Haas Green Event Toolkit
UC Berkeley – Haas School of Business
If you must print this document, please print double-sided on recycled paper
July 2013 Version
Haas Green Event Toolkit
Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................................................................................................................3
FOOD & BEVERAGE CHOICES.......................................................................................................................................................................................4
RECYCLING & COMPOSTING…….. ................................................................................................................................................................................5
REUSABLE vs DISPOSABLE PRODUCTS …......................................................................................................................................................................6
MARKETING & OUTREACH...........................................................................................................................................................................................7
REDUCE YOUR CARBON FOOTPRINT ......................................................................................................................................................................... 8
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES .......................................................................................................................................................................................... 9
GREEN EVENT CERTIFICATION .................................................................................................................................................................................. 9
Appendix
UC BERKELEY GREEN EVENT CERTIFICATION CHECKLIST
COMPOST & RECYCLE SIGNS
Created in partnership with:
____________________________________________________________________________
Compiled and updated by [email protected] (originally compiled by Karen Salvini)
UC Berkeley – Haas School of Business www.haas.berkeley.edu
Net Impact haas.campusgroups.com/netimpact
UC Berkeley - Haas Net Impact
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Green Event Toolkit (July 2013)
INTRODUCTION
In making your choices, think about the Waste Hierarchy:
 REDUCE the amount of “stuff” the event requires
 REUSE favor reusable over disposable
 RECYCLE handouts, bottles / cans, compost, and buy recycled products
There are many options for greening your event. This guide is meant to help you think
through and decide on the most appropriate options for your event:
 Does the choice involve less packaging / waste than other choices?
For example, favor buffets and real plates over packaged, single-serving food and
disposable plates.
 Will you be able to make the most of your choice?
For example, if you cannot compost your trash, it is less impactful to buy
compostable paper products. It might be better to focus on another green choice,
such as local, sustainably-harvested food.
 Can the choice be made visible to event participants?
Will it be visibly obvious? Can participants be educated about it via signs,
announcements, and notes on event correspondence and programs?
 Will the choice leave participants with a positive impression?
For example, compost and recycling should be easy – bins should be centrallylocated with trash bins, and well marked. Green choices for food, give-aways, etc.
should be tasteful and of high quality.
 Can the choice be an opportunity to save money?
For example, providing fewer handouts, re-using posters and banners, and only
purchasing the quantities needed can save money that can be used for other green
choices.
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STRIVE FOR ZERO WASTE
Zero Waste maximizes recycling, minimizes
waste, reduces consumption and ensures that
products are made to be reused, repaired or
recycled back into nature or the marketplace.
 UC System Zero Waste Goals:
“Zero Waste” by 2020 (at least 90% of waste
is diverted from landfills and is recycled,
composted, or reused)
 Trash costs, sustainability pays!
“Trash costs the university money; recycling
earns us money. The campus currently pays
$71.47 a ton to landfill the trash — while it
earns, on average, $80 a ton for recycling
paper. The math is simple: the campus
saves almost $151.47 a ton when you
recycle versus throwing it in the trash.” - Lin
King, Manager of UCB Campus Recycling and
Refuse Services
 “If we recycle everything in California, it
would actually be equivalent to taking out
all the emissions of all the cars in
California.”
- John Davis of the California Resource
Recovery Association
Green Event Toolkit (July 2013)
FOOD & BEVERAGE CHOICES
General Guidance
Use Green-Certified
Caterers.
Use signs to educate
about the food and
drink choices, and
be as specific as
space allows
(e.g., “organic,
locally-grown
vegetables”).
Reduce
Favor buffet food and real plates
over packaged, single-serving
food and disposables.
Seek out products with minimal
packaging.
Reuse
Eliminate bottled water and
provide water dispensers and
re-usable cups.
Ask the caterer to serve food
on reusable rather than
disposable trays.
Use large containers for
beverages, condiments, and
other food instead of individual
packets, cans or bottles.
Recycle
Donate excess food from the
event to local shelters.
- contact them in advance of
the event to find out
what/when they can accept,
and if they pick up or you
need to drop off.
Buy Sustainable/Local
Provide local, organic, and/or
fair-trade food and drinks.
Use fair trade / organic coffee.
Provide vegetarian options
(which can contain ~1/100th the
embedded energy).
Compost all food waste that is
not consumed or donated.
