The Fourth Annual Intermountain Sustainability Summit will be held at Weber State University on Feb. 28 and March 1.
The Intermountain Sustainability Summit will provide students with the opportunity to meet leaders in the sustainability field and participate in sessions dealing with one of four tracks: student, recycling, sustainability and energy.
“For the students, it’s an amazing opportunity to network with professionals in their fields,” says Weber State University sustainability specialist Jennifer Bodine.
The student track is new this year and was created in response to student demand for more interaction with each other.
Bodine said that those who attend the track will be able to “focus on issues that students care about” and “learn about what campuses are doing.” Information on 350.org’s divestment campaign will also be presented during this track.
350.org is mobilizing students and others to take the money currently invested in the stocks of fossil fuel companies out of those investments and move them to companies that do not use fossil fuels to generate profits.
The recycling track focuses on subjects like reducing waste, zero waste and recycling more profitably.
The sustainability track will feature sessions on water issues, and it will combine with the energy track during some sessions like the one led by keynote speaker L. Hunter Lovins that will address “Employee and Stakeholder Engagement.”
Time Magazine named Lovins 2000 Hero of the Planet. She has coauthored nine books and is the founder and president of Natural Capital Solutions. Lovins believes that sustainability is good for business and the environment.
Participants in the summit can mix and match tracks, so they do not have to commit to one subject the entire conference.
March 1 features two workshops.
The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Associate Course runs from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and gives participants a certificate that will allow them to take the exam to become LEED certified. The cost is $40.
The Portfolio Manager Workshop will teach participants how to use the Environmental Protection Agency’s Portfolio Manager Program to track energy and water usage. The cost is $35, and the program will run from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. There are only 32 spots available for this workshop.
The nonprofit Utah Recycling Alliance cosponsors the summit, and will host a fundraising dinner and networking opportunity on Feb. 28 after the conference at Roosters Brewing Company and Restaurant in Ogden.
Vendors will be available at the summit for participants to network with. About 40 vendors participated last year and included a wide variety of companies like nonprofits, architect firms and lighting companies.
