Sustainability Programs
At every GreenBiz event, we partner with innovative organizations to mitigate the environmental impact associated with hosting an in-person event. Our GreenBiz 23 Sustainability Programs aim to help us offset carbon emissions, divert waste from landfills, redistribute food to the community and more. Learn more about each of our unique sustainability programs and partnerships below.
Food Donation
We're partnering with Copia to redistribute all of our surplus food to nonprofits in the Scottsdale community. In America today, 40% of the food we produce goes wasted, while 1 in 6 people are food insecure. What this means: hunger in our country is not a scarcity problem, it's a logistics problem. Copia is the first technology-enabled food recovery solution. They've built industry-leading logistics to solve hunger and food waste at scale, and GreenBiz is proud to be part of the solution.
Zero Waste Boxes
Our Partnership with TerraCycle makes it possible to divert waste by recycling things that are not accepted by curbside serces. Hard-to-recycle trash can be deposited in the Zero Waste Boxes wit the corresponding waste stream found throughout the event venue. TerraCycle is an international and award-winning waste management company with a mission to elemin ate the idea of waste.
CleanO2
The CleanO2 liquid hand soap that we’re featuring at Green Biz 23 represents a new way of thinking about greenhouse gas and the circular economy. Rather than capturing carbon dioxide and pumping it underground, CleanO2 has taken the carbon and turned it into a valuable ingredient, potassium carbonate, that can enhance a range of products. In the liquid soaps at this event, the carbonate adds a unique silkiness to the suds. And there will be other CleanO2 enhanced products introduced shortly.
So what you see as soap is actually a circular economy story. An environmental “negative” (greenhouse gas) is upcycled into valuable new products. And going further, it’s also a business model, since the proceeds from the sale of these products will help advance R&D and support the installation of more CleanO2 CarbinX carbon capture devices, which in turn will produce more ingredient for more products. It’s a virtuous circular business model for the circular economy.
Tree Planting
We are teaming up with One Tree Planted to plant 4,000 trees on behalf of our attendees! These trees will benefit a reforestation project in an area of California that was impacted by forest fire. The project will reforest 300 hectares of forest that was burned, while also contributing numerous ecological and community benefits. Reforesting this area will help in preventing erosion, create habitat for numerous species and create jobs. This project also has a great social impact as members of the community will be able to get out in nature and plant trees to help restore the forest!
Plastic Credits
We're partnering with rePurpose Global to collect and remove 100 nature-bound plastic pouches from the environment for every GreenBiz 23 attendee. Low-value waste will be collected, upcycled and processed at a rePurpose Imapact project, Sueño Azul in Columbia that empowers waste pickers to tackle plastic waste.
RePurpose Global is the world's leading Plastic Action Platform dedicated to reducing waste, reviving lives, and restoring nature's balance. Today, they are a movement of conscious businesses and consumers taking action on their plastic footprint by empowering innovators on the frontline.
Water Restoration
Changing the Course, a program of the Bonneville Environmental Foundation is a first-of-its-kind initiative that brings together the public, corporations, and on-the-ground conversation organizations to raise awareness about freshwater issues, reduce water footprints and directly support water restoration projects. Changes the Course is the leading corporate water restoration and engagement campaign. The initiative has received contributions from over 70 corporate sponsors; supported over 265 water projects across 25 U.S. states, Canada, and Mexico; and restored over 36.7 billion gallons of water to date. This year, GreenBiz is specifically contributing to the Mason Lane Automated Headgate project, which will replace an outdated and inefficient irrigation diversion system with a modern, automated headgate system. The new headgate will allow irrigators to more precisely control the amount of water that they divert out of Oak Creek and into the Mason Lane ditch.
Landfill Diversion
GreenBiz recognizes that being leaders in sustainability carries a responsibility to the communities in which our events take place and the environment. That’s why we partner with WM to plan conferences that prioritize reducing resource consumption and diverting more that 90% of material generated from landfill. Together we have continued to reach this goal since 2016! We encourage you to join us in this effort by using reusable water bottle and coffee mugs, and refraining from brining single-use products to the conference center. Thank you for helping us continue to meet and improve upon our zero waste goals for GreenBiz conferences!
Carbon Offsetting
We have partnered with South Pole to provide climate offsets on behalf of GreenBiz 23. We'll calculate the emissions of all our attendees for the entire event by asking you information about your travel as well as accounting for venue energy use, food, and other factors. South Pole will then offset those emissions via a selection from the world's largest portfolio of carbon projects to protect the planet and transform lives.
By investigating in carbon offset projects with South Pole, you are taking immediate action on greenhouse emissions. We recommend it as one part of a broader, integrated carbon management strategy.
Rent the Runway
For too long fashion has thrived on excess. Rent the Runway was founded to offer an alternative to fast fashion's pollutive and excessive norms via shared access. Rent the Runway's business model aims to help after the market incentives for the fashion industry, from a focus on high volumes and low price points to quality, durability, and utilization.
Rent the Runway's first-of-its-kind Life Cycle Assessment illustrated that rental does indeed displace production of new garments: In fact, Rent the Runway estimates that approximately 1.3 million total new garments have been displaced since 2010, with a goal to displace the need for a new production of half a million garments by the fiscal year 2026.
Sustainable Food
Meals at GrenBiz 23 will be plant-rich, delicious, abundant, and waste-free. We've created low-carbon menus that respect diverse dietary preferences and nourish our guests. Here are just a few of the steps we're taking to serve sustainable food:
-
We will serve a variety of plant-rich options with an animal-based option available at every meal and encourage guests to make sustainable choices.
-
Gluten-free meals will be available separately from the primary buffets to cater to attendees with celiac disease. Attendees with celiac disease should specifically request gluten-free meals from the buffet team.
-
Food will be clearly labeled to indicate vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free options.
-
Food will be sustainably sourced when possible. For example, Wednesday's lunch buffet will serve sustainably sourced shrimp, Selva Shrimp.
-
We will partner with WM to reduce plastics and packaging in our food and beverage service, including using all reusable dishware, offering water refill stations, and eliminating single-use packaging.
-
We will partner with Copia to donate any leftover food to local communities.
Subscribe for Updates
Receive updates by subscribing to our GreenBiz Events mailing list and GreenBuzz newsletter.
Thank You — You are now subscribed to updates for GreenBiz 23.
Join us on Social Media
