California environment.

General

Use recycled goods only when paper goods are needed.
Recycle materials whenever possible.
Use nontoxic cleaning products.

PRODUCTION

Scenic and Set Production

Use alternative or certified renewable or sustainable building materials for set construction.
Reuse when possible and donate leftover production materials and supplies.
Use paints, sealants, and lacquers that are low-emission (low VOC) and less toxic.
Use potted plants instead of cut flowers, compost-cut flowers.

Transportation, Energy, and Fuel

Optimize venue to use as little electricity as possible.
Follow sustainable light design principles, as much as possible.
Use low-emission, hybrid or electric vehicles for the production, when possible.
Assure that transport vehicles do not idle unnecessarily.
Buy ultralow sulfur diesel for all production generators (or biofuel generators) and vehicles.
Direct staff to carpool or use public transit, when possible.

Staff Office

Recycle production office materials (paper, plastics, glass, cans, cardboard, wood; VHS, digital Betacams, DVDs, etc.). Ensure recycling bins are accessible around office.
Buy unbleached, high recycled-content items for production offices.
Set all printers in the business center to print 2-sided.
Utilize recycled printer cartridges.
Install power strips so turning off all electronics at once is easy.
Replace incandescent bulbs with CFLs.
Forward all incoming faxes electronically.

General

Choose a transportation carrier that can deliver conference materials in a credible, fuel-efficient way.
Ship all conference packages using the UPS carbon neutral shipping option. On Fortune's behalf, UPS will purchase high-quality carbon offsets to mitigate the environmental impact of shipping.

Guest Communications and Signage

Remind attendees of waste reduction and other environmental opportunities during the conference.
Use electronic signage or staff to direct guests.
E-mail agenda revisions and updates, and distribute a minimum of handouts onsite.
Utilize electronic credentialing systems or eco-friendly badges with recycled paper.
Provide electronic conference materials, including program binder and participant list.

MARKETING

Direct Mail

A predominantly digital marketing campaign has been developed to promote and market the event.
Reduce all marketing materials to minimum, and utilize website and e-mails to provide program updates.
Print all marketing materials on FSC- and SFI-certified postconsumer recycled paper.
Provide the option for participants to receive all communications via e-mail.

We recognize more can be done to reduce the environmental impact of events. We welcome your thoughts, suggestions, questions, and active participation about becoming part of the solution. If you have questions or comments about these guidelines, please e-mail us at brainstormgreen@fortune.com or call 212-522-6847.