GreenBiz strives to mitigate its environmental impact. This year, we’ve set a challenge of diverting 100% of the waste generated by the conference. GreenBiz and Waste Management, in collaboration with the JW Marriott Desert Ridge Resort and our GreenBiz 19 exhibitors, are working together to minimize waste generation and optimize waste diversion. 

At GreenBiz 18, we diverted 99.3% of our waste from landfill, composting 66.0%, recycling 21.9%, donating 11.2%, and reusing 0.2%. 

We'll offset GreenBiz 19's carbon impact with the help of Natural Capital Partners. Attendee travel, energy consumption, waste emissions and other carbon impacts associated with GreenBiz 19 will be offset in verified carbon reduction projects, reducing the emissions to net zero.

Last year, GreenBiz 18 achieved Carbon Neutral event certification, offsetting 672 tCO2e. With these carbon credits, we delivered essential finance to the Paradigm Kenya Improved Cookstoves Project (224 tCO2e), the Mongolia Energy Efficiency Project (224 tCO2e) and the Seneca Meadows LFG Project (224 tCO2e).

Our partnership with TerraCycle will allow us to divert more waste by repurposing non-recyclable and non-compostable material. TerraCycle is a highly-awarded and globally recognized recycling company that develops recycling solutions for difficult-to-recycle waste streams, repurposing the collected materials into affordable, innovative products. TerraCycle is widely considered the world's leader in the collection and reuse of non-recyclable and post-consumer waste.

Last year, at GreenBiz 18, TerraCycle helped us to recycle an additional 4.7% of our waste, beyond what a traditional recycling facility would be able to handle. This included thin film plastic, disposable coffee cups (brought in from outside the conference walls), candy wrappers, and other miscellaneous items. We look forward to continuing this partnership and recycling even more challenging items in 2019.

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 18 as a result of our partnership with Copia, we recovered 637 pounds of healthy food, provided 531 meals to local nonprofits, saved 323,000 gallons of water, and prevented 2,800 pounds of CO2 emissions.

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 19 conference app, you are helping to reduce paper use at the conference. Thank you!