BOULDER, CO.—Renewable Choice Energy, a national provider of renewable energy credits and carbon offsets, has launched Green Your Event to empower meeting and event planners at hotels and event centers to support wind power and carbon reduction by offsetting event facilities, attendee travel, and more.
A number of boutique and hotel chain branches kicked off the program last month including Chicago’s Talbott Hotel, Marriott’s Fairfield Inn & Suites, Baltimore; DoubleTree Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., and the Hotels Parisi and L’Auberge Del Mar in La Jolla, Calif.
“We chose to be a Green Your Event partner because the program allows us to offer our guests credible solutions that they can take to help address today’s energy and climate challenges,” said Patrick Leary, general manager, Fairfield Inn & Suites, Baltimore. “It’s a great program for us to expand our green initiatives.”
Responding to the growing demand for green events and meetings, Green Your Event is the first nationwide program to add a strong renewable energy and carbon offset element to the burgeoning green meeting movement. Because the greatest environmental footprint of an event or conference comes from participant travel to and from the event, the majority of the program’s offset package includes verified emission reductions (VERs, also known as carbon offsets) for air and ground travel verified by the American Carbon Registry. Additionally, the electricity used for lodging, session facilities, and cell phones is offset with renewable energy credits (RECs) certified by Green-e Energy, the leading third-party REC auditor. Offsetting events has been embraced by the EPA, the Green Meeting Industry Council, and the Convention Industry Council.
Ideal Fit for DoubleTree
“We chose Renewable Choice to support our greening initiatives because we are committed to reducing our environmental impact and to educating our guests and conference attendees to do the same,” said Michael McMahon, general manager of DoubleTree Palm Beach Gardens. “Green Your Event was the perfect solution for our green meeting needs.”
Green Your Event doesn’t stop at providing offsets, however. A key element of the program is educating and engaging event and meeting attendees on the impacts of travel and lodging while increasing awareness about the values of helping fund wind power and carbon reduction projects across the United States. Funding these projects through the purchase of offsets helps reduce carbon dioxide pollution, the leading cause of climate change and a “danger to human health” according to the EPA, while reducing dependence on fossil fuels and supporting clean technology development.
“At the Talbott hotel, environmental initiatives have continued to be a strong driver for new partnerships, programs and purchasing decisions,” said Patrick Aversa, director of sales and marketing at the property. “We are excited to expand our green practices with this program and offer a greener solution for our on-site events.”
Go to Renewable Choice Energy.
