The University of California at Davis, in preparation for their commitment to become a zero waste college by 2020, provided the venue for the first annual Plan Green Conference on February 18, 2009.  The Plan Green Conference focuses on providing the tools and information for planning sustainable events from small-scale meetings and banquets to conferences and trade events such as Green Cities™ Florida (May 19-21, 2009).

Socially responsible meeting and event practices are center stage at Plan Green Conference.  Keynote speakers sharing their expertise on green event planning at Plan Green included Seven-Star, Inc. Co-Founder Joseph Malki, Green PEAS Events Janet Cooperman, SCS Engineers and Vice President of the California Resource Recovery Association Leslie Lukacs.  These speakers and others reveal their perspectives on how green event planning has evolved, the role of food, beverage, waste, transportation, and conservation in event planning, and what the future of the industry holds.

The UC Davis campus works toward planned 75% waste reduction by 2012 and zero waste by 2020 through continuously changing their business model to make a positive impact on their campus and community.  The annual Plan Green Conference is both a great opportunity to learn how professionals establish green events as well as a mile marker of how far the sustainability movement has come.  The green community has evolved into an expanding collection of businesses and individuals working on the same problem and moving toward a common goal.  For more information on Plan Green Conference and for updates for the 2010 Plan Green, visit http://plangreen.ucdavis.edu/plangreen/.

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