Resources
Green-Certified Caterers, Restaurants near UC Berkeley
 Bancroft Catering/FIFO Haas Café www.bancroftcatering.com
 ACT Catering www.actcatering.com
 The Mixing Bowl www.mixingbowloakland.com/catering
 Cal Dining caldining.berkeley.edu
 Back to Earth Inc. Organic Catering www.organiccatering.com
 Hugh Groman Catering & Greenleaf Platters www.hughgromancatering.com
 Paulding & Company, a Creative Kitchen www.pauldingandco.com
 Ann’s Catering www.anns-catering.com
 Oren’s Kitchen www.orenskitchen.com

Directory of green-certified caterers in Berkeley:
www.greenbiz.ca.gov/ShopGreen.html



Organizations that accept food donations:
BareAbundance at UC Berkeley www.bareabundance.org
Feeding Forward www.feedingforward.org
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Green Event Toolkit (July 2013)
RECYCLING & COMPOSTING
General Guidance
Reduce trash /
landfill waste as
much as possible.
Reduce
Favor re-usable over disposable
items and favor bulk rather than
single-serving items to reduce
waste.
Avoid handouts or pamphlets
from sponsors, to reduce paper
waste. Ask speakers to post
documents to the web rather
providing hand-outs.
Get an accurate head-count to
avoid ordering excess food,
supplies, etc.
Recycle
What Goes in Standard Recycle
Bins:
Aluminum and metal cans
Glass bottles
Plastic bottles (#1& #2) (e.g.,
water bottles)
What Goes in Paper Recycle
Bins: All clean and uncoated
paper, newspaper, cardboard
Provide recycling bins in
convenient locations.
Group well-labeled bins
together (trash, recycle,
compost, paper recycling) so
participants can see there is a
choice. Avoid placing standalone trash cans.
Compost
What Goes into the Green
Compost Carts (see example
flyer):



All food (including meat,
bread, cheese, fruit &
vegetables, pasta, tea bags,
etc.)
Food-soiled paper (e.g.,
paper plates, napkins,
waxed paper cups, pizza
boxes)
Plant-based cutlery/paper
products (wooden
chopsticks, biodegradable
forks / cups)
Signage
Post clear, readable signs on
recycle bins and compost carts
so people know which bin is
which, and what goes in them.
(See example flyers).
Consider laminating signs so
they can be re-used for future
events.
Use staff or volunteers at waste
collection points to ensure
proper recycling/composting.
Compost is biodegradable trash
that is diverted from the landfill,
sent to a compost facility, and
converted to energy and natural
fertilizer.
Resources
Recycling & Compost Services
 UC Berkeley Campus Recycling and Refuse Services (CRRS): www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~recycle
 Cal Compost Alliance: [email protected]
 Alameda County: www.stopwaste.org
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Green Event Toolkit (July 2013)
REUSABLE vs. DISPOSABLE
General Guidance
Favor washable/reusable over
disposable items
wherever possible.
Reduce
Don’t use plastic water bottles.
Use beverage dispensers
instead.
Reuse
Use “real” plates, cups, forks,
etc.
Use washable linens, napkins &
tablecloths rather than
disposable paper/plastic.
Encourage students to BYOC
“Bring Your Own (reusable)
Cup” (or coffee mug) where
appropriate, by including it in all
correspondence about the
event.
Recycle
If you must use disposables -Buy compostable products and
arrange compost collection.
Set up compost pick-up to close
the loop - compostable products
should be composted
commercially. Home
composters do not generate
enough heat to break them
down efficiently.
Buy Sustainable
Don’t use plastic or Styrofoam.
Buy recycled paper products or
compostable cups, plates and
cutlery - they look and feel like
plastic, but are made from plant
materials and are
biodegradable.
Buy napkins made from recycled
paper rather than trees (e.g.,
Seventh Generation,
available at Worldcentric.org,
Whole Foods, etc.).
Use sustainable/reusable
centerpieces (e.g. potted plants
instead of cut flowers).
Collect nametag holders for reuse.
Resources
Some Compostable Product Vendors
 World Centric www.worldcentric.org
 Excellent Packaging www.excellentpackaging.com
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Green Event Toolkit (July 2013)
MARKETING & OUTREACH
General Guidance
Market your event
as a Green Event.
Include information
about greening
efforts in all
announcements
about the event
before, during, and
after.
Marketing
Distribute digital save-the-dates
and invitations by email,
listservs, websites, and other
electronic means to minimize
paper use.
Printing
Eliminate/minimize handouts.
Provide online registration. For
example use Eventbrite.com.
If you are getting printing done
professionally, ask what green
options they offer, for example,
recycled-paper content (30100%), non-chlorine-bleached,
soy-based inks, etc.
Work with sponsors and
vendors to eliminate/ minimize
give-aways.
Make sure the green-printing
choice, e.g., “printed on
recycled paper” is indicated on
the print-job.
Arrange to return surplus giveaways to sponsors.
Educate attendees ahead of
time about what they can do to
contribute to event greening
(bring their own cup, recycle,
compost properly, etc.)
If you cannot avoid handouts,
print double-sided, on recycled
paper.
Give-aways
Many give-aways end up getting
thrown away either in bulk after
the event, or by event goers, a
waste for both the company and
the environment.
Sponsorship/Budget
Include Event Greening as a lineitem in your event sponsorship
menu, with details about what
the greening will entail.
If you can, include metrics (e.g.,
energy saved, tons of waste
avoided).
Encourage useful, earth-friendly
give-aways.
Resources
Large-volume Green Printers (in Berkeley):
 Greener Printer www.greenerprinter.com
 Inkworks Press www.inkworkspress.org
Recycling Signage:
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Green Event Toolkit (July 2013)
REDUCE YOUR CARBON FOOTPRINT
General Guidance
Reduce travel,
transportation and
energy use
wherever possible.
Transportation
Encourage participants to
carpool, bike, and/or take public
transit.
Provide information on the
nearest transit lines or campus
shuttles.
Offer virtual meetings when
possible (e.g. Skype).
Energy Use
Promote energy conservation
during the event
 Only light rooms that are in
use.
 Turn off electronics when
not in use.
 Monitor temperature to
avoid having to open
windows while heat is on.
Carbon Offsets
Consider Carbon Offsets for the
event.
 Calculate the carbon
footprint by estimating
transportation, energy use,
etc. with one of the below
calculators.
 Purchase offsets for the
event to make it “Carbonneutral.”
 Choose reputable
companies to help ensure
that you are funding
legitimate, emissionsreducing projects.
Reuse Items
Reuse items from previous
events, save for future events,
and share with other event
planners.
For example:
Banners, posters, brochures,
recycle/compost signs.
Name-badge holders – let
participants know you will be
collecting the name-badge
holders for reuse, and place an
obvious collection bin that they
will pass on the way out.
Resources
Carpool/Ridesharing:
 www.zimride.com
Public Transportation:
 www.511.org
Carbon Offset Resources:
 Carbon footprint calculator www.coolcalifornia.org/calculator.html
 EPA Personal Emissions Calculator www.epa.gov/climatechange/emissions/ind_calculator.html
Some carbon offset companies:
 www.carbondfund.org
 www.terrapass.com
 www.nativeenergy.com
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Green Event Toolkit (July 2013)
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
Green Resources:
 Sustainability at UC Berkeley: sustainability.berkeley.edu
 Stop Waste: www.stopwaste.org/docs/specialevents-swp.pdf
 Healthy UCB Events: uhs.berkeley.edu/facstaff/healthmatters/healthymeetings.shtml
 Other ideas on Sustainable Events: www.sustainable.org/information/SusEvent_2003.pdf
 Green Meetings: www.epa.gov/oppt/greenmeetings/
 Certified Bay Area Green Businesses in Alameda County: www.greenbiz.ca.gov/ShopGreen.html
 GrassRoots Recycling Network (GRRN): www.grrn.org/page/campus-zero-waste
 Californians Against Waste: www.cawrecycles.org/issues/zero_waste
 Earth 911 Recycling Directory: www.earth911.com
GREEN EVENT CERTIFICATION
General Guidance
Contact the UCB
Office of
Sustainability about
getting your event
green certified.
Send in applications
at least one week
before the event
(sustainability@berk
eley.edu)
More information is
available at:
sustainability.berkel
ey.edu/os/pages/gc
erts/
Green Event
There are four prerequisites for
any green/zero waste event:
1) Recycling containers,
and information about
green elements of the
event
2) Elimination of water
bottles and handouts
3) Vegetarian food option
4) 20% sustainable / local /
fair trade food and drink
as well as a choice of
several other green
elements such as greenthemed give-aways.
UC Berkeley - Haas Net Impact
Zero Waste Event
In addition to meeting the four
prerequisites, a zero waste
event must offer composting
and recycling so that all the
materials generated are reused,
recycled or composted.
9
Zero Waste Green Event
A zero waste green event must
divert all waste from the landfill
and include sustainable food
and drinks.
Green Department
Haas was certified as a Green
Department in April 2012.
Green Department certification
offers recognition and guidance
in several areas, including
energy, waste, transportation,
and purchasing. The guidelines
suggest a number of
opportunities where
departments can take action to
lower their footprint.
Green Event Toolkit (July 2013)
Checklist
Campus events can be fun, informative, festive, academic…and they can also be
green, healthy, and sustainable.
green event certification identifies and recognizes campus events whose organizers have taken
extra steps to lower their environmental footprint. The program identifies what qualifies as a
green event, including required and optional criteria. Certification is contingent on documenting
all 4 pre-requisite criteria and specified number of the optional criteria. Points and requirements
may change over time.
Documentation and Certification Process
Those interested in becoming a green event should first consult with the Office of Sustainability
and the green event Resource Guide. Completed applications (including electronic
documentation for each point claimed) should be sent to the Office of Sustainability
([email protected]) at least a week before the event. At that time, a short review phone
call may be scheduled so that additional information or minor modifications can be requested.
Upon completion of the audit and review, organizers will be issued a certificate to be displayed at
their green event.
Levels of Certification
UC Berkeley hosts a wide array of events every year, ranging anywhere from a departmental
brown bag to black-tie galas. After satisfying all 4 pre-requisites, three levels of certification are
available: green involves serving sustainable food and achieving two innovation points, zero waste involves reusing, recycling, and composting all materials generated at the event that would
otherwise go to landfill while achieving two innovation points, and zero waste green involves
attaining the trifecta of a zero waste point, a sustainable food point, and two innovation points.
Points Required for Certification
green event
Sustainable Food + 2 Innovation points
zero waste event
Zero Waste + 2 Innovation points
zero waste green event Zero Waste and Sustainable Food + 2 Innovation points
* Four (4) Innovation points may be substituted for either Zero Waste or Sustainable Food
EVENT NAME: ___________________________________ Estimated # of Attendees: ___________
Event Date(s): ______________________ Event Location(s): _______________________________
Contact Person and Title: ____________________________________________________________
Email: __________________________________
CERTIFICATION LEVEL:
Telephone: ____________________________
□ green event □ zero waste event □ zero waste green event
in partnership with the Berkeley Events Network (BEN)
Spring 2012 Version
Checklist
Travel Elimination
Any virtual event automatically receives Green Certification.
Description/Documentation: Pre-requisites
There is at least one vegetarian option (which is also required by the UCB Guide to Healthy
Meeting and Events when entrees are provided).
Description/Documentation: The venue offers recycled paper, cardboard, and beverage containers (bins must be widely
accessible and clearly marked).
Description/Documentation: Event/caterer provides information about the green aspects to participants.
Description/Documentation: The event either does not include any handouts or handouts are printed double-sided on at
least 30% post-consumer recycled content paper.
Description/Documentation: Zero Waste
The venue (or the caterer) offers composting (bins must be widely accessible and clearly
marked) and all of the materials generated at the event are reused, recycled, or composted. This
point will need to be coordinated with Campus Recycling and Refuse Services (CRRS).
Description/Documentation: Sustainable Food
At least 20% of the total cost of the food and beverages at the event is fair trade, local or
organic.
Description/Documentation: in partnership with the Berkeley Events Network (BEN)
Spring 2012 Version
Checklist
Innovation Points
The additional points may come from the following list:
The event offers no bottled water (either small personal ones or larger 3-5 gallon coolers).
Description/Documentation: The event utilizes staff at waste collection points to ensure proper sorting of recycling and
compostables.
Description/Documentation: The event offers only consumable or green-themed giveaways. (Only available for events
offering giveaways to all attendees)
Description/Documentation: The event uses only sustainable centerpieces.
Description/Documentation: Event reduced impact of promotional flyers – either by eliminating entirely, having 50% of
flyers printed on one-side-clean paper, or 100% of flyers printed on 100% recycled content paper.
(Only available to student groups)
Description/Documentation: Event offers ability to purchase carbon offsets for plane travel (via the entry fee or another
easy method).
Description/Documentation: Food provided at event adheres to the UC Berkeley Guide to Healthy Meetings and Events,
including the following minimum guidelines:
 Water is available as a beverage option, preferably tap water in bulk containers
 Fresh fruit and/or vegetables are available when refreshments are served
 Other guidelines can be found at
http://uhs.berkeley.edu/facstaff/healthmatters/healthymeetings.shtml
Description/Documentation: FOR SMALL EVENTS ONLY: The venue (or the caterer) offers composting (bins must be
widely accessible and clearly marked), though zero waste is preferred.
Description/Documentation: Departments can also earn points for event-related sustainability initiatives not listed above,
subject to approval. Please itemize below.
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
GREEN EVENT PLEDGE
“As the designated coordinator of _________________________, I pledge that:
• we currently meet the requirements of the UCB Green Event certification,
• we intend to implement the programs and initiatives described in our application, and
• we will work to educate our faculty, staff, and/or students about our participation in this program.”
Signature: ____________________________________________________________________
(Submission by email is an acceptable alternative to a signature.)
in partnership with the Berkeley Events Network (BEN)
Spring 2012 Version