Sustainability

Our commitment to green practices is reflected in our:

• Full recycling, composting and use of eco-friendly cleaning supplies
• Energy efficient lighting
• Support of local/regional farming
• Encouragement of “Green” events
• Involvement in campus-wide sustainability efforts

Marketing Materials Our marketing materials are produced with the environment in mind.  The notepads that we put out for events are printed on Endeavor (50% recycled/ 25% post consumer) paper. Our brochure is printed on Living Tree (50% recycled/ 15% post consumer) paper.

Cleaning Supplies The Housekeeping staff has adopted the use of Sustainable Earth™ cleaning products manufactured by Coastwide Laboratories. When empty, the containers that have cleaning products are refilled rather than replaced.

Transportation Lane Transit District is a super alternative for bus transport to and from Lane. We partner with them to offer their services to groups as an opportunity to be dropped off at our door. Also, when groups stay at local hotels, we are able to set-up bus or shuttle service for them as a way to minimize the number of vehicles traveling to and from an event. We will assist in figuring carbon offsets for groups to build into their registration fees.

Water Use Automatic low-flow toilet flush sensors are installed in our 2nd floor restrooms and a request is in to convert our 1st floor restrooms.  We have sinks with motion sensors. In regard to linen usage and laundering of linens, Center staff does their best to minimize the usage of linens and reuse when necessary. In landscaping, groundskeepers select plants that don’t need irrigation once they are established, and when grass is planted, native grasses are used.

Energy Use Lane Community College is one of the largest purchasers of wind power from our local utility company (EWEB), with 10% of Lane’s electricity being wind power. The majority of our event center rooms have lights with motion sensors. In addition, staff is trained that turning off lights, computers and equipment while not in use is a must. Our lighting, heating and cooling systems are closely monitored based on activity/business in our building in order to assure the areas are only being lighted and temperature controlled when occupied.

Disposables to Reusables After much testing of the current biodegradable products out there, we decided to eliminate the use of disposables altogether and go with reusables.  On-site, we only use china and silverware. Off-site we use melamine serviceware and stainless utensils. If a client insists on using disposables (for to-go orders), we pass on the cost of the product and use recycled paper goods rather than Styrofoam or plastic.

Herb Gardens Whenever possible, the Center for Meeting and Learning uses herbs grown in our herb gardens around campus. Over 20 different types of herbs are grown right outside our back door!

Culinary Arts and Hospitality Management Programs We at the Center for Meeting and Learning have the opportunity of sharing with Culinary Arts and Hospitality Management students our awareness of the above listed areas. Students are incorporated into the operations of the event center as student workers and in the form of lab hours for hands-on experience. Through us, they gain experience buying seasonal/local, using herbs from the campus herb gardens, and all of the other green processes we’ve adopted.

Green Strategies at the Center

Composting The Center staff began adding to Lane’s compost in April of 2005.  All pre-consumer food scraps and coffee grinds are composted at the Center. The compost is used to fertilize the gardens and landscape at Lane.

Food Donations All leftovers acceptable for human consumption are donated to the Eugene Mission.

Recycling No trash can stands alone as clearly marked bottles/cans and paper bins are set next to them. The banquet staff is well trained in recycling leftover materials from meetings and events. Lane has reached a 62% recycling rate and it's rising.

Purchasing In purchasing, presentation and menu design, we have limited our offerings of individually packaged foods. We use bulk condiments. Whenever possible, we purchase from local and/or organic vendors. At this time, some of the local vendors we work with in Lane County are: Organically Grown Company, Surata Soy Foods, De Casa-Soringhart, Bagel Sphere, ChildersMeats, Country Donuts, Full City Coffee, Higher Taste, Holy Cow, Lochmead Dairy, McDonald Wholesale, Monster Cookie, and Muffin Mill. All of the coffee sold at Lane is fair trade and organic. We proudly serve Wandering Goat Organic Coffee, locally roasted and delivered fresh.

        MILK:A promise to Lane from Lochmead Dairy: "All milk and cream under the Lochmead Farms label is produced by Lochmead's own herd of cows on our one dairy farm located near Junction City, and is bottled at the Lochmead Dairy milk and ice cream plant in Junction City. All of the cows in the Lochmead herd were born and raised at Lochmead Farms. At no time during the last 25 years have any dairy animals been brought into or added to the herd from any other location. In addition to this self-imposed quarantine, at no time during the last 25 years have we fed our dairy animals any feed from any animal source, which USDA thinks to be the method of infection and transfer of BSE (mad cow disease). Our cows will never be treated with the recombinant bovine growth hormone, rBGH. Additionally, no antibiotics are given to our cows, except in the event of an individual animal becoming ill due to an infection. At that time the treated cow is moved to a hospital barn and remains isolated from the milking herd until she is healthy and all antibiotics are clear from her system."

        EGGS: All eggs served at the Center for Meeting and Learning are from cage free chickens. These eggs come to us from Washington state. They are fed an all vegetarian diet and receive no antibiotics. Wilcox family farm states, "All of the hens producing eggs for the Wilcox Cage Free label are free to run, preen and socialize proudly." Research has shown that eggs raised in this fashion are healthier for the consumer.

Green Events The Center has advanced video conferencing capabilities that can be used for virtual conferencing, thus eliminating the need for all participants to travel to the conference location. For three years, we successfully catered to the yearly Oregon Bioneers conference, which is based on this technology with a satellite conference downloaded to various hubs around the world, our facility being one of them. We also incorporated a strictly local organic diet into their event, prepared and catered by our staff. We’ve hosted the Local Food Connection, an event that links Farmers, Fishers, and Buyers together to form direct business relationships to discuss solutions for the issues that make direct marketing difficult. Also hosted, for two years, at the Center for Meeting and Learning and co-sponsored by Lane’s Culinary Arts Program was the Grand Truffle Dinner which is a culinary tourism event and caters to those who are interested in native Oregon truffles. We are always open to green events like this and see it as an excellent opportunity for staff and students to be exposed to best green practices and bioregional offerings.

Services The Center for Meeting and Learning offers online registration technology to event planners in order to cut down the paper trail for events. It is in the Center’s best interest that the events hosted at the center are as paper-less as possible.