We'll offset GreenBiz 18's carbon impact with the help of Natural Capital Partners. Attendee travel, energy consumption, waste emissions and other carbon impacts associated with GreenBiz 18 will be offset in verified carbon reduction projects, reducing the emissions to net zero.

Last year, GreenBiz 17 achieved Carbon Neutral event certification, offsetting 556 tCO2e. With these carbon credits, we delivered essential finance to the Seneca Meadows Landfill Project (256 tCO2e), Mississippi Valley Reforestation (150 tCO2e) and Guatemala Water Filtration & Improved Cookstoves (150 tCO2e). To see our GHG emissions data from GreenBiz 17, click here.

This year at GreenBiz 18, we achieved a Carbon Neutral event certification, offsetting 672 tCO2e.

We're partnering with Copia to redistribute all of our surplus food to nonprofits in the Phoenix community. Today in America, 40% of the food we produce goes wasted, while 1 in 6 people are food insecure. What this means: hunger in our country is not a scarcity problem, it's a logistics problem. Copia is the first technology-enabled food recovery solution. They've built industry-leading logistics to solve hunger and food waste at scale, and GreenBiz is proud to be part of the solution.

At GreenBiz 17 as a result of our partnership with Copia, we recovered 406 pounds of healthy food, provided 338 meals to local nonprofits, saved 148,072 gallons of water, and prevented 1,781 pounds of CO2 emissions. To see our food redistribution information from GreenBiz 17, click here.

This year at GreenBiz 18 in partnership with Copia, we recovered 637 pounds of healthy food and provided 531 meals to local nonprofits. 

We'll balance GreenBiz 18's water footprint with the help of Bonneville Environmental Foundation and Change the Course, restoring approximately 820,000 gallons of freshwater to critically depleted ecosystems across Arizona. The Change the Course campaign is a national water initiative founded by BEF, National Geographic, and Participant Media. The initiative engages the public and the business community in reducing water footprints and returning water to nature. For every personal pledge to conserve, Change the Course returns 1,000 gallons to rivers and wetlands in need. Change the Course partners with on-the-ground conservation groups to fund innovative restoration projects that restore water and enhance water security.

As a result of our partnership for GreenBiz 17, 821,000 gallons of water were restored to critically dewatered rivers and streams, equivalent to 164,200 standard 5-gallon water cooler containers. These gallons were restored to the Verde River, Arizona’s only designated Wild and Scenic River, which delivers 40% of the surface water for the Phoenix metro area and is a critical Colorado River tributary providing diverse ecological benefits for myriad native desert fish and wildlife species. Like many rivers in the West, the Verde River suffers from the existence of so many dams and diversion that, in places, the river’s flow is inadequate to fully support native fish, wildlife and recreation. To see our water restoration certificate from GreenBiz 17, click here.

This year at GreenBiz 18, we restored another 821,000 gallons of water.

We strive to use sustainable materials in all aspects of our conference production. Our partner Aosa provides beautiful, durable, recycled and recyclable signage, designed to look great and stay out of the landfill.

We create our banners and backdrops from fabric made of 100% recycled PET printed with no VOC water-based inks. Signage boards are 100% recyclable and made from 30% PCW, and wooden boards are made from FSC certified Baltic birch. Metal signs are 100% recyclable and made from 100% domestic metal.

We work closely with the JW Marriott Desert Ridge Resort & Spa throughout our event planning process to make sure GreenBiz is produced as sustainably as possible, from menu selection to our zero waste program. We carefully choose our menu items together, along with Waste Management, to minimize packaging and waste. The JW kitchen also plays a key role in implementing our zero waste practices, training and educating staff to properly dispose of waste. We’ve also chosen a beef-free menu this year to reduce our environmental impact, and JW chefs partner with local artisans, organic farmers, and sustainable fisheries to deliver food aligned with our focus on sustainability and wellness.

By using the GreenBiz 18 conference app, you are helping to reduce paper use at the conference. Thank you!