2024 Gov Con Achieves Zero Waste Status
Event composting and recycling protect Colorado’s environment
As the CTO implements the Destination Stewardship Strategic Plans, it proudly celebrates the 2024 Colorado Governor’s Tourism Conference (Gov Con), held in the Town of Mt. Crested Butte in late September, for achieving official zero-waste status. This accomplishment aligns with the strategic plan’s statewide goal to “advance litter prevention and zero-waste practices.”
Thanks to meticulous planning and collaboration with environmentally conscious attendees, the 2024 Gov Con successfully diverted 90.69% of waste from landfills—681.9 pounds of compost, 221.2 pounds of recycling, and just 84.3 pounds of trash. This marks the second time Gov Con has reached zero-waste status, following the 2022 conference in Snowmass.
The 2024 Gov Con attendees played a crucial role in this success. A survey revealed that the majority showed up sustainably:
- 84% of respondents carpooled, drove an electric vehicle, took public transportation, hiked or walked to the Town of Mt. Crested Butte.
- 94% of respondents used their own water bottles and coffee mugs.
- 90% of respondents limited housekeeping by reusing towels and sheets during their stay.
- 80% of respondents took notes on their computer and tablet.
- 74% of respondents supported local food producers while in Crested Butte.
Steps to Zero Waste Success
This recognition stems from intentional choices made throughout the event planning process. Here are some strategies that can help your organization host a zero-waste event:
- Plan Ahead: Integrate sustainable practices in every stage of event planning. At the CTO, a sustainability committee helps guide the process.
- Choose a Sustainable Venue: Select a venue committed to sustainability.
- Partner for Success: Collaborate with organizations that can provide on-site expertise and support for sustainable practices.
- Promote Reuse and Recycling: Ensure recycling containers are accessible, opt for glassware instead of plastic and encourage attendees to return lanyards for reuse.
- Minimize Food Waste: Avoid individually wrapped snacks, compost food scraps and donate unused food where local regulations permit.
- Reduce Paper Use: Encourage digital resources over printed materials.
- Mindful Promotional Items: Suggest that exhibitors limit giveaways to meaningful items.
- Support Green Transportation Options: Promote carpooling and public transportation among attendees.
- Gather Feedback: Conduct a post-event survey to learn which sustainable actions attendees adopted. Use the insights to enhance future events.
Key Learnings
Selecting a venue with sustainability practices already in place and reducing food waste are major components of achieving zero-waste status. This year, the CTO partnered with Walking Mountains Science Center, which provides education and outreach about recycling and composting while supporting special events with their environmental sustainability initiatives. For the 2024 Gov Con, their program manager and interns assisted with composting efforts and provided necessary recycling containers, significantly enhancing the CTO’s efforts.
CTO Presents “How to Host a Zero Waste Event”
To empower Colorado tourism partners to plan more sustainable events, the CTO will present a “How to Host a Zero Waste Event” webinar on Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024, from 12 – 1 p.m. This webinar is the first in the CTO’s Destination Stewardship in Action series, designed to support Colorado tourism partners in implementing the Destination Stewardship Strategic Plans. Learn more and register today for this insightful and resource-rich webinar.
