Sustainability - for a lasting impression…

When it comes to our Legislative Summit, our commitment is to bring you the best programming, speakers and networking opportunities. At the end of last year's meeting in Boston, we made another promise: Over the next five years, we will make our Legislative Summit more environmentally friendly. Our goal is to have a neutral carbon footprint by our 2012 meeting in Chicago.

Appropriately, the backdrop for this year's Legislative Summit is one of the nation's most productive expanses of coastal wetlands in North America. Here are just a few of the simple steps we've chosen to take this year:

• We will use Renewable Energy Credits (REC's) to offset the power used during our week at the Morial Convention Center.
• All disposable plates will be made of recyclable bamboo, a naturally sustainable product.
• Look for and use the wide selection of recycling bins throughout the convention center.
• We will use some digital signs, donated by our audio-visual supplier, AVW Freeman.

• Our hotel partners will let you decide how often to wash your towels and linens.
• After the Braving the Bayou Swamp Tour, on Saturday take part in an invasive species removal or replanting project at a nearby national park.
• Working with the convention center, we will donate leftover food to Second Helpings, a local food bank.
• Plastic name badges will be collected and reused when possible.
• We will encourage our exhibitors, speakers and staff to print on recycled paper and will be printing and shipping a reduced quantity of marketing materials to reduce waste.
• We will collect any unused inventory for future events, thus reducing future print requirements. If partner collateral is not reusable, we will recycle whenever possible.
• All spent fluorescent bulbs and batteries will be recycled.

Check back frequently for updates, as well as information on the efforts of our event partners.