Aug 26th, 2022
ACEP22's Commitment to Sustainability
Tips to reduce our environmental impact.
ACEP embraces the importance of sustainability by acknowledging our environmental and social responsibility. We commit to reducing the environmental impact of our events, having a positive social impact on our host and member communities and underscoring our focus on healthy lives.
- San Francisco is a city built with sustainability in mind - bring a water bottle to take advantage of the water stations at the airport, at the convention center, at the hotels, and other locations, to cut down on disposable plastic.
- Our course presentations are available online, and we encourage attendees to print and bring only the absolutely necessary materials.
- Our ACEP22 daily news will be delivered to your inbox each morning via an e-newsletter, saving the print and waste of traditional newspaper distribution of the past.
- Hotels within the official room block are mostly within walking distance. Busses are not provided, saving their waste emissions from the environment.
- The Moscone Convention Center has been an industry leader in the area of sustainable practices, and it has received the US Green Building Council’s highest level of certification, LEED Platinum, and is the first convention center in the nation to achieve such level of environmental sustainability.
- The Moscone Convention Center has the lowest carbon footprint per delegate of any major convention center in North America and the center also has the largest rooftop solar panel array in San Francisco, which will provide the center with approximately 20 percent of its power.
- In addition, 15 million gallons of water will be recovered annually for reuse in landscaping, street cleaning, and recycling and composting take place facility-wide at “zero waste stations” located in all public spaces.
- San Francisco’s Mandatory Recycling and Composting Ordinance requires everyone to properly separate recyclables and compostables and keep them out of the landfill using a color-coded system.
- San Francisco has two other ordinances designed to reduce waste:
- The Plastic Bag Reduction Ordinance discourages the distribution of any single-use bags. The intent of this ordinance is to reduce litter and waste, as well as contamination in recycling and composting programs. In addition, this law will improve water quality in San Francisco Bay and the ocean by reducing pollution. All retail businesses, even bookstores at shows, must charge for bags they provide. Three types of bags are acceptable but subject to a minimum 10-cent nominal charge:
* Compostable plastic bags labeled with a compostable certification logo.
* Paper bags labeled with 40% post-consumer recycled content: and
* Reusable bags designed for at least 125 uses and that are washable.
- And the Food Service Waste Reduction Ordinance prohibits vendors from using Styrofoam or other polystyrene foam food service ware. At the Moscone Convention Center certified compostable food service ware is used, and it goes into the green bin along with food scraps and other organic materials.
