SACNAS Participating
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SACNAS Green
SACNAS Environmental Commitment
SACNAS is dedicated to minimizing the environmental impacts of our annual national meeting and all of our programs.
In 2008, the Board of Directors and staff pledged to embed this environmental commitment in all aspects of our mission,
greatly expanding our previous green office, conference, and programmatic efforts.
Green Annual Conference
The 2008 SACNAS National Conference, “International Polar Year: Global Change in Our Communities,”
offered SACNAS an ideal opportunity to fully implement our green conference protocol and become one of the
first scientific and minority organizations to implement a carbon neutral policy for its conferences. Through
our NativeEnergy partnership, SACNAS
contributed $26,420 to off-set all of the 2,202 short tons of CO2 associated with putting on the
2009 conference.
Year |
SACNAS Contribution |
Amount of CO2 Offset |
2009 |
$26,420 |
2,202 short tons |
2008 |
$24,420 |
2,180 short tons |
SACNAS has put into practice sensible environmental measures for its office and daily operations, as well as its
annual conference and other programmatic activities. SACNAS views this commitment as a natural extension of the
mission and objectives of the organization, a practical application of the activist spirit of our diverse and
inclusive membership.
Following are some of the ways SACNAS is addressing our environmental impact and a number of simple actions
you can take to join us in this effort.
Be Green!
We invite you to learn more about what SACNAS is doing and what you can do to be part of these efforts.
- Conference Attendees: Discover easy steps that all
participants can take to be a green attendee.
- Green Exhibitors: Become a SACNAS Green Exhibitor. Review
our green exhibit program and sign up to partner with SACNAS in this effort.
- SACNAS Green Responsibility: Learn more about all of SACNAS’
green efforts, including the measures being taken by our conference vendors.
- Green Resources: Find out more about green travel and
reducing your ecological impact through our green links.
We encourage all conference participants to take an active role in making the SACNAS meeting a green event. At
the conference, attendees will be exposed to information about the SACNAS Green program and will be offered many
ways to be active partners in SACNAS’ green commitment.
Anaheim Convention Center: The convention center has implanted programs and processes to maintain environmental integrity
throughout the operation. Just some of these processes include:
- Installation of the first and largest grid connected solar power generating system in Anaheim. With a direct connection to the local
power grid, they supply an estimated 145,000 kilowatt hours of energy annually.
- Implementation of a farm to fork program highlighting local, sustainable and organic farms within its preset 120 “local” radius.
Utilization of these farms reduced their “food mileage” by over 500,000 miles of travel per year.
- Partnership with the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch program – the first convention center in the country to obtain this recognition.
- Selection of Rain Forest Alliance and Fair Trade certified coffee, Green Seal approved cleaning products and 100% post-consumer recycled paper products.
Green Materials: Please help reduce conference waste.
- Conference bags: SACNAS is proud to offer customized, reusable conference bags for your
convenience...made from recycled materials. Use your bag throughout
the conference to collect information and materials. When you leave, we encourage you to continue to use the
bag, gift it to a friend, or, if you will definitely not reuse your bag, please return it at the conference
registration area; SACNAS will happily find your bag a loving new home through our precollege clubs, chapters,
partnership, and outreach efforts.
- Recycle: participate in SACNAS’ onsite recycling program. If you will not use printed
materials (such as the conference program) after the conference, please recycle them by returning materials to
the conference registration area before you depart for home.
- Reuse: SACNAS’ plastic conference badge holders, lanyards, bags, and other materials
may be returned at the conference registration area when you leave. SACNAS will reuse these materials at
future events or donate them.
Green Hotel Practices: We highly encourage you to take part in our all of our hotels’ green
options. Procedures vary by hotel, so consider asking about them when you check in.
- Reuse your towels/reduce laundry: please follow the steps—such as cards provided by
the hotel—to indicate your preference to reuse your towels and that your sheets not be washed each day.
- Save water: Avoid leaving the water on when brushing your teeth and consider cutting back
your time in the shower.
- Support green hotels: When making your hotel arrangements, consider selecting hotels that have a
strong green policy and/or that are members of the Green Hotels Association.
Green Travel Practices: When making travel reservations, please look into green alternatives and into carbon
off-sets to compensate for the resulting CO2 emissions.
- Carbon Off-sets: SACNAS partner NativeEnergy
offers a carbon off-set program for individuals and for
businesses to address the impacts of air travel.
NativeEnergy has partnered with Clean Air-Cool Planet to offer an off-set program for emissions from driving:
Cool Driver.
- Greener Car Rentals: Consider selecting a rental company with green alternatives and specifically
arrange to rent an alternative-fuel vehicle.
- Enterprise, National and Alamo rent hybrid vehicles at the Orange County airport and within the surrounding area.
The Enterpise/National/Alamo Keys to Green program includes off-sets,
fleet fuel efficiency goals, and the “50 Million Tree” conservation program.
- Public Transportation: SACNAS encourages all of our conference attendees to walk and/or use public
transportation options whenever possible. See the Anaheim Convention and Visitor’s
website to learn more about light rail, trolley street car, and bus services, routes, and rates.
SACNAS exhibiting organizations have a tremendous number of opportunities to offer conference participants, are highly valued
SACNAS partners...and have the potential to help SACNAS drastically reduce the ecological footprint of the annual conference.
Paper products printed for distribution in the exhibit hall...and discarded at the end of
the event...comprise one of the largest areas of conference waste.
We invite and encourage all exhibitors to consider partnering in SACNAS’ green exhibit program. Green exhibitors agree to follow
each of these green strategies as part of their participation in the SACNAS conference:
1. Limit paper materials: utilize the discipline-specific student participant information (to be provided by SACNAS
to all exhibitors in mid-September when preregistration for the conference closes) to avoid printing and shipping excessive
amounts of flyers and informational materials.
2. Limit paper use: employ creative, paper-free methods for distributing information at the conference, such as
offering small cards with web links to your resources and program(s) or collecting contact information onsite and sending
information electronically after the meeting.
3. Reuse: rather than discarding materials at the end of the conference, consider ways to reuse them: a)
bring them back with you for a future event or b) prior to the conference, research and make contact with local educational
or science-focused organizations to which you can provide any left over items.
4. Offer green materials: if providing printed materials or give away items, only offer items made from or
printed on recycled, recyclable, or other green alternatives.
5. Recycle: participate in SACNAS’ onsite recycling program. Be sure to place your recyclable items in specially designated recycle bins throughout convention and hotel areas.
6. Learn More: a growing number of organizations, resources, and suppliers offer guidance and products
to help exhibitors green their meeting participation:
7. Take Green Action: all exhibitors attending SACNAS on behalf of the exhibiting organization agree to
actively take part in SACNAS’ conference participant green practices (see above section).
Interested in being part of the SACNAS’ Green Exhibit Program? Contact exhibits manager
Sigolene Ortega at (toll free) 877-SACNAS-1, ext. 237 to sign up as a partner organization.
From using ecological alternatives for conference supplies to creating an extensive carbon offset program to creating a
shared vision of green meetings with our conference venue and vendors, we have stepped up our green procedures.
SACNAS seeks to minimize the impact of our conference & other programs through the following measures:
1. Achieving carbon neutrality: We off-set harmful emissions resulting from vehicular transportation and
energy consumption associated with the annual conference. $10 from each registration to the
SACNAS conference goes to help create a carbon neutral event. SACNAS purchases carbon off-sets for all
staff/organizational travel needs, such as Board of Directors meetings. For this initiative, SACNAS has partnered with
NativeEnergy, a privately held Native American energy company. (In August 2005,
the Intertribal Council On Utility Policy (COUP) acquired a majority ownership interest in NativeEnergy on behalf of its
member tribes.) Through NativeEnergy, SACNAS helps finance and build new clean and renewable energy projects that
help create sustainable economic benefits for Native Americans, Alaska Native villages, and other local communities, and
that help America’s family farmers implement sustainable farming practices. SACNAS donations to Native Energy helped rebuild
Greensburg, Kansas after a massive tornado destroyed 95% of the town in 2007. Today, Greensburg is “the greenest town in America”.
