Press Release

For Immediate Release
7 May 2008

CALGARY CONFERENCE LEAVES NO FOOTPRINT
ACTE and Marriott Hotels & Resorts Canada, in partnership with The CarbonNeutral Company, offset 171.2 tonnes of CO2 from Calgary Conference making it a CarbonNeutral event

Alexandria, Va. -- Reinforcing its commitment to sustainability, the Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE) and Marriott Hotels & Resorts Canada, in partnership with The CarbonNeutral Company®, reduced the carbon footprint from the association’s Canada Education Conference in Calgary, 18-20 November 2007 to net zero.  

“Reducing our environmental impact is a top priority at ACTE,” Marie Morice, ACTE Director for Global CSR, said. “We have been a leader in Corporate Social Responsibility since 2005, and continually incorporate environmentally friendly practices into our global conferences and throughout our regional offices. ACTE remains committed to taking a proactive stance on our Corporate Social Responsibility charter, and reducing carbon emissions at our events. Furthermore, we are grateful to companies such as Marriott Hotels & Resorts Canada who support our efforts and share our vision.”

Marriott Hotels & Resorts Canada underwrote the cost of making the event CarbonNeutral® which included measuring and balancing out all the emissions created by the energy used, delegate travel, organizer travel, and the waste produced. Marriott Hotels & Resorts Canada engaged a third party offsetting provider, The CarbonNeutral Company, to provide this service.

ACTE officially launched the CSR Initiative in the Fall of 2005, and was the first organization in the business travel industry to recognize this key issue, and to educate members on the positive corporate and social benefits of sound CSR practices.

In the last three years, ACTE has been involved in a number of CSR initiatives, including:

• Support for the United Nations Global Compact
• The ACTE/KDS Survey on the impact of CSR in the business travel industry – now in its fourth year
• Partnering with VCD, a major German transport and environmental organization, on its Green Travel Project
• Hosting carbon-low global conferences in partnership with Marriott and British Airways (the ACTE Global Education Conference in Munich in October 2008 resulted in a reduction of 674.6 tonnes of carbon dioxide)
• Global Symposium at the ACTE Singapore Conference, 20-21 August 2008 on Mainstreaming CSR in Business Travel Management, which will focus on how businesses can integrate responsible business travel management practices into its framework
• Cutting its consumption by 65 percent and reducing its carbon footprint by half in the last two years
• Two ACTE staff members are committee members for the Green Meetings & Events initiative, led  by the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) International, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
• The hire of a dedicated Global CSR Director, Marie Morice, in Singapore
• Partner with The CarbonNeutral Company to provide a travel carbon calculator to members to measure their emissions

ACTE’s CSR Program is member driven and is lead by a Global CSR Committee represented by leading organizations across the industry and beyond. It offers a comprehensive package on relevant CSR issues for corporate travel buyers, hotels, airlines and TMCs, including practical tools and resources, and innovative education events with leading experts and state-of-the-art research.

The program also develops strategic alliances with leading organizations to provide a wide choice of innovative, inspirational and integrated solutions as well as expert speakers on key relevant CSR issues such as carbon management, labour migration and corporate duty of care.

ACTE will continue to commit itself, now and in the future, to promoting the economic prosperity of the business travel industry in conjunction with environmental protection.

For more information on ACTE and its CSR initiatives, please go to http://www.acte.org/initiatives/CSR.php.

To register for the ACTE Canada Education Conference, 16-18 November 2008, Toronto, please go to http://www.acte.org/content/Canada_08/Conference_Home.

ABOUT ACTE:
The Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE) represents the global business travel industry through its international advocacy efforts, executive level educational programs, and independent industry research. ACTE's membership consists of senior travel industry executives from 82 countries representing the €200 billion business travel industry. With the support of sponsors from every major segment of the business travel industry, ACTE develops and delivers educational programs in key business centers throughout the world. ACTE has offices in Africa, Asia-Pacific, Canada, Europe, Latin America, Middle East and the United States. For more information on ACTE, please go to www.acte.org.  

ABOUT THE CARBONNEUTRAL COMPANY:
The CarbonNeutral Company (www.carbonneutral.com) is the world’s leading carbon offset and climate consulting business, working with over 300 businesses and 50,000+ consumer clients. CarbonNeutral® is the registered trademark of The CarbonNeutral Company (TCNC) and is the leading brand mark and quality standard for action on climate change.  Permission to display the CarbonNeutral mark is only given to clients of TCNC when CO₂ emissions have been measured and reduced to net zero through a programme implemented in accordance with The CarbonNeutral Protocol. This Protocol assures quality of offset projects, carbon footprint assessments and communication and is regularly reviewed by an Independent Advisory Group.  The ‘audit trail’ includes an annual independent verification of CarbonNeutral programs – from contracts with carbon offset partners through to contracts with clients and everything in between.

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For more information, contact:
Kathy Brannigan
ACTE Senior Director, Global Communications 
t: 703.683.5322 x203
e: [email protected]      

Sharon Corrigan
Head of PR, The CarbonNeutral Company
t: +44 207 833 6016
e: [email protected]

For more information, contact:
Debbie Flynn
CEO
Brighter Group
The Pod, London's Vertical Gateway
Bridges Wharf, Battersea
London SW11 3BE England
T: 020 7326 9880
F: 020 7326 9890
E: [email protected]
W: www.brightergroup.com