'The Woman Who Out-Greened Moscone' wins MN-sponsored award.
On March 24, Oracle Corp.'s Jodi Morrison, along with independent event producer Harith Wickrema, and Kim Boriin, CMP, of Guardian Investor Services LLC, will be awarded the Greenest Planner designation at the Green Travel Summit, at the Fairmont Newport Beach. The awards, sponsored by MeetingNews and Successful
Meetings, acknowledge the passion and dedication to green ideals that these planners not only express but inspire in others. Morrison is the first of the Greenest Planners to be profiled.
"Not only does Jodi Morrison plan the largest annual meeting [Oracle Open World, held in September], in San Francisco's very green Moscone Center," said Robynne Weaver, convention services manager for the San Francisco Convention & Visitors Bureau, she is the most proactive meeting planner that the CVB has ever worked with. According to Weaver, 45,000 people attended Oracle Open World 2008 and not one plastic water bottle was served.
Throughout the four-day event, Morrison promoted green practices in transportation (from public transit, walking, and bicycling, to group transportation via alternative-fuel vehicles), waste reduction, local sourcing, community donations, and, lastly, carbon offsets.
Morrison taught Weaver that standardization is key to avoid greenwashing, and to use audits to accurately measure the impact of new green initiatives. "It is no wonder Oracle is seen as the leader in green conventions; year after year, Jodi and her staff set the bar higher and higher," said Weaver, who also warned, "Keep an eye out for even more green advancements to come from Oracle Open World in 2009!"
Originally published March 23, 2009