In putting together the Green Media Show Conference & Expo, SustainCommWorld tracked its carbon footprint through every stage of preparation. The conference will take place October 1 and 2 at the Boston Marriott Copley Place and will be as close to carbon neutral as SustainCommWorld can manage. The Green Media Show will demonstrate the practicalities of going green to both conference attendees and exhibitors as they meet to discuss sustainability and enterprise communication.

Among the many steps SustainCommWorld has taken to provide a truly green conference include a limit on exhibitor handouts. While handouts are a traditional staple of conferences, most go straight to the trash as soon as attendees lave the floor. Instead, at the Green Media Show, exhibitor handouts will be emailed to attendees. Exhibitors also benefit from this change: they can effectively eliminate printing and shipping costs from their budgets.

Even the exhibitor booths at the Green Media Show are a little greener than average. They use reusable metal framing with bamboo walls to reduce waste. Kathleen Kaiser, the executive vice president of SustainCommWorld responsible for the booths, focused on designing structures that relied on recycled signage, as well as biodegradable and reusable components. The booths are even energy efficient, using LED lighting to save energy.

"First focus was on the actual booths," Kaiser said. "Shipping in large booth structures from around the country, takes energy - burns carbon. And many of those booths and their printed graphics are not created sustainably. Lighting could be old fashion incandescent. The only factor I could not control was the carpeting as this is a hotel event and permanent carpeting was installed. However, we chose Marriott to work with as they have a great corporate program, 'Echo,' that is refitting and addressing many sustainability issues inside their hotels."

Even the marketing for the Green Media Show was created with sustainability in mind. SustainCommWorld worked with Affordable Internet Services Online to arrange for its website to run on solar power. The marketing campaign relied heavily on electronic solutions, such as email, and while a mail piece was created, it was very targeted with a limited list of recipients.

The conference will be offsetting all travel by attendees to and from the event, all marketing efforts and the show floor production through carbon offsets purchased from Community Energy. Community Energy develops wind power, as well as providing offsets.

Image — SustainCommWorld