Pushing the Envelope

Paul Salinger, Oracle, talks about sustainability and events on the large scale of Oracle OpenWorld in the February 2010 issue of Smart Meetings. http://smartmeetings.com/articles/an-insider-s-look-at-event-sustainability

"Some of the event’s notable accomplishments include:
-Diverting an estimated 140 tons of material from landfill.
-Sourcing 60% of food items from within a 100 mile radius of San Francisco.
-Reducing ground shuttles by 30% of peak usage, reducing emissions by 18,000 lbs of carbon dioxide and fuel use by 800 gallons.
-Total energy use and emissions avoided through purchasing decisions amounted to 1,146,130 mega joules and 120,073 lbs of CO2.
-This is enough energy to power 12 American homes per year, and the emissions
equivalent of removing 11 cars from the road for a full year.
-5% of signs were reused from 2008 and 37% of signs used in 2009 will be reusable for future events.
-A net cost savings of $800,000 through reduction and reuse."

Now that doesn't happen without the commitment of many vendors, suppliers and hard working Oracle staff. And in the article, Paul gives credit to all who rightfully deserve it. But, having worked on this project, I know without the passion, values and commitment of Paul Salinger it wouldn't have been possible. His leadership and enthusiasm not only enroll you, but make you want to join him on the journey where he is always asking the team, "How can we take this to a higher level? What's next? How can this improve our organization globally?"

Thanks, Paul, you inspire us!