Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce - Young Professionals Council - YPC Summit 2008

Going Green

The 2008 Young Professionals Summit, Leading the Vision, is practicing what it preaches. In this case, it is "going green." The Summit, scheduled for March 6, will be the first conference held at Qwest Center Omaha to go green.

Going green is an effort to have a positive impact on the environment, whether it be recycling, driving less or conserving energy. These ideas, along with numerous others, will combine to make the Summit as carbon neutral as possible.

HDR, Inc. is the 2008 Young Professionals Summit Luncheon and Green Partner. Below are all the ways the Summit is going green.

Getting There
Summit participants are encouraged to carpool to the event. It is estimated that if each participant drove to the Summit, there would be more than 800 cars driven an average of 10 miles roundtrip creating 7,971 lbs of CO2 emissions. (www.terrapass.com)

Carpooling on a regular basis can help you lower your stress commuting to and from work; can save you money due to shared commuting costs and decreased personal vehicle maintenance; reduces demand for parking spaces at work or school; improves air quality resulting from fewer auto emissions; reduces traffic congestion; and you may make a new group of friends you might not have otherwise known.

To learn more about carpooling check out MetrO! Rideshare's Web site at www.metrorideshare.org. You will find information about their online matching service, carpooling etiquette and their Guarantee Ride Home program.

On Site
The Young Professionals Council is working closely with Qwest Center Omaha to implement a variety of green measures to lessen the Summit's carbon imprint.

Recycling containers will be available throughout the event
Glass cups will be used instead of disposable cups
Food for the luncheon will be purchased from local farmers
Breakout session handouts will be available online only
Web site's of community booth participants will be listed in the Summit program reducing the need for paper handouts
Program will be printed on recycled paper

After the Summit
The Young Professionals Council will make a donation to the Omaha Public Power District in support of their Tree Promotion Program. This program actively promotes the planting of trees and provides education concerning the value, selection, placement and welfare of trees.

The Council will continue to explore ways to lessen the carbon imprint of their projects and events in 2008.

What Can You Do?
Learn to make a difference in big and small ways every day by visiting the Web sites below.

At Work

Recycle not only paper, aluminum cans and plastic bottles, but also the plastic cups distributed by the cafeteria or bring your own reusable containers
Shut the lights off when leaving your office/workspace. The vast majority of energy used in office buildings is for lighting.
Take the stairs instead of the elevator. It's good for the environment and good for you.
Turn off your computer, monitor and speakers at the end of the day.
Think before printing - read things online as much as possible. The average U.S. office worker goes through 10,000 sheets of paper a year.
Purchase recycled office products.

On The Road

When it's time to purchase a new vehicle, consider a hybrid. These and other highly efficient vehicles emit as little as 1/3 of the CO2 as other vehicles.
Take the bus, carpool, ride your bike or walk.
Be sure your vehicle is well-tuned and has properly inflated tires. Poorly inflated tires decrease the vehicle's gas mileage.
Drive the speed limit.

At Home

Change your light bulbs from standard incandescent to compact fluorescents (CFLs). If every household in American switched just five light bulbs, it would be like taking eight million cars off the road..
Purchase EnergyStar appliances and consumer electronics.
Use a programmable thermostat and allow your house to be a bit cooler in the winter and warmer in the summer.
Buy green power from your local power provider, OPPD.
Unplug household electronics that aren't in use. According to the U.S. Dept. of Energy, 75 percent of all the electricity consumed in the home is standby power used to keep electronics running when they are turned "off."
Install low-flow showerheads and faucets.
Hang up a clothesline - reduce use of the dryer when weather permits.
Caulk and weatherstrip all your doors and windows.
Insulate your walls, ceilings and water heater.

Recycle

Using recycled materials to produce glass, paper and metal products saves 70 - 90 percent of the energy and pollution.
Recycling a stack of newspapers only four feet high will save a good-sized tree. Nearly all paper that comes through a household is recyclable.
Start a compost pile.
Kick the bottled-water habit. Disposable plastic water bottles are dumped into landfills at the rate of three million per day in California alone.
Sign up for a "don't send" service to reduce your junk mail - unsolicited mail uses 62 million trees a year in the U.S.
Go vintage. Buying a shirt the second time around means you avoid consuming all the energy used in producing and shipping a new one.
Bag the plastic bags. They can take up to 1,000 years to biodegrade, and every year more than 500 billion plastic bags are distributed with less than 3 percent of those recycled. Most local grocery stores will give you a $.05 credit for every plastic bag you reuse...just ask.
Support the locals. Food and other products produced closer to home rack up fewer "petroleum miles" than products trucked across the country. Plus, the food tastes better.

Information gathered from the following Web sites: