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Puget Sound Action Team

KNOWLEDGE FOR THE SALISH SEA: TOWARD COLLABORATIVE TRANSBOUNDARY SOLUTIONS

2007 Georgia Basin Puget Sound Research Conference

Vancouver, British Columbia
March 26–29, 2007

GREENING THE CONFERENCE

Delegates to the Georgia Basin Puget Sound Research Conference are well-aware of the fragile and imperilled nature of this transboundary ecosystem. To reduce as much as possible the impact of conference-related activities on the environment, the conference organizers have taken many steps to reduce inputs and minimize wastes. Key initiatives in this "greening the conference" agenda include:

  • Working with the Westin Hotel to reduce the environmental impacts associated with food and beverage catering for the approximately 1000 delegates over four days.
  • Working with Offsetters.ca and BC Hydro to make the conference a "carbon neutral" event.
  • Encouraging delegates to minimize the transportation impacts by offering a charter bus service along the Olympia / Vancouver corridor and facilitating a ride-sharing program.
  • Taking steps to reduce inputs and waste associated with the production of the conference program, delegate's kit, abstract book and conference proceedings.
Catering for a Thousand - Reducing Our Impact through a "100-Mile Diet" Approach

The "100 Mile Diet" was coined by Alisa Smith and James MacKinnon who, over one year, only consumed food and drink that was grown or produced from within 100 miles of their apartment in Vancouver. They made this decision after determining that when the average North American sits down to eat, each ingredient has typically travelled at least 1,500 miles. Their objective was to address first-hand issues ranging from the family-farm crisis to the environmental impact of food production and distribution. More information on their one-year adventure, and their continuing efforts, is available at www.100milediet.org.

When the conference organizers approached the Westin Bayshore Hotel about adopting a 100-mile diet approach to the catering for this conference, the chef and staff responded enthusiastically. Taking the Smith and MacKinnon 100-mile diet as inspiration, the Westin Bayshore's Chef has designed a menu for the conference that adopts the principles and philosophy that underlie the real "100-Mile Diet".

What immediately emerged upon accepting this challenge wasn't simply that it was difficult to source produce from within 100 miles of the conference facility - but that it was a lot more complicated than that. Relying simply on distance means ignoring the variety of impacts food consumption can have on the environment and other concerns. So a "1500 mile tomato" could, under some calculations, be better than a "50 mile tomato". Unfortunately, there is nothing simple when you really start thinking about food.

In adopting the 100-Mile Diet Approach for this conference, we did not to simply draw a line at 100 miles from the conference centre and decree that everything grown or raised or produced inside that boundary is "good" and everything else is "bad". Rather, we treat the 100-Mile Diet as a metaphor, and as a way of changing our mental models: the 100-Mile Diet caused the conference organizers and the Westin catering staff to think about where our food comes from, how it's produced and how the environmental impact of such a large event could be reduced.

In naming this a "100-Mile Diet Approach", the GBPS Research Conference and the Westin Bayshore Chef and his team have considered a number of issues when determining what's on the menu and what goes in to creating the food and drinks to be consumed by 1000 delegates over four days. Issues that this approach gave rise to were: the land use changes required to grow food (e.g., competition between wilderness, natural habitat, human settlement and agricultural uses for land); the energy required to grow food (e.g., while tomatoes can be grown within 100 miles of Vancouver, this requires hothouse facilities that do use significant amounts of energy for heating and lighting); the impacts of fish-farming on the marine environment; the herbicides, pesticides and chemical fertilizers used in one agricultural operation as opposed to another (meaning that a "200 mile" product could, in fact, have less environmental impact than a "100 mile" product); water use and the impacts associated with irrigation; the conditions that animals are raised under; and the labour conditions of farm workers.

Carbon Neutral Conferencing

Working with Offsetters.ca and BC Hydro, we will calculate the carbon emissions associated with the organization and operations of the conference, and the travel of delegates, and offset those emissions by investing in green power projects. This will ensure that the conference is a "carbon neutral conference".

"Carbon neutral conferencing" is not a substitute for first considering a greenhouse gas emissions reduction strategy. However, once all reasonable steps have been taken to reduce carbon emissions associated with the conference, carbon neutral conferencing does allow the conference to offset any emissions that cannot be reduced through other means. Holding a carbon neutral conference involves estimating conference emissions and offsetting those emissions through the purchase of verified carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) credits. 

Being a "Carbon Neutral Conference" is a key element in "greening" the GBPS Research Conference. Through this leadership, we also hope to influence the future travel and operational choices of conference delegates in their work and personal decisions.

Minimizing Transportation Impacts

As part of our efforts to make the 2007 Georgia Basin Puget Sound Research Conference a "greener" event, we are offering charter bus service for our delegates living along the Olympia / Bellingham corridor. More information on this service, and the registration form, is available at https://www.eplyevents.com/gbps

We are also facilitating ride-sharing for delegates from throughout the region through the site http://www.rideshare.us. To search for a ride (or riders) near you, enter the lookup code GBPS.

Conference Material Minimization

The conference secretariat is taking steps to reduce inputs and waste associated with the production of the conference program, delegate's kit, abstract book and conference proceedings. In addition to working with printers who use post-consumer recycled content paper stock and low-impact inks, we are employing a document-on-demand printing strategy wherever possible.

For more information on "greening" conferences and meetings, see:
• The comprehensive Green Meetings Manual and checklists available from Environment Canada’s Atlantic Region http://www.ns.ec.gc.ca/greenman/index.html.
• The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s One-Stop Information Source for Green Meetings http://www.epa.gov/oppt/greenmeetings.