The National Title I Conference is committed to environmental and social responsibility in the development of this event. Conferences, by their very nature, consume huge amounts of resources and we have implemented a number of ways to reduce our negative footprint on the planet.

Reduce
2009 was the first year of the National Title I Conference’s program to reduce the amount of wasted paper by asking attendees to print their own handouts. There was understandable confusion about the purpose of such a program. While a great deal of paper is still utilized when each individual prints his or her own handouts, literally thousands of pounds of wasted paper are eliminated. Here’s how.....

If a given session seats 400 people, then the Conference would print a minimum of 450 sets of handouts, in case the session is over filled. This session might only attract 200 people - 150 of whom will take the handouts with them. That leaves 300 sets of handouts of as much as 30 pages each - a total of 9,000 wasted pages from this one session alone. Multiply this by 100+ sessions and the result can be hundreds of thousands of pages of wasted paper.

Recycle
The National Title I Conference insists on stringent recycling systems in contracts with all facilities and suppliers. At this year's Conference facility, paper, glass, plastics, and cans are all separated from trash after collection and sent to appropriate recycling facilities. We encourage all attendees to vigorously participate in this program to eliminate reusable materials from our landfills.

We also ensure that materials used for the Conference are made from recycled materials whenever possible.

Reuse
There is no way to accurately predict the exact number of participants at a Conference such as this. In many instances, educated guesses are made to anticipate the greatest number of likely attendees. Items such as Conference bags and name badge holders must be ordered as much as two months in advance of their shipment. Consequently, there are often unused items that can be used by others. The National Title I Conference donates all usable excess physical items, such as Conference bags and pens, to area Title I schools. All excess food from meal functions will be donated to DC Kitchens, a local area homeless shelter.