Reefs for the Future - Nova Southeastern University

Location
Information
Author Index Oral and Poster Exhibits
Program
General
Special
Presentations
Information Recognitions
Green Meeting Initiatives -
How Green is this Meeting?
The 11th International Coral Reef
Symposium is proud to announce
that it is a ‘Carbon Neutral’ event.
This is the first ICRS to take environmental
commitment one step
farther and implement green strategies
to the meeting activities. The
11th ICRS is an officially registered
event with Carbonfund.org. CO2
emissions generated from travel
and the event itself will be offset
with Carbonfund.org by supporting
their renewable energy, energy efficiency,
and reforestation projects.
In addition to offsetting the carbon
footprint of the 11th ICRS, green
strategies have been adopted at
multiple levels of the planning and
implementation of the meeting.
The Local Organizing Committee
(LOC) and its Green Committee
have worked with the Convention
Center and our other meeting partners
to reduce, reuse, recycle, and
promote environmental conservation
throughout this meeting.
11th ICRS Meeting
We have made conscientious efforts
to use recycled paper for our
meeting materials including advance
registration and exhibit
booklets, the program book, and
abstract book all being printed on
recycled-content paper.
Our badge paper is made of a renewable
resource of eucalyptus
trees which are farmed in South
America. These tree farms yield in
4-6 years as opposed to 7-10 years
in the natural environment. Also,
the dyes used in the printing are
done with environmentally friendly
dyes rather than harsh chemicals
and bleaches.
After the symposium, please drop
your badge holder in the collection
bin in the registration area or at the
Hall A entrance of the convention
center. If you will not be reusing
your lanyard please drop this in our
collection box as well to be reused
at future meetings.
The quantity of paper generated
should be substantially reduced
compared to past meetings by providing
attendees with the option of
viewing the abstracts online. During
the registration process, attendees
were asked if they preferred
to view the abstracts electronically
or as a printed copy. The attendees
interested in viewing the abstracts
online can use the abstract
kiosks located in Hall A to search
the database.
After the meeting, the post-symposium
proceedings will be available
either as a hardcopy or electronically
on a CD.
Convention Center
The Broward Convention Center
already has a green management
plan in place which primarily focuses
on energy use and water
consumption. The ICRS has chosen
to reduce the use of air conditioning
by increasing the air temperature
to slightly warmer
temperatures instead of the usual
68°F. Lighting is centrally monitored
and turned off in unused rooms. All
restrooms in the convention center
use water saving devices. All cleaning
products used are environmentally
friendly and all paper towels
and toilet paper are made with recycled
paper. As a consequence of
both the recent drought and environmental
policy, the convention
center has only native plants on its
property, which are less needy on
the environment. The exterior
fountain at the convention center
uses only re-circulated water.
The food provided will be bought
as locally as possible to prevent unnecessary
transportation or preservation
of foods. Excess foods will
be delivered to the local shelter,
Daily Bread, as a donation of the
11th ICRS. Where possible,
condiments and drinks are provided
in bulk to limit packaging,
and disposable utensils and cups
will be made of 100% biodegradable
potato starch. All attendees
will be provided with a reusable
beverage container to further limit
the use of disposables.
Exhibit Hall
The re-use of products is a high priority.
For example, the aisle signs
hanging in the exhibit hall were
used at another Fort Lauderdale
meeting in May. These aisle signs
were removed and stored for two
months for reuse at the 11th ICRS.
Other directional signs in use are
made of materials sturdy enough to
be used for up to five meetings.
These signs will be stripped of the
11th ICRS logos and text and
reprinted on the same board for
another meeting. This reduces
waste not only for us but other
meetings as well and eliminates the
traditional one-time use signs. The
aisle carpeting in the exhibit hall
will eventually be used for piping
insulation with a company located
in Texas.
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220 11 th International Coral Reef Symposium ■ Reefs for the Future