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Hillel Conference Goes Green in a Big Way
February 5, 2007Comments (0) | Add | E-mail this to a friend
 Spitzer Hillel Forum 2007
Students at Hillel’s Charlotte and Jack J. Spitzer Forum on Social Justice will not only learn about environmentally-sound policy, they’ll be living it.
For the first time, the Spitzer Forum will be carbon neutral. Every carbon dioxide unit emitted by the conference will be offset through a partnership with Carbonfund.org making the Spitzer Forum a zero-net greenhouse gas emitter.
And a waste-free policy will be in affect during the hotel stay. The sheets won’t be washed. Newspapers won’t be delivered. Water bottles will be refillable, but there will be no bottled water. Recycling will be in effect and all leftover food will be donated. In addition, all conference program materials will be printed with a 100 percent carbon-neutral process.
“Students are acutely sensitive to the environment in which they will be building their future,” explains Hillel International President Wayne L. Firestone. “Our emphasis on sustainability at the Spitzer Forum is a reflection of the immense interest in this field among Jewish college students on hundreds of campuses worldwide.”
The Spitzer Forum is held in conjunction with the Jewish Council for Public Affairs (JCPA) Plenum. JCPA is American Jewry's national coordinating body in the public affairs arena.
“Hillel and JCPA have recognized the impacts of these events and are taking a leadership role by making them carbon neutral,” said Eric Carlson, Carbonfund.org’s executive director. “The education and outreach that will happen at these will help the attendees to further understand the solutions to sustainability and how they can reduce climate change impacts. We’re happy to provide carbon offsets as a way to demonstrate a solution that is readily available today.” During the February 25-27 conference in Washington, D.C., students will hear social justice leaders like Debra Rowe, president, U.S. Partnership for Education for Sustainable Development and Eli Pariser, executive director, Moveon.org. Featured speakers will also include Kenneth Green, American Enterprise Institute; Mary Jane Klocke, BP; and Daniel Orenstein, COEJL.
Students will participate in social justice skill workshops facilitated by experts in the fields of social entrepreneurship, Judaism and social justice, community organizing, coalition building, public relations and media, oral advocacy and creative action. They will lobby Congress on behalf of the environmental movement and participate in workshops like “How Many College Students Does it Take to Change a Light Bulb,” “World on Fire: How to Combat Climate Change,” and “Sustaining Health: Addressing the Global Aids Crisis.”
“The Spitzer Forum 2007 is the place to motivate students who care about social justice issues and to help them get their voice heard,” said Michelle Lackie, director of Weinberg Tzedek Hillel. “They’ll walk away from this conference inspired and with the skills to make a difference on their campus and community.”
Offsetting carbon emissions requires the gas released to be calculated, and a comparable amount of gas to be absorbed through one of a number of options including the use of renewable energy, attention to energy efficiency, and support for reforestation projects. Carbonfund.org will be offsetting more than 150 metric tons of CO2 by supporting renewable energy, energy efficiency, and reforestation projects both domestically and internationally.
Carbonfund.org will use its Carbonfree™ Event calculator, with data provided by JCPA and Hillel staff, to calculate the impact of the events. Travel, venue, and hotel emissions will be offset.
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