Green at Oracle PartnerNetwork Exchange
Oracle Event Sustainability
From September 30 to October 4, 2012, close to 50,000 participants will flock to San Francisco for Oracle OpenWorld, JavaOne, and other Oracle technology and networking events. Oracle is very conscious of the impact that our conferences have on the environment; our sustainable event program─now in its fifth year─aims to maximize positive benefits and minimize negative impacts in a variety of ways.
- Water towers. The conference stopped distributing bottled water in 2007. Instead, we installed water stations and now take advantage of new GLOBALTAP outlets that provide fresh San Francisco tap water. The result? Less water wasted—enough to make over one-quarter million cups of coffee. That’s twice as much coffee as we serve all week long at the conferences.
- California grown. Did you know that over 80 percent of the ingredients in conference box lunches is sourced within 250 miles of San Francisco? Caterers are required to report where food is sourced and make adjustments to maximize seasonal, local, and organic content. With 60,000 box lunches to prepare, that means your food is fresher, healthier, and its purchase supports local Bay area farmers and growers.
- Waste not. Oracle works hard to reduce waste. In fact, in 2011 we shipped five fewer tons of freight onsite than in 2010. We also try to reduce waste going into landfills. Green Angels—a local group that educates people on recycling—spent over 750 hours educating attendees about how to recycle and compost last year. In 2011 the Oracle Appreciation Event at Treasure Island achieved a record 87 percent diversion of waste from landfill. Our goal is to reach a 75 percent diversion rate across all venues in 2012.
- Reducing signs of the times. During this week of conferences, Oracle uses enough signage to cover 82 volleyball courts. Last year we kept 27 courts-worth of signs for reuse; 13 courts-worth was donated to local art groups; and 29 courts-worth was recycled. Only 13 court equivalents—16 percent of signage—was sent to landfill, and we plan to better that in 2012.