| CAM annual Conference |
| The Green Museums Initiative |
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| "...the conference is an opportunity to test new green ideas and share them with the museum field." |
Greening the Conference: Walking the Talk
Innovations and new perspectives burst forth each year on what is “green”,
how to be sustainable, and what the most environmentally sound solutions
are for the museum field.
The Green Museums Initiative views the CAM annual conference as an
opportunity to test these ideas and share them with the museum field. A
truly green conference isn’t necessarily something you can readily see, so
we work to make these ideas and our process visible, both at the conference
and on our website.
The past three CAM conferences have been the Green Museums Initiative’s
first steps in achieving this goal, with sessions on sustainability, eco-
friendly practices, and a communication plan that makes these steps
transparent. With over $22,000 in restricted sponsorship support raised
by the Green Museums Initiative Committee over this period of time, CAM
has provided a breadth of green practices at the conferences, including:
- 100% organic cotton tote bags;
- the printing of conference materials on 100% post-consumer waste
paper with vegetable inks; - organic produce and sustainable meats at hotel meals;
- recycling behind-the-scenes;
- lanyards made of recycled soda bottles or 100% organic cotton;
- namebadges made of 51% recycled vinyl;
- 67% reduction of paper in promotional conference materials;
- real tableware and linens to reduce waste, or made of biodegradable
materials if not possible; - green travel trips; and
- purchases of carbon credits to offset the greenhouse gas emissions
for the travel of conference attendees.
In 2007, a booklet describing these steps was given to all conference
attendees and was mailed to CAM members and state, regional, and
national museum associations. In 2008 and 2009, the booklet was
published online. The following are links to this booklet series: