Travel Portland Green Team

In 2003, Portland’s hospitality community joined together to create and present a green meeting proposal.  This catalyst encouraged Travel Portland to create its Green Team to make sure that our organization was “walking the talk.” Today, the Green Team works to further promote sustainability efforts in our industry.

Travel Portland’s Sustainability Initiatives Include:

Operations:

  • Purchase renewable energy for office space and website, preventing 16,000 pounds of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere and supporting the Stateline Wind Project in Eastern Oregon.
  • Transportation:
    • Provide two hybrid company vehicles for client trips and employee business needs.
    • Provide Zipcar memberships to employees for business travel, which enables employees to use public transportation for their own commutes. 
    • Participate in Bike Commute Challenge.
    • A majority of Travel Portland Information Center volunteers and staff use public transit.
  • Recycling: With help from the City of Portland Office of Sustainable Development (OSD), established an extensive recycling program—paper recycling boxes at each desk; glass, plastic, metals recycling in the lunchroom; recycling bins in conference room. The information center recycles all paper, magazines, brochures and cardboard and reuses packing materials.
  • Recipient of the OSD RecycleWorks award.
  • Sustainable purchasing policy.
    • Use high-content, post-consumer-waste, FSC-certified recycled paper.
    • Encourage staff to order from environmentally preferred vendors.
    •  Individuals are required to work with printers and design teams to evaluate feasibility of recyclable products, products that are made of recycled content and products that reduce waste in application.
    • Educate other vendors about our sustainable purchasing plan and green certification programs.
    • Establish a waste minimization policy with vendors.
    • Whenever possible, staff maximizes the use of equipment and products that are recyclable, made of recycled content and/or reduce waste. These products should be purchased whenever such alternatives exist and performance is not compromised.
    • Vendors should be contacted and provided information regarding Travel Portland’s waste minimization goals.
    • Select ion of vendors who are willing to meet waste minimization goals.
    • Purchasing agents shall request vendor’s information relating to recycled content and recyclability of products and equipment, and the opportunities these items offer to prevent waste. Purchasing agents then develop a preferred list of vendors based on those who are willing to help provide such alternatives.
  • Encourage two-sided printing and set capable printers to two-sided as default setting.  Mugs, plates and flatware provided in lunch room to cut down on use of disposable cups/dishes.
  • Travel Portland Information Center volunteers encouraged to bring own mugs instead of using paper/plastic.
  • Travel Portland Information Center reuses paper for notes.

Tourism:

  • Use flash drives at trade shows to disseminate information, saving hundreds of thousands of sheets of paper and shipping resources.
  • Provide clients with eco-friendly refillable water bottles instead of purchased bottled water whenever possible.
  • Use recycled packing materials for shipments to trade/travel shows.
  • Promote outdoor activities, World Forestry Center and wildlife refuges, which educates visitors about our urban growth boundaries and sustainable practices.
  • FAM trips highlight public transportation and encourage its use while visiting.
  • 85% of tourism team members use public transportation to/from work and one regularly commutes by bike.
  • Give away logoed green reflector/blink lights to encourage their use on bicycles & backpacks.

Sales/services:

  • Focus marketing plan to establish Portland as the green meetings destination.
  • Target  green meetings market and pull together industry partners to create/improve on our sustainable meetings package. Sales manager and services manager dedicated to this market.
  • Annual “Green Fam” for meeting planners.
  • Purchase local and sustainable goods.
  • Direct printers to use recycled paper and soy-based ink.
  • Develope electronic bid-book to replace printed version.
  • Use Zipcar or fuel-efficient vehicles.
  • Promote dining at local establishments specializing in local product grown/harvested sustainably.
  • Welcome gifts made from recycled products.
  • Serve Oregon products at hosted functions.

Partner services

  • Green member listings promote sustainability certification throughout industry.
  • Work with Green Team to provide two sustainability-focused member events per year.

Marketing/PR

  • Created new position – sustainability public relations manager.
  • Conduct several green media research tours
  • Speaking engagements educate other CVBs and tourism partners about becoming more sustainable and promoting their programs.
  • Print on recycled paper, use soy ink.
  • Promote Portland as the preferred destination for sustainable tourism, including green meetings, nature activities, cycling, green vacation hotel packages, etc.

Community Relations

  • Educate community and political leaders about Travel Portland’s and the industry’s sustainability efforts.
  • Advocate for alternative transportation, green spaces and trails, conservation, and land use planning that promotes sustainability.
    • Explain connection to and importance of green to tourism industry and the economy.
    • Position the tourism industry as an integral part of a sustainable economic development plan.

 

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