Juice Conference 2.0 is Officially a Certified Green Event

The November Juice Conference that is set to power Maine’s creative economy will itself be powered by clean, renewable energy. Offsetting the Juice 2.0 conference with green power is just one step taken by event planners to make this event a certified green event. The Juice Conference received its green certification from Maine Businesses for Social Responsibility (MEBSR) under MEBSR’s new green event certification program.

Juice 2.0 will connect leaders of the creative economy and foster economic growth through collaboration: the conference brings together leaders and innovators in the arts, technology, and entrepreneurial sectors. “As a conference designed to chart Maine’s economic and creative future – a future where green industries will play a large role, ensuring the conference itself was green and sustainable was crucial” said Skip Bates, vice president of business banking for Bangor Savings Bank. “We know sustainability is a vital element to ensure Maine’s economic prosperity – ensuring our conference was green illustrates our commitment to sustainability and innovation.”

To become certified, Juice 2.0 was required to meet a variety of criteria set by MEBSR to minimize the environmental impact of the event. “Coming up with greener practices in all aspects of the conference required both innovation and collaboration with conference stakeholders and vendors” says Bates. Emphasizing electronic registration and social networking for marketing purposes in lieu of paper promotional materials, offering participants mass transportation options, and choosing a venue where all conference sites are within walking distance are just a few of the green initiatives implemented by conference organizers.

Vendors of Juice 2.0 played a critical role in securing MEBSR green event certification. “Our vendors have been extremely accommodating and are devoted to becoming greener and helping our conference have a small carbon footprint,” said George Callas, Midcoast Magnet Board Member and Director of Build Green Maine, a program of Midcoast Magnet. Vendors include Lani Temple from the Megunticook Market which is catering all food served at the Camden Opera House during the conference, as well as the Camden Opera House, which has initiated a greening plan designed to achieve carbon neutrality.

Maine Interfaith Power and Light, a renewable electricity aggregator, will donate the required wind power offsets to make the conference a carbon neutral event. The electricity and heating fuel consumed during the two day conference will be tallied and then offset by wind power credits from the Mars Hill Wind Farm in northern Maine. Additionally, attendees will be asked to offset their own carbon dioxide emissions from driving to and from the conference by making a voluntary purchase of wind power credits. Proceeds from these purchases will fund the development of wind power in Maine and other clean energy initiatives.

Find out a little more about MEBSR in this short video clip.