Hotel & Conference Center Initiatives

- Recycling bins for white paper, plastic, and aluminum cans will be labeled, plentiful, and highly visible throughout the Reed Center.

- Specific bins for white paper will be marked – double-sided print (to be recycled) and single-sided print (to be made into “scrap” notepads and reused).

- Recycling bin for glass (beer bottles) will be available at our reception.

- An opt-out program for complimentary morning newspaper to Sheraton guest is available; just tell the front desk at check-in.

- In case you forget, we’ve asked hotel housekeeping staff to shut your blinds and turn down your room’s heat or air conditioning while you’re attending the conference.

- Watch the big screens downstairs and upstairs at the Reed Center for each day’s schedule, sustainability and eco-friendly ideas, speaker bios, and anything else we can think of that will lessen our printing and paper use.

- The Sheraton Reed Center is proud to offer Starbucks coffee in guest rooms; Starbucks uses post-consumer paper in their cups and hot beverage sleeves. We’ve also asked the Sheraton to provide regular spoons in your coffee caddy, rather than plastic stirrers.

- A linen reuse program is in place at the Sheraton; look for the card that tells housekeeping when you want your towels and bedding laundered.

- Consumable amenities in your room (shampoo, conditioner, lotion, soap, etc.) will be replaced when empty, rather than every day.



Catering Initiatives

- The Reed Center’s catering staff will provide ceramic mugs and other reusable items for food and beverage consumption during our event, rather than disposables. Feel free to bring your own travel cup to use for beverages throughout the event!

- Rather than pre-poured beverages on the tables for meals, we’ll have self-serve pitchers or other dispensers for beverages in order to lessen waste.

- Although insurance and county health department regulations prohibit the donation of un-served meals for human consumption, food leftovers will go to a local composting program.

- We’ll even provide you the occasional reminder with small tent cards such as “sodas are available at the reception desk downstairs; please be sure to recycle your can or bottle”.

- The catering staff will utilize linen service in place of paper napkins; if paper napkins must be used – think of your cold drink “sweating” at the reception – they’ll have recycled content.

- When registering for the Conference and Symposium, please indicate which meals you’ll be taking; we’ll have meals prepared accordingly so less food is wasted.

- The Sheraton Reed Center’s Starbuck coffee is fair trade.

- Meals and snacks during our event include local, seasonal produce wherever possible. Look by all tray or buffet-style food items for tent cards providing the name of the dish and its ingredients; local produce will be noted, as well.

- You’ll see bulk condiments (sugar, creamer, sweetener, salt and pepper shakers, butter pats on one plate at table, etc.) during the Conference and Symposium, rather than individual packets.

- We’ll also use fewer dishes whenever possible (one plate in center of table for bread, no saucers under coffee cups, a single fork by your plate instead of two); fewer dishes to wash means less water used.



Event Planning Initiatives

- Instead of mass-producing handouts for our poster session, we’ll use the big screen upstairs or a dry-erase board to provide information on the entries.

- OWRB and OWRRI are providing recycled notepaper and writing instruments in your attendee packet.

- Keep an eye on your e-mail inbox! We’ll be using e-mail for communication wherever possible, so please be sure we’re on your “safe sender” list. If you’re currently on our paper mailing list, we’ll only send one postcard to tell you about the event; that postcard will direct you to our website and provide an option for you to call and request continued paper mailings.

- When printing is necessary, we’ll use recycled paper if at all possible.

- We want you to see the Sheraton and Reed Center’s environmental policy, so look for it on our website before conference. They’ve been working on some great initiatives, including energy conservation programs, low-flow bathroom fixtures, on-site recycling, guest option to reuse sheets and towels, use of non-toxic/biodegradable cleaning products, and much more.

- We’ll keep you up-to-date on our eco-friendly efforts through our webpage, meeting updates and registration reminders, and displays at the event.

- See someone at the conference wearing an “I was caught GREEN-HANDED” sticker on their name badge or lapel? We’re using those to recognize attendees, vendors and sponsors who have made an extra effort to support our environmentally-friendly efforts.

- When you fill out your meeting evaluation, please provide honest feedback and suggestions on the efforts for the event. We truly value your input about this event and all we do.

- We’re asking exhibitors to green their displays as much as possible. For example, they can be mindful of the number of brochures they distribute, offer useful and recycled-content promotional items, utilize signage that can be re-used, promote their own environmental initiatives, and even find re-use opportunities for decorations/display materials if they’re not re-usable by the exhibitor (give poster board to a public school art program, perhaps).

- Look for speaker notes available online shortly after the Conference and Symposium end; we encourage you to print only if you must.

- We’ve purchased re-useable nametag holders and eco-friendly lanyards. Please be sure to return yours as you leave the event; we’ll have several boxes marked for the purpose.

- Just to see how we’ve done, we plan to weigh/measure the event’s garbage and recycled material as it goes out, then compare to “average” waste production by a similar meeting; we’ll post the results on our website after the event.