Sustainability
We are excited to pursue Hawaii Green Business Program certification for VERGE Hawaii. For our 2016 conference, we were honored to receive certification at the Kaulike level, and are striving to achieve certification at an even higher level in 2017. Thank you to all of the sustainability partners who help to make this program possible, and to our attendees for your continued support and engagement.
Zero Waste Challenge
We're partnering with Sustainable Coastlines Hawaii to increase recycling and composting rates and reduce waste sent to the landfill. Sustainable Coastlines is a grassroots, local non profit organization run by a small team of dedicated staff and supported by passionate volunteers. The organization inspires local communities to care for their coastlines through fun, hands-on beach cleanups. They also coordinate educational programs, public awareness campaigns and help others run their own beach cleanups. By educating people about reducing their waste and the need to keep our environment clean, the organization fosters a connection to Hawaii's coastline and coastlines thousands of miles away.
Water Balancing
We'll balance VERGE Hawaii's water footprint with the help of Change the Course, restoring approximately 820,000 gallons of freshwater to critically depleted ecosystems across North America. 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, partnering with on-the-ground conservation groups to fund innovative restoration projects that restore water and enhance water security.
Food Redistribution
We're partnering with Aloha Harvest and Copia to redistribute all of our surplus food to nonprofits in the Honolulu 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. Aloha Harvest is a non-profit organization that rescues quality, donated food and delivers it “free of charge” to social service agencies feeding the hungry in Hawai‘i. Copia is the first technology-enabled food recovery solution and they’ve built industry-leading logistics to solve hunger and food waste at scale. VERGE is proud to be part of the solution.
Carbon Offsets
We'll offset VERGE Hawaii’s carbon impact, including attendee travel, energy consumption, and waste emissions, with the help of South Pole Group and EarthCheck. These organizations have identified climate mitigation and adaptation projects that create tangible benefits to local communities in the areas of health and education. The carbon credits from these projects have been certified under the Gold Standard and the Verified Carbon Standards (VCS), which follow rigorous certification criteria.
Microgrid
VERGE Hawaii will be powered by a 100% renewable energy microgrid. Visit our Microgrid page here to learn more.
Sustainable Materials
We strive to use sustainable materials in all aspects of our conference production. Our partner Knotty Pine 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.
GreenBiz Events App
By using the VERGE Hawaii conference app, you are helping to reduce paper use at the conference. Thank you!
Hilton Hawaiian Village
Our venue, the Hilton Hawaiian Village, is a critical partner in helping us to reduce our environmental impact. Their chefs partner with local artisans, organic farmers and sustainable fisheries to deliver authentic and responsibly sourced cuisine. This collaboration between Hilton Hawaiian Village chefs and their trusted partners is designed to provide unique food experiences that celebrate wellness and sustainability. We are also working to ensure we eliminate single-use products wherever possible and use reusable dishware instead.
You
There are lots of things you can do to help us make this event as sustainable as possible. Here are some ways you can help:
- Bring your own water bottle and coffee cup
- Take public transportation, ride your bike, walk, or carpool to the conference
- Help us divert waste from the landfill by recycling and composting on site
- Share your ideas with us - we're always trying to make our conference more sustainable and we appreciate your help
Thank you!
Sustainability Partners
Aloha Harvest
Aloha Harvest is a non-profit organization that rescues quality, donated food and delivers it “free of charge” to social service agencies feeding the hungry in Hawai‘i. Aloha Harvest is now in its 17th year of service to our community. Since its inception, Aloha Harvest has collected and distributed over 18 million pounds of food which now includes quality perishable and non-perishable foods, as well as beverages. The food has been donated by over 1,000 participating donors, of which 271 are currently active, such as restaurants, caterers, government facilities, hotels, food distributors, businesses and others. This food would otherwise be discarded and gone to waste.
Change the Course
Change the Course brings together the public, corporations, and on-the-ground conservation organizations to raise awareness about freshwater, reduce water footprints, and restore flows and health to vital freshwater ecosystems. For every personal pledge to conserve, Change the Course returns 1,000 gallons to an ecosystem in need. Corporate partners underwrite the restoration projects, which are teed-up with on-the-ground conservation partners. It’s a virtuous cycle of education, conservation and restoration – and it’s working.
Copia
Every day in America, we waste 3 times more food than there are mouths to feed. It is not a lack of food that's the issue, rather an ineffective distribution of that food. Hunger is not a scarcity problem — it's a logistics problem. For the first time ever, we can effectively donate prepared and highly perishable food to those who need it when they need it most. Copia’s technology allows businesses to request pickups of their surplus food. Copia’s platform then dispatches a driver to pick up the donation and deliver it to a nonprofit in need. Businesses that partner with Copia benefit from significant tax savings; robust waste tracking analytics to help reduce future waste; and marketing materials to share environmental and community impact with employees and stakeholders. Copia has diverted more than 1 million pounds of edible food from landfills and distributed over $9M worth of food to local nonprofits. We’re on our way to feeding over 2 million people with great food that would have otherwise been wasted!
EarthCheck
From humble beginnings in 1987, EarthCheck has always believed that tourism is a force for good in the world. With infinite potential for poverty alleviation, environmental conservation and cultural understanding; travel changes the world. When it's done responsibly everyone benefits. EarthCheck is dedicated to making tourism responsible in over 70 countries with destinations, corporations and communities. Their unique blend of thinking, advice and solutions inspire and enable the tourism industry to drive change and resilience. EarthCheck help their clients make better decisions, integrate sustainability into their business and destinations and create innovative and engaging stories.
Sustainable Coastlines Hawaii
Sustainable Coastlines Hawaii (SCH) hosts large scale beach cleanups across the state. With the mission of “inspiring local communities to care for their coastlines through hands-on beach cleanups” SCH hopes to create coastal stewards after every cleanup who can help to sustain the beauty of our fragile coastlines. Along with large-scale coastal clean-up events SCH also runs educational programs focused on marine debris and plastic pollution, public awareness campaigns, waste diversion educational services, and corporate team building events. Through these efforts we hope motivate volunteers and communities around Hawaii to look after the coastlines we all love.