Once you know,
it’s hard to pretend you don’t know. This is the notion behind Power Plant’s Go Green Challenge.
Power Plant
events are hosted in green venues, which means the venue incorporates
sustainability initiatives such as comprehensive recycling, composting,
local and organic suppliers or membership to Green Table Network.
In partnership with local recycling company, Recycling Alternative and green restaurant program, Green Table Network Power Plant created the Go Green Challenge to demonstrate sustainability in action with a Power Plant venue.
East
Vancouver’s famous Waldorf Hotel advertises the fact that it can do just about
anything as an event venue - so why not improve its overall sustainability? The
Waldorf Hotel accepted the Go Green Challenge, which coincides with the 10th edition of Power Plant on February 21, 2012.
“I personally hope that the Waldorf
Hotel can become a green leader in Vancouver's event hosting scene - but it
goes a little further than that,” said Hunter Moyes of the Waldorf Hotel. “With
some hard work and dedication the Waldorf Hotel’s environmental systems could
be tightened. Changing will involve changing the habits of over 50 employees.
Changing the attitudes and habits of those 50 people will be the real challenge,
and the best possible positive outcome - taking "the cool kids" off
the proverbial fence.”
As part of the Go Green Challenge the hotel will
be audited in terms of its waste management, food and beverage procurement and
other sustainability practices. Recycling Alternative will install composting bins strategically throughout the hotel
and will measure the waste diverted from the landfill from one full day of the
hotel’s entire operations.
Louise Schwarz,
co-founder of Recycling Alternative said “Since Recycling Alternative has a
reputation for jumping at innovative opportunities to trash-bust with community
partners looking to green their events and operations, we just couldn’t resist
the opportunity to work with Power Plant and the Waldorf on the Go Green Challenge. Together we have
tailored a user friendly model that will maximize waste diversion and
composting at the site on February 21st and serve as a benchmark for the
Waldorf as they move forward in their efforts to go green.”
Green Table
Network will support the Go Green
Challenge by helping the hotel to procure more local ingredients and
products for the menu served at Power Plant X event. To recognize the Waldorf
Hotel for their active participation in the Go
Green Challenge, they will be rewarded with membership to Green Table
Network’s innovative online toolkit, which is a step-by-step
guide to greening operations and
business goals.
“The Green Table Network lives for
good challenges, especially green ones,” said Andre LaRiviere, founder of Green
Table Network. “For the past five years, we've been helping restaurants across
BC (and beyond) to design their own 'roadmap' to sustainable operations, so we
know how important it is to find a place and way to get started. We're hoping
that, by supporting this challenge for PowerPlant, the food and beverage team
at The Waldorf will be inspired to keep going down the road to a deliciously
greener future.”
The results
from the Go Green Challenge will be posted here shortly after the event and
announced at the next Power Plant event. Ultimately the goal is to support
the Waldorf Hotel to green their operations and inspire and motivate them to
take action to permanently implement positive changes to their operations.
Purchase
tickets to Power Plant X here.