2. Employing environmentally-sound printing: SACNAS works with our printing contractors to ensure that
all SACNAS publications have a minimized environmental impact, including the use of recycled/recyclable paper and
ecological inks. In addition, SACNAS prints limited quantities and offers online versions of publications.
3. Recycling: Supporting extensive recycling throughout our conference, SACNAS works with convention
and hotel facilities to require that substantial recycling options are available and that all recycling stations
(paper/plastic/glass/aluminum) are clearly marked, including drop-off stations throughout the exhibit hall. The SACNAS
office actively engages in waste reduction and recycling.
4. Green Vendors: We have made a commitment to selecting and working with all contractors that
employ ecologically-sound practices onsite at the conference and in their office headquarters to the extent of our
ability and the options available. In addition, we work with contractors to make the most sustainable choices
available in our meeting locations. For example, SACNAS works with our catering vendors to ensure that unused
food is donated to local food pantries or shelter programs. The organization is also commited to increasing
our vendors’ awareness and use of green alternatives they may not previously considered. Following are some
of SACNAS’ long-term green partners/vendors:
5. Providing ecologically sustainable meeting materials: SACNAS reuses
conference materials; we collect items (e.g., plastic badge holders, conference bags) for reuse/recycling at the end of the conference.
We reduce by providing materials that are reusable, sustainably-produced materials
made from recycled materials. We also reduce by utilizing biodegradable and/or recyclable food service items instead of using
plastic or Styrofoam products during receptions and the networking lunch. Whenever possible, we use china and glassware.
6. Following environmentally-sound office procedures/policies: The SACNAS office and all of our staff
firmly believe that we can make a difference. In addition to the practices listed above, we have implemented a set of
green office policies and practices, including the following:
- Minimize paper use: 1) internal communications, meeting agendas and notes,
and file sharing are conducted via email and the Internet; 2) meetings are conducted using computer/LCD projection;
3) all office printers default to printing on reused paper
- Recycling and reuse: 1) all work stations, work areas, and the kitchen provide recycling bins;
2) cardboard boxes, shipping supplies, etc. are actively reused; 3) print cartridges, computer equipment, office
materials that are worn out or no longer needed are donated or recycled; 4) staff rotate duties to wash cloth dish
and bathroom towels rather than use paper towels; 5) our kitchen is supplied with china and glassware rather than
disposible paper products; 6) SACNAS uses rechargeable batteries
- Supplies: 1) paper and paper-based products are purchasd with (preferably post-consumer)
recycled content and that are chlorine-free; 2) SACNAS seeks recycled-content plastic-based products; 3) we use cleaning
supplies made from recycled, non-toxic, and organic materials
- Energy conservation: 1) office equipment is turned off when going to meetings, lunch, and
during after hours/weekends; 2) energy-saving lighting and equipment is used; 3) lights are turned off whenever
a room/area is not in use; 4) SACNAS encourages carpooling, biking, walking to work
7. Education: SACNAS supports and encourages staff to become informed about and make their own
personal commitments to reducing energy use and resource consumption. In addition, the organization is committed
to helping educate our members and conference participants about their role in greening the conference by
producing educational information before and during the conference.
Interested in more ecological alternatives and ways to live a more green life? SACNAS has compiled a selection of links to
websites that offer suggestions and support for stepping more lightly on our planet.
“According to Trees for the Future—a program aimed at offsetting travel-related
emissions—an airplane emits approximately one pound of carbon dioxide per passenger mile.”
Green Travel
Green Science
Green Conferences
Go Green
Go Green – Kids Sites
Climate Change
For more information about global climate change see SACNAS’ International Polar Year page.
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