I've been to quite a few conferences over the past few years that have attempted to "green the conference," but none have done it as successfully in every aspect as that of the 2009 Smart and Sustainable Campuses Conference.  From food service to the hotel stay, I have been nothing but impressed. 

The most difficult challenge in greening a large conference is offering sustainable food choices.  Working with a conference center's food service provider can often be difficult when trying to obtain local, organic, and/or vegetarian foods.  The University of Maryland University College Inn and Conference Center food staff has it under control, and I get the impression that they have had a lot of practice.  The happy hour on Sunday night featured organic wines and beer.  At breakfast this morning, there was hardly any waste.  Instead of offering the well known cream-cheese and butter disposable packets, the conference staff offered a large bowl for each with a spreading knife.  In addition, the cream for the coffee was offered in a thermos pitcher instead of the disposable packets.  The menu at lunch was entirely vegetarian, and let me just say that the lasagna may have been the best lasagna I've ever had.

I was also very impressed by the staff members themselves.  They seemed to take a direct interest in their "green" foods and services.  One even asked me where I purchased my reusable coffee mug (which happens to feature a carabineer for a handle that allows me to clip it to my book bag when I'm biking). 

Apart from what I noticed, the conference program tells us that the "Inn and Conference Center strives to source all of their produce from the Mid-Atlantic region," and goes on to list which items comes from which farm and where that farm is located.  They also ensure "shade grown, organic, free trade coffee in both their Starbucks Outlet and their Garden Restaurant."

The hotel I'm staying at, which is part of the Inn and Conference Center, features dual flush toilets, environmentally friendly building materials, and signs encouraging guests to reuse towels and bed linens. See a 2008AASHE Bulletinarticle on the conference center here.

Congrats to NACUBO and the University of Maryland for setting such a great example for all of the conference attendees!