Greening the Conference

TIES team, together with our partners, is committed to to follow green event standards and to implement sustainability practices whenever possible. By implementing the following steps to green the ESTC, we seek to minimize waste, reduce our carbon footprint, and play our part in mitigating the impact on the environment.

Conference Venue  

Portola Hotel & Spa has participated in several programs dedicated to conserving environmental resources. Portola Hotel & Spa has achieved the U.S. Green Building Council's silver LEED^® certification and is the first "Green" hotel in Central California.

Portola Hotel & Spa's green achievements include:

• LEED Silver Certified.
• Recipient of the California Hotel & Lodging Association Stars of the Industry Award for "Good Earth Keeping".
• Recipient of the California Integrated Waste Management Board's WRAP (Waste Reduction Awards Program) Award.

In addition, the hotel implements various green practices including:

• Actively participate in the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch Program, designed to raise awareness about the importance of making ocean-friendly seafood choices.
• Purchase safe, sustainable products and materials including recycled office supplies, Energy Star® televisions and mini refrigerators in guest rooms.
• New landscaping featuring native and drought tolerant vegetation and drip irrigation to reduce potable water use.
• Local, organic and sustainable cuisine, and Bio-Pak takeout containers and compostable cups.
• All guest room baseboards are Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)-certified wood.
• All mattresses are hypoallergenic, and made with 100% organic cotton and recycled metal springs.
• Ozone laundry system with enzyme-based laundry detergents for cleaning linens and towels.
• Jacks restaurant carpet is made from sheep wool and the backing is made from rapidly renewable materials, and the carpet is 100% compostable at the end of its useful life.
• The guest room carpet meets with Carpet & Rug Institute plus program for low-VOC material.
• Paint throughout the hotel is low-VOC.
• Bathrooms have low flow faucets, shower heads, toilettes & urinals reducing indoor water consumption by 30%.
• A green cleaning program that uses H203 system to clean and disinfect guest rooms without any harsh chemicals.
• Use Natura room amenity products and packages are made from rapidly renewable material and are biodegradable.
• The hotel produces hot water with a cogeneration machine that simultaneously generates electricity on site.

Local & Organic Meals

TIES is working with the conference caterers to offer local and organic food in the meals whenever possible. Supporting locally grown and produced food will help conserve energy used in transportation and promote local products that are grown using environmentally friendly practices.

TIES implements the following for all food and beverages to be served during the ESTC meals and breaks:

• Use of local, organic and sustainable food whenever possible.
• Fair trade and/or organic coffee and tea.
• Ban of straws, Styrofoam, and other non-reusable materials.
• Work with the conference venue to provide recycling and composting.

Conference Materials  

•   Conference program is printed with soy ink on 100% recycled and FSC-certified paper. Our printing partner uses 100% wind energy for its operations.

• Utilize paperless procedures whenever possible (online registration, on-site registration, speaker selection)

• To help further reduce paper waste, TIES has discontinued the use of conference bags and bag inserts. Past event reports showed that this will reduce the total conference waste by over 30%.

• Conference badges are made from FSC-certified paper and is 100% recycled, and badge holders are made from 100% compostable materials.

• Recycled and recyclable products (paper, toner cartridges, etc.) are used for the conference office during the conference days.

Green Office Practices

• TIES offices implements zero-paper practices for our projects as much as possible by utilizing online tools and removing processes that require paper usage. We also encourage all of our partners to follow this policy whenever possible. For instance, we ask that all proposals, article submissions, invitations and other materials to be sent via email.
• For unavoidable paper waste, as well as for non-paper waste, we use a comprehensive recycling system.
• We are working with local partners in Monterey, California whenever possible to cut down on shipping-related waste for the ESTC12.

• Recycling of mixed paper, cardboard, bottles and cans, batteries and other office items.

• Energy-saving products are used in our offices whenever possible.