American Craft Retailers Expo Goes Green
(Mooresville, NC) — Wholesalecrafts.com, Inc., producers of the American Craft Retailers Expo (ACRE), and its contractors announce green initiatives.
Wholesalecrafts.com is a virtual office where all of its employees work at home. This eliminates the need to use additional energy for heating and cooling a traditional office space. A virtual office also reduces gas consumption and automobile emissions from employees driving to/from work. Other green initiatives are:
-Use of online artist applications saves paper.
-Internal paperless office strategies.
-Electronic floor plan management system eliminates use of paper floor plans for booth assignments.
-Online Exhibitor Service Manuals save 200 pages of paper and .5 kilowatts power per manual.
-Electronic communication with suppliers and artists whenever possible.
-Abide by the Post Office standards of efficient mailing by using NCOA (address correction), to purge our mailing lists of duplicates and correct old addresses.
Aramark, the convention center’s food and beverage supplier, is developing environmental stewardship programs and policies to reduce their impact on the environment, which includes:
-Use of fair trade and organic coffee in concession stands.
-Conversion of individual serving size condiment packages to bulk condiments in the restaurants.
-Recycle glass, plastic, paper and other materials where local municipal and facility guidelines allow.
-Purchase of organic and locally grown or sourced food products when available.
-100% use of biodegradable service ware and recycled napkins.
-Environmentally safe and non-toxic cleaning products where applicable.
-Increased purchase of post-consumer content recycled or Forest Stewardship
-Council approved office paper and recycled ink cartridges.
-Use of energy Star equipment when purchasing new or replacement equipment. Champion Exposition Services is committed to current and future initiatives in an effort to reduce their carbon footprint, including:
-Gradual replacement of carpet with eco-friendly carpet for aisle ways and exhibitor booths.
-Production of high quality signage without laminate or glues using environmentally approved, water-based inks.
-Biodegradable trash cans and liners.
-Recycle or reuse all contractor supplied materials and furnishings.
-Use Energy Star approved counter lighting and bulbs.
-Reuse or donate left over show bags.
-Use hand carts and propane forklifts for moving freight when feasible.
-Minimize energy use by turning down/off lighting and air conditioning during exhibit move-in and move-out.
-Turn off lights and air conditioning in unused meeting space.
-Utilize convention center’s Material Recovery Facility to sort and recycle post-show non food waste.
-Submit show management work orders electronically.
The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) is a member of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) WasteWise Program, in which one of the objectives includes diverting recyclable materials from our landfills along with various other sustainable practices.
-Environmentally-friendly products have replaced 11,000 gallons of chemicals.
-Paper towels, toilet paper, and other paper products contain recycled materials.
-90% of LVCVA fleet is powered by propane or battery.
-Office paper recycling program is in place.
-Exhibit hall and meeting room materials are recycled during all phases of show activity.
-Recycling of engine oil, antifreeze, paint thinner, tires, and various metals as well as recapturing Freon from our air conditioning units.
-Power Monitoring System tracks electrical power usage to identify areas for improved efficiency.
-Water conservation devices have been installed on urinals, toilets and faucets.
-Optimizing electronic communication to decrease dependence on paper communication methods.
The next edition of the American Craft Retailers Expo will be held Sunday, May 31- Tuesday, June 2, 2009 at the Las Vegas Convention Center, NV. For more information about the show, go towww.acrelasvegas.com.
