Greening USGBC Pittsburgh

In related news, USGBC has awarded Meeting Strategies Worldwide the challenge of “greening” the 2003 Conference. The Portland, Oregon consulting firm will work with local hotels, food and beverage caterers, the city of Pittsburgh, the Lawrence Conference Center, and the exhibit hall decorating company to incorporate sustainable practices into the conference. Such efforts at the 2002 conference in Austin, Texas included the donation of 300 pounds (135 kg) of consumable food and the composting of over 6.5 tons (5.9 tonnes) of food waste. The Austin conference organizers also obtained donations of carbon credits to cover expected carbon dioxide emissions of conference participants traveling to the event (see EBN Vol. 11, No. 12). Over one million meetings and conventions are held in the U.S. each year.