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Corporate Social Responsibility
News
10.30.2007 - 10:55am ET
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A Record-Breaking 31,000 Attend District's Fourth Green Festival
(CSRwire) WASHINGTON, DC - October 30, 2007 - Green Festivals, a joint project of
Global Exchange and Co-op America, celebrated its fourth year in
Washington DC with an unprecedented event attendance of 31,000. The
world’s largest and most authentic green living event took place on
October 6th and 7th at the Washington Convention Center.
For two days, more than 400 green businesses, 150 speakers, dozens of
community groups and thousands of DC area residents came together to
explore and celebrate what's working in our communities - for people, for
businesses and for the environment. Attendees were invited to check out
what's on the horizon for renewable energy, socially responsible
investing, eco-fashions, green building, eco-friendly travel, organic
foods, sustainable business and more.
Consumers representing all shades of green were given the opportunity to
shop with their conscience and "vote with their dollars" as they either
began or furthered a movement towards a sustainable lifestyle and a just
and inclusive green economy.
"Our goal is to provide a two day party with a purpose, engaging attendees
with a truly extensive green event to enlighten and educate the public on
greener ways of living" says Co-op America Executive Director Alisa
Gravitz. "The tremendous growth in attendance at Green Festivals reflects
people's hunger to learn about the movement toward more sustainable
lifestyles - and how much fun it is to go green."
While most events and tradeshows are highly wasteful, Green Festival is an
exemplary model of environmental responsibility. As it does every year, the
2007 Washington DC Green Festival demonstrated its commitment to walking
its green talk by reusing, recycling or composting 90% of all show
waste.
To reduce the event's environmental impact:
Dozens of "resource recovery stations" were placed throughout the
space to encourage proper sorting of waste into recycling, composting and
landfill categories.
"Green team" volunteers were on hand to help attendees choose the
appropriate waste receptacle.
Event organizers worked directly with exhibitors to identify
opportunities for material re-use, recycled and energy efficient fixtures,
carbon emissions neutralizing and overall conversion to eco-friendly
practices.
With an ongoing commitment to giving back, Green Festival partnered with
several organizations at the event to provide an opportunity for attendees
to directly contribute to the local and global community. Through a
partnership with DC's Conscious Alliance Food Drive, over 2,000 pounds in
food donations were collected at the event. Additionally, the festival's
partnership with social enterprise Better World Books successfully brought
in over 1500 books as part of a book drive to raise funds for literacy
initiatives locally, nationally and around the globe.
WASHINGTON DC GREEN FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDED:
Wendy Rieger, NBC News4 Anchor and Award Winning Journalist, who
opened the show on Saturday
Influential Speakers: Amy Goodman, Ralph Nader, Thom
Hartmann, Frances Moore Lappe, Bill McKibben, Jim Hightower, Hunter
Lovins, Helen Caldicott, Timberly Whitfield
Speaker and Panelist Topics that ranged from "Greening Your
Garbage" to "Investing to Make a Difference" to "Creating Change on
Campus"
The Green Living Pavilion provided hands-on demonstrations and
workshops to help you make energy efficient upgrades, cook with solar
energy and remove toxins from your home
Fair-Trade and Eco-Shopping
DC Environmental Pavilion and Greening the District
"Wild and Scenic" Environmental Film Festival
Socially Responsible Investing
Music Stage featuring live local DC Area acts
The Fair Trade Café and Tea Garden; Organic Beer & Wine Garden
Natural Pet Products and Care
The Organic Valley Kids Zone
Green Building and Renewable Energy
Green Careers Area
The Power Foods Pavilion
Eco Tourism
Eco Fashion
FREE bike valet!
The next Green Festival in San Francisco on November 9th - 11th
will bring together an estimated 35,000 attendees over three days and
feature notable speakers Dr. Andrew Weil, Dr. Deepak Chopra, Paul Hawken
and Gary Zukav.
Green Festivals for 2008 include Seattle April 12 & 13 and Chicago
May 17th & 18th., as well as Washington, DC and San Francisco in the
fall.
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