Sustainability Report • 2011

Prepared by MeetGreen®

Oracle OpenWorldJavaOne

San Francisco

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Can you spot event sustainability

at work?

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Experience & LegacyOracle’s event sustainability vision is to enhance attendee experiences through sustainability while also sharing leading examples of sustainable event practices. ORACLE Racing will defend the America’s Cup in San Francisco Bay in 2013, bringing sailing and sustainable event skills to the table. Since finalizing an agreement to host the race in San Francisco, Oracle has been involved in sharing lessons learned in planning greener events in the city with the America’s Cup event planning team. For more information on unique sustainability experiences at and legacies from Oracle OpenWorld and JavaOne please refer to page 5.

Graphics & Event BrandingSustainability and signage are not always good bedfellows. Oracle is taking steady steps to reduce signage and improve the sustainability of graphics that are used. This includes maximizing reuse options while making use of substrates that include recycled content and renewable fibers rather than petroleum-based resources. Where reuse is not an option signage is donated or recycled. For more information please refer to page 7.

People MovingOver the last four years Oracle has saved nearly half a million dollars by moving attendees in more efficient and environmentally responsible ways. From reducing bus routes to expanding walking hotels, introducing pedi-cabs and taking advantage of San Francisco’s transit infrastructure ground transport miles, cost and emissions continue to be eliminated. For more information on how Oracle OpenWorld is making transportation more sustainable refer to page 11.

Attendee MaterialsWhile OpenWorld has a comprehensive waste management program, organizers are actively pursuing “up-pipe” solutions to reduce and reuse attendee materials. For example, since 2008 Oracle has reduced paper used for programs and dailies from 112 to 6 tons. Sponsor retention also enabled reuse of 11,970 lanyards in 2011. Other attendee materials, such as delegate packs and water bottles, are designed for reuse. Any leftover materials are repurposed through local organizations such as Resource Area For Teaching (RAFT) and Scrounger’s Center for Reusable Art Parts (SCRAP).

Waste ManagementSince 2008 Oracle has successfully diverted 503 metric tons of waste from landfill through recycling, donation, and composting programs. Diversion has held fairly constant, climbing to 62% in 2011. This is made possible through comprehensive waste sorting and event signage and waste management education by an army of Green Angels. This year Oracle’s Appreciation Event at Treasure Island achieved an 87% diversion rate from landfill—an event record!

Decor & Exhibit MaterialsFrom carpet to padding, furnishings to show booths, and show floral and greenery, much of the decor at Oracle OpenWorld is reused. Freeman estimates carpet has a lifecycle of approximately 2 years, with 10% recycled due to wear and tear each show. In addition, plastic film used in the exhibit hall - including table-top vinyl and visqueen, includes recycled content. Oracle OpenWorld has also pioneered a new film wrap recycling program at Moscone Center, enabling diversion of materials that prior to 2010 were landfilled.

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About

Oracle OpenWorldEvent Details:• October 2-6, 2011• Multiple venues, San Francisco, CA• 46,036 participants from 117 countries• 458 exhibit booths• 96,598 total room nights

Event Program:Covering 10 venues and filling in 88 hotel properties, Oracle OpenWorld and JavaOne is a massive city-wide technology event, generating an estimated $100 million in revenue in the San Francisco Bay area. Event highlights include 2541 keynote, general, and educational sessions as well as numerous networking receptions and forums. Special attractions include Welcome Receptions, OTN Night, Oracle Appreciation Night at Treasure Island, and the It’s A Wrap! closing party in Yerba Buena Gardens.

Event Sustainability Team: Oracle’s event sustainability program is a team effort led by Paul Salinger, Vice President and Jodi Morrison, Senior Director, Oracle Marketing. All Oracle Event Marketing staff are engaged in the effort, with coordination support provided by Kelley Young.

Oracle staff participating in the Oracle OpenWorld Green Team include: Francisco Delgadillo, Jane Grodem, Evelyn Neumayr, and Joyce Schroeder.

Vendor partners include: Hartmann Studios, InVision Communications, McCall’s Catering, Moscone Center, Freeman, Savor, and San Francisco Travel.

and JavaOne

Sustainable event management means better and more effective events. Done correctly, and integrated as part of the larger management system, sustainability provides an important filter, which guides smarter decisions .”

— Paul Salinger, Vice President, Oracle Marketing (right)

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Sharing experience....Oracle’s journey to improve event sustainability has been gradual and transparent. In addition to reporting publically, Oracle Marketing hosts onsite professional development seminars for event professionals. Fifty event professionals from the North California Chapter of the Green Meeting Industry Council joined in a third annual tour of the event led by Paul Salinger and other Green Team members who shared sustainability lessons learned (above). Oracle hosted event sustainability seminars for Meeting Professionals International, the Professional Convention Management Association, Corporate Event Marketing Association, IMEX, and EIBTM in 2010 and 2011. Oracle is also collaborating with the America’s Cup Event Authority to contribute to event sustainability planning for the 2013 America’s Cup Race.

...and designing experiences.Every year Oracle weaves unique sustainability experiences into Oracle OpenWorld. In previous years organizers have offered a Green Marketplace featuring Oracle partner businesses that offer sustainability services and pedal charger stations where attendees can recharge their computers and make margaritas using bike power. This year a new Retail Row featured Tesla electric cars and an interactive National Geographic exhibit where attendees learned about ocean health (left). Oracle is a significant financial supporter of National Geographic’s ocean conservation programs.

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Event Sustainability ObjectivesOracle identified very specific objectives and targets for Oracle OpenWorld and JavaOne 2011:

• Improve overall event sustainability by achieving an 85% score in the MeetGreen® Calculator. (Exceeded)

• Reduce paper use onsite, achieving a 50% reduction over 2010 levels. (Exceeded)

• Improve signage sustainability by reusing a minimum 26% of signs from previous events, ensuring a minimum 26% of signs can be reused in future, and ensuring 100% of non-reusable signs are recycled or donated. (Partially achieved)

• Reduce waste by reaching a 75% diversion from landfill overall. (Not achieved)

• Improve food sustainability beyond 77% local sourcing and 19% organic sourcing. Achieve fewer than 8000 food miles per function (on average) and 26% vegetarian lunches. (Partially achieved)

Specific details on progress toward these objectives are detailed in the following pages.

Event Sustainability VisionTo support Oracle’s environmental brand and policy and build a position of leadership by improving the overall attendee experience and Oracle brand experience through ideas and practices that reduce environmental impacts, positively contribute to society, and provide economic efficiencies.

This vision is supported by a simple event sustainability policy for Oracle Marketing to:

• Rethink how we plan our gatherings to align with sustainable business goals

• Reduce what we use

• Reuse what we are able

• Recycle any materials remaining from our events.

Event Sustainability BackgroundOracle’s event sustainability journey began in 2007 and has progressed steadily since then, achieving several important milestones. These milestones have helped to improve the San Francisco event, as well as many other Oracle events globally.

• 2007: Baseline SFO event audit completed.

• 2008: Oracle employee training completed. Event RFP and contracts implemented for SFO event.

• 2009: Vendor Green Team established for SFO event. Document mission, objectives, and action plan. Measurement expanded. IMEX Silver Green Meetings Award won.

• 2010: Annual team action planning continues for SFO event. Measurements become standardized. Event sustainability program expands globally to include 38 event pilot projects.

• 2011: Global and SFO initiatives continue to standardize and integrate, with help from Oracle Procurement.

Event Sustainability Strategy

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Event Branding, with BalanceOne of the greatest challenges for corporate events is ensuring a strong brand presence while being mindful of sustainability. Sustainability is integrated into onsite graphics for Oracle OpenWorld and JavaOne in the following ways:

1. Event branding changes every 3 years, not every year. This enables improved reuse options for large banners, kick panels, and tenting, which are not dated. These can be used for future events in SFO, as well as other Oracle events in Asia and Latin America. 32% of event signs will be reused. Where reuse by Oracle is not feasible, signage is repurposed to local organizations through venue donation programs or by Oracle directly.

2. This year Oracle donated approximately 16% of event signs to local community groups such as RAFT and SCRAP, including DEMOgrounds pod signs used at the Hilton and Moscone Center. 150 Sintra panels from Oracle OpenWorld were provided to an event subcontractor for reuse as artist canvas.

3. Temporary event signs—amounting to approximately 35% of signs—are made from renewable paper fiber and manufactured and recycled locally. This includes directional, session, and sponsorship signs. It also includes exhibit hall aisle signs and facing boards applied to facility-provided overhead mounts. All these signs are printed direct to substrate without plastic films.

4. In recent years Oracle has made increasing use of digital signage, including digital displays at 8 host hotel venues, such as the Marriott Hotel pictured above.

5. Certain banners have been designed to be reused beyond three year branding cycles, including DEMOgrounds banners in the three exhibit halls managed by Oracle during the event.

6. In summary, sign reuse goals were exceeded by 6%. 51% of signs were recycled or donated. 86% of signs were diverted from landfill. 14% of signs—all adhesive graphics—were landfilled (based on total square feet of signs used).

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Best Practice ProgressIMPLEMENTATION TIMELINE

First Year Current Status

PLA

N

Sustainability Plan & Policy for event marketing, including vision, objectives, targets, & actions.

Training and capacity-building for staff about event sustainability.

Green Team established to help plan and implement tactics.

2009

2008

2009

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P

P

Procurement system integrating sustainability:

• RFP requests vendors provide information about sustainability commitments / practice.

• Contractors are encouraged to make recommendations that improve sustainability.

• Sustainability integrated into contracts.

• Sustainability integrated into supplier evaluations.

2008

2008

2008

2008

TBC

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P

P

PAC

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Reduce:

• Select a destination that provides hotels and venues within walking distance or with transit access.

• Select hotels that have practices that conserve water and energy and reduce waste and pollution.

• Select venues that have practices that conserve water and energy and reduce waste and pollution.

• Food & beverage (all venues): Eliminate bottled water, provide bulk refreshments, use bulk condiments, use local

and organic ingredients, offer vegan and vegetarian food options, provide minimally packed menu ingredients, use

compostable serviceware (photo left features organic coffee bar with compostable cups).

• Communications & marketing: Reduce paper consumption through the use of mobile application, online evaluations.

• Keynote: Local crews/rentals, LED lighting, use more efficient projectors, use of low VOC paints and adhesives in properties

and staging and paperless and powered-down rehearsals, institute a lights-out policy.

• Purchase materials with post-industrial and post-consumer content: paper (100% recycled FSC), signage substrate

(recycled and renewable content), carpeting (25% post-industrial content), padding (100% post-consumer content).

• Transportation: Eliminate shuttles, source buses locally, provide pedi-cab transportation options, promote use of transit

including BART pass program, prioritize use of local crews for event execution.

2007

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2008

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2008

P

P

P

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P

P

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Reuse:

• Donation of hotel amenities, food, decor, signage and other leftover materials.

• Exhibit hall: Carpet, padding, furnishings, drape, tables, counters, panels, aluminum extrusions.

• Keynote: Staging, sets, screens/backdrops, carpeting.

• Signage: Digital signage, PVC banners, tent graphics, kick panels.

• Name badge system: lanyards reused where sponsor maintained.

• Shipping and packaging materials.

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Oracle continues to evolve its checklist of sustainable event best practices. This table summarizes tactics using a basic Plan, Act, Support, Check, and Advocate approach that is a common generic framework for sustainability. Practices are coded as follows:

TBC To be completed.P Fully implemented tactic.8 Partially implemented tactic. Implementation may be significant but is not 100%.

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Best Practice ProgressIMPLEMENTATION TIMELINE

First Year Current Status

ACT

Recycle:

• Front and back of house venue composting and recycling at all venues, including glass, metal, plastic, batteries,

and grease.

• Recycling and composting programs in place at all official event hotels.

• Battery recycling program for AV / keynote.

2007

2008

2008

P

P

P

Other purchasing:

• Smartway-certified haulers for all freight (Schenker & Freeman). 2010 P

SUPP

ORT

Education / training:

• Vendors informed of sustainability expectations.

• Attendee education through event website, onsite program, onsite facts, signage, video, keynote session.

• Onsite sustainability experiences (Green Marketplace, Retail Row displays, pedal charger stations).

2008

2008

2008

P

P

P

CHEC

K

Measure sustainable practices -

• Overall event performance (MeetGreen® Calculator).

• Resource use / impacts: Energy use (venue, transport), water use (venue), waste production (venue).

• Emissions production (venue, catering, accommodation, transportation).

• Material / services use (paper, carpet, freight).

• Lifecycle impacts of more sustainable product purchase decisions (paper, carpet, food, AV).

• Economic costs / savings from sustainability.

• Legacy impacts (donations).

• Stakeholder engagement (attendee feedback/rating).

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2008

2010

2009

2007

2007

2007

TBC

P

P

P

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P

P

Responsibility / Accountability:

• Complete and disclose a post-event sustainability report.

• Third-party inspection of post-event documentation and measurements.

• Provide a voluntary carbon offset option for attendees embedded into registration system and onsite.

2007

2007

2011

P

P

P

AD

VOCA

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Information sharing:

• Sharing best practices and lessons learned internally through Oracle Global Green Team.

• Information sharing to industry peers through Meeting Professionals International, Professional Convention

Management Association, Green Meeting Industry Council, the Corporate Event Marketing Association, and others.

2011

2009

P

P

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On Feeding 46,000 in Four Days, Sustainably

140,000 cups of coffee, 140,000 sodas or juices, and 60,000 boxed lunches: there’s a lot that goes into feeding Oracle OpenWorld and JavaOne attendees! The basic logistics of feeding 46,000 attendees for four days are difficult enough, never mind adding sustainability to the mix. Yet year after year Oracle makes steady progress toward improving food and beverage, sustainably.

Menu PlanningCareful attention to menu planning aims to keep ingredients as sustainable as possible. Both McCalls and Savor provide detailed menu analysis for 10 of the primary food functions at Oracle OpenWorld. Collectively these functions account for over 85% of food served by weight. In 2011 local sourcing rose from 77% of menu items to 88%. Food miles also dropped slightly from an average of 9,855 miles per function to 9,775. This follows a reduction from 12,337 miles on average in 2009. While Savor and McCalls have been engaged in improving food sustainability for 3 years, 2011 is the first year Oracle has actively encouraged the six additional hotel venues to purchase more sustainable ingredients. Because food service for large functions was outsourced by hotels late in the planning process, Oracle’s ability to measure ingredient sourcing at hotel venues was limited, making this a priority action item moving forward.

Service and ServicewareSustainable catering considers not only food and beverages, but how these are served. All venues are requested to provide buffet condiments in bulk and eliminate bottled water. For events the size of Oracle OpenWorld and JavaOne it is prohibitive to use china and linen serviceware in most cases, although this is requested and used where possible, such as for VIP and smaller functions. For large functions organizers fall back to ensuring compostable serviceware is used exclusively, including every boxed lunch served (photo, top left) and reception plate used. This commitment extends to sponsored refreshment stations like Tap and Brew and the Buzz House where not only is branded serviceware compostable but organic coffee is provided.

Waste ManagementArmies of Green Angels (photo, bottom left) help attendees with onsite waste sorting. This ensures the benefit of sourcing compostable serviceware is fully realised by an international group of attendees who can often be confused about how to sort their waste in a city they are unfamiliar with. And while overall diversion increased by a small 2%, a notable increase was experienced at Treasure Island where centralized control over catering and waste management achieved a record 87% diversion of waste from landfill.

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Better Movement of People and Materials

Attendee Ground TransportationSince 2007 Oracle OpenWorld has cut carbon emissions from onsite attendee ground transportation by 26 metric tons. With more attendees than ever you may wonder how such reductions are possible. Careful planning by organizers has gradually and deliberately streamlined transportation planning in a variety of ways:• Expanding hotel walking routes to include Union Square and 44% of official host hotels.• Planning remote shuttle routes so that Airport hotels transport attendees to BART station nodes rather than all

the way into downtown San Francisco.• Eliminating shuttle routes from Oracle Headquarters.• Providing pedi-cab transport to the downtown CalTrain station, eliminating a motorcoach shuttle route (photo,

top right).• Adjusting afternoon shuttle schedules by five minutes to be more efficient with use patterns.• Promoting advance purchase of BART transfers from SFO Airport to reduce shuttle and taxi demand.• Providing detailed transit information to attendees through a variety of print and online media (photo, bottom

right).

These measures have enabled Oracle to reduce peak shuttle use from 110 buses to 68 buses for the main conference, reducing overall bus miles by 14,561 since 2008. Furthermore, reductions have enabled an estimated $499,500 in cost savings over the past four years. Attendee feedback is carefully monitored to ensure efficiencies do not erode the attendee experience.

Show FreightImprovements have also been experienced in freight handling by Schenker and Freeman:• Distance traveled by Freeman-transported show freight dropped 8,813 miles between 2010 and 2011.• Oracle shipments by Schenker used 303 gallons less fuel due to traveling 1514 fewer miles between 2010 and

2011. This avoided an estimated 3 tons of carbon dioxide emissions.

Carbon OffsetFor the first time in Oracle OpenWorld history organizers provided an option for attendees to voluntarily offset unavoidable carbon emissions. This choice was embedded into registration. 1.4% of attendees opted to offset their travel, meeting a target of 1% of emissions offset. This reflects typical uptake for voluntary event programs of this nature. Moving forward Oracle will consider multiple strategies to improve this emissions accountability figure.

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Event Sustainability Indicators2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 How are we

doing?

Event Sustainability Data

Carbon emissions produced (MT)1 - - - 36,479 36,147

Carbon emission per person (lbs/person) - - - 1,978 1,731

Carbon emissions offset (MT / %) - - - 0/0% 594/1.6%

Venue energy use (kWh) 2 - - 1,525,372 2,098,280 1,740,240

Venue water use (gallons) 2 - - 3,053,122 3,576,384 5,394,983

Landfilled materials (lbs) 2 - 86,645 185,598 210,425 240,892

Recycled materials (lbs) 2 - 77,989 149,261 164,625 229,046

Composted materials (lbs) 2 - 43,640 94,740 131,837 157,700

Donated materials (lbs) 2 - 11,518 13,982 20,623 14,702

Waste per participant (lbs) - 2.1 5.0 5.2 5.2

Diversion from landfill (%) - 61%/56-61% 58%/51-88% 60%/38-74% 62%/33-87%

Paper used (tons, onsite) 112 28 18 31 6.5

Signage (sqft) - - 75,796 112,600 142,759

Carpet (sq yards - show carpet) - 274,308 261,970 213,772

Freight (lbs) 3 - - - 633,900 785,000

Freight (miles - Schenker/Freeman) 3 - - - 14,500/28,413 12,986/19,600

Shuttle buses (# on peak) - 110 80 91 68

Shuttle fuel (miles) - 69,667 65,567 56,637 55,106

Food miles (average/function) 4 - - 12,337 9,855 9,775

AV Energy footprint (kWh) - - - - 110,428

Community agencies helped - - 10 10 6

Attendee evaluation rating (% satisfied) - - - - -

Pat yourself on the back: Indicator is experiencing positive progress toward sustainability. You've maximized, improved, or captured a baseline.

May deserve a discussion: Indicator may be of concern due to an uncapitalized opportunity, static progress, or decline in sustainability performance.

Definitely stop and look: Indicator is cause for concern and experiencing significant negative trending against sustainability.

In addition to chronicling the evolution of best practices, Oracle OpenWorld organizers compare and contrast the performance of sustainability programs in different years.

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Event Sustainability Indicators2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 How are we

doing?

Sustainable Procurement Data

Hotels - linen reuse - 61% 79% 86% 86%

Hotels - energy efficient housekeeping - 55% 86% 89% 89%

Hotels - water conserving fixtures - 56% 72% 80% 80%

Hotels - amenity reuse/donation - 59%/38% 67%/51% 79%/58% 79%/58%

Hotels - recycling (diversion from landfill) - 69% 86% 88%(62%) 88%(62%)

Hotels - green cleaner - 62% 63% 74% 74%

Hotels - recycled bathroom papers - 46% 63% 67% 67%

F&B - local (250 miles) ~20% ~65% 60% 77% 88%

F&B - organic (certified) ~20% ~20% 2% 19% 13%

Paper - post-consumer recycled content

(collateral/office)

- 100%/30% 100%/30% 100%/30% 100%/30%

Carpet - recycled content (post-industrial) - 25% 25% 25% 25%

Signage - sustainable substrate 5 - - 52% 44% 45%

Signage - reused/retained for reuse - - 5%/37% 12%/17% 18%/32%

Signage - local - - 39% 50% 36%

Signaged - donated/recycled - - 45% 70% 51%

Environmental Benefits6

Energy saved (Mj) - 1,455,008 2,546,717 1,950,240 1,234,657 N/A

Water saved (L) - 1,879,692 2,739,537 2,538,331 1,534,239 N/A

Emissions avoided (MT CO2) - 172 677 627 674 N/A

Trees saved - 845 460 233 787 N/A

Name badge reuse - - 56% 60% 1% N/A

Press articles - 18 32 45 16 N/A

Costs avoided through sustainability (net) $152,650 $320,702 $858,638 $16,204 $325,836 N/A

MeetGreen® Calculator score 34 62 70 82 86

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16,900 Gallon Drops in the Water Conservation Bucket

While the event world is often singularly-focussed on climate change and managing carbon emissions, Oracle is also directing attention to water-related issues. Why? Because while Oracle is making progress at reducing carbon emissions per event attendee and devising solutions to ensure event waste does not continue to rise, organizers have seen that water use is increasing as Oracle OpenWorld and JavaOne expand.

Infrastructure ChallengesOf all event metrics, water use is one of the hardest to measure. Buildings are not typically designed to isolate event and guest room-specific water use. Furthermore, few hotels measure and analyse water use to know how much is used per guest or per event attendee, so even using average data to make sound water consumption estimates can be difficult. In light of this, Oracle’s biggest challenge is getting accurate baselines to know for sure how much water is being used! Organizers acknowledge there is much uncertainty in water use data and are therefore working hard with venues to ensure more accurate water use measurement year to year. Oracle encourages other event organizers to ask for water use data so that, like waste and carbon reporting, water consumption disclosure can become more accurate and wide-spread for events.

Onsite Water Conservation EffortsIn spite of this challenge, however, Oracle is still paying attention to water conservation, including providing National Geographic with a $1 million grant to support ocean conservation (photo, bottom left) . In addition, Oracle OpenWorld’s unique approach to water stations is a compelling case study in water conservation for events. Since 2007 Oracle has gradually moved away from individually bottled water, to initially use five-gallon water bubblers and now exclusively uses water stations that provide fresh San Francisco tap water (photo, top left). The net result has been a staggering reduction in water waste: from 4,369 gallons of attendee drinking water consumed to 1,020 gallons consumed. This while attendance has increased! Furthermore, this has prevented the use of over 56,000 water bottles, which have an additional estimated manufacturing footprint of 13,600 gallons of water! (Graphic courtesy Hartmann Studios).

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How do we compare?

Analysis SummaryEach of the following analyses provide a slightly different perspective on event sustainability.

ISO 20121• Process-based system standard• Scope may be an event, events, or event-

related organization• Enables self-defined objectives and

targets• International draft standard• May be self or third-party verified• Comparative analysis limited externally• To be adopted 2012

APEX-ASTM• Performance-based technical standard• Scope for an event only• Provides specific objectives and targets• North America-based draft standard• May be self or third-party verified• Comparative analysis possible internally

or externally• 8/9 standards adopted 2011

MeetGreen® Calculator• Performance-based measurement tool• Scope for event only• No prescriptive objectives and targets• International tool• May be self or third-party verified• Comparative analysis possible internally

or externally• Launched 2007

Continuous Improvement

Through annual goal-setting and consistent measurement, Oracle attempts to continuously improve sustainable event performance. The recent emergence of sustainable event standards and tracking against the MeetGreen® Calculator provide opportunities for comparison. Each of the following analyses provide perspectives on how event sustainability is approached, and evolving.

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ISO 20121STANDARD REQUIREMENT BRIEF DESCRIPTION PREPAREDNESS ASSESSMENT

SCOPE (4.4) Clearly identify and document what the sustainable event management system applies to. Set boundaries.

Compliant for Oracle OpenWorld and JavaOne scope.

ENGAGEMENