Fin MacDonald

Tomorrow I will be leaving for Greenbuild and I wanted to talk a little bit about the green features that the conference will have. When you register for the conference you need to enter how far you will be travelling to get to Greenbuild, and your method of transportation. This is because Greenbuild will be offsetting the carbon associated with the travel as one of its green initiatives. Most of the conference hotels are within walking distance of the event. If you are staying at one of the few that are too far to walk you will receive a complementary 3-day transit pass with your registration.

The conference will be held at the Metro Toronto Convention Center (MTCC) in the heart of downtown Toronto. The MTCC will ensure that it is a zero waste event and will reuse or recycle 97% of all waste generated. Volunteers will be at all the waste stations helping attendees sort their waste. The event will also be powered using renewable energy. The energy will be generated off site and guaranteed available on the grid through renewable energy certificates. The menu for the event will all be locally sourced. Food, beer and wine available on-site will be from within 100 miles of the conference.

Maroon 5 will be headlining the opening celebration. The band practices green touring and travel using a bio-diesel powered tour bus. The band members also live on an organic food diet.

Exhibitors will be encouraged to be as green as possible when developing their displays. Green Exhibitor awards will be available to those who exceed the standards developed for the expo hall.

When it comes to being green Greenbuild is a winner. They certainly walk the walk. I’m excited to see all the green initiatives in action this week!