Greening ACRL 2009

ACRL has been working hard to make this our greenest conference ever, and to lay the groundwork for more sustainable conferences in the future.  Here are some of the things we’re doing:

Prize Drawings
Stop by the Green Committee’s table in the  registration area and enter to win one of the following prizes.
• Free Subscription from ProQuest: All participants who sign the Green Pledge are automatically entered to win this prize. The winner will be announced before the Opening Exhibits reception, generously sponsored by ProQuest.  
• Free Registration for ACRL 2011 in Philadelphia: Stop by the Green Committee’s table in the registration area and enter to win. This prize will be announced at the close of the Invited Green Speaker session with Robin Chase on Sunday at 8:00 a.m.
• Free iPod Nano: Donate a book to Better World Books at Booth #1023 to be entered to win a free iPod Nano! This prize will be announced at the end of the closing keynote session on Sunday.

Building Awareness
• Created the Green Pledge that asks all conference participants to make sustainable choices while at the conference.
• Documented conference hotels’ green practices, and have encouraged attendees to use them.
• Invited Robin Chase, founder of ZipCar, for our Green Speaker event Sunday at 8:00 a.m.
• Presenting a panel on greening national, regional, and local conferences Saturday at 10:30 a.m.

Reducing Waste
• Offering greener giveaway items, from a BPA free corn plastic coffee mug to bags and badge holders made of recycled materials.  (And those badge holders can be recycled on Sunday in the convention center!)
• Reduced signage by using electronic sign boards and recycling all of the foam core signage, entrance units, and registration counters produced for the show.
• Encouraged paperless conference presentations and participation through the Virtual Conference Community.
• Switched to recycled paper and soy-based ink for the program book and promotional materials.
• Produced our first marketing piece as a post card instead of a tri-fold mailing piece eliminating about 80,000 pages from production.
• Produced our preview issue of Footnotes, (the National Conference newspaper) online instead of in print eliminating about 156,000 pages of newspaper full from production.
• Created an online only service manual for exhibitors eliminating about 200 binders and 4,000 pages from production.

Greening at the Convention Center
• Strongly encouraging participants to use the convention center recycling stations.
• Offering water coolers in the hallways and on the exhibit floor for free refills instead of purchasing bottled water.
• Encouraged exhibitors to advertise and promote their green business practices.
• Using recycled carpet in the exhibit hall, and reusable pipe and drape.
• Reduced lighting in the convention center during setup and takedown.
• Collecting surplus promotional items from exhibitors and donating them to a local charity.
• Collecting surplus books from exhibitors and attendees for donation to Better World Books.  Better World will sell them and donate 30% of the proceeds to National Center for Family Literacy.
• Arranging surplus food donation with the convention center to Fare Start.

Please visit the ACRL Green Committee’s table in the convention center registration area to learn more, and have a great, green conference!