2015 Law Seminar Green Meeting

Protecting our environment and the planet is of fundamental importance to the National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA) and its members.  Our green meeting strategy aims to lighten our environmental impact by:

Meeting Materials

• NACWA has significantly reduced printed materials for conferences, and prints only what is necessary to the success of the conference.  All information on the conference is available at www.nacwa.org/15law.  We have also developed a NACWA Events App where all handouts will be uploaded.
• Materials that are printed for our meetings are printed on Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified paper that is made with a minimum of 10% post-consumer waste.
• NACWA lanyards are made from 100% post-consumer plastic, mostly plastic bottles. 
• The sponsored Key Cards are made from a minimum of 20% post-consumer plastic.
• All NACWA Signage is made from reusable materials.  The NACWA Sponsorship Bio-Banner is made from the new revolutionary biodegradable PVC material.  When placed in a landfill, the Bio-Banner will literally vanish within 3-5 years unlike other vinyl banners that remain unchanged for decades.
• NACWA staff also will be reducing paper usage as much as possible onsite, using ENERGY STAR certified computers and adopting other "green office" practices. 

 

Recycling of Materials

• The Hotel recycles Plastic, Cardboard, Aluminum Cans, Office Paper, Steel Cans, Newspapers, Magazines, Ink Cartridges and Toner, Refrigerators, Hot Water Heaters, Appliances, and kitchen grease.

• Recycling bins are provided throughout guest spaces, such as guest floors and pool area.

• Following the conclusion of the meeting, be sure to stop by NACWA's registration desk to drop off your badge and lanyard – NACWA strives to recycle and reuse as many meeting materials as possible.

 

Other NACWA Meeting Policies

• NACWA offers tap water at our conferences, so that we can all enjoy the product of our member's labors and reduce waste.

 

The Westin Lake Las Vegas Resort Environmental Policies

• The Westin Lake Las Vegas Resort has an energy management system that controls HVAC for guests' rooms, function space, public space and mechanical systems.

• The hotel offers guests electronic thermostats in guestrooms with pre-set settings to minimize energy consumption, and they also have an engineering team with the ability to control energy use for property operations.

• Water efficient shower heads, faucets, toilets and environmental friendly paints are used throughout the property.

• The Westin uses hard surface cleaners that are bio-based and made from things that grow and bed linens are changed upon quest request to aid in water and energy conservation efforts.

• Bed linens changed upon quest request to aid in water and energy conservation efforts.

• The Westin resort offers a Make a Green Choice Program.  This program puts the power of conserving rights in guests' hand by letting them decide how  much to participate during their stay. The program rewards guests for choosing to conserve with either a food and beverage voucher or Starwood points for each eligible night they participate.
  

• Box lunch items are bio-degradable and the resort's waste is separated into various categories including aluminum, plastic, cardboard, paper, food scraps and oil.

• Food that is not consumed for meetings is provided to hotel team members, and the property uses china instead of paper and cloth instead of napkins.

• The Resort's Business Center office equipment is turned off after business hours.  Cables are run intelligently on AV sets to minimize use of gaffe tape, and LED lighting is used for energy savings.

• The Westin uses Flipchart Paper instead of discarding pads with less than 10 sheets left, conjoining multiple pads to make sure every piece is used.  Documents are printed double-sided at the Business Center.

• The Resort reutilizes pads and pens and also encourages all guest to use recycle bins during all meetings.  Lights in meeting rooms and ballrooms are turned off when the rooms are not in use, and curtains closed in applicable rooms to help keep temperature controlled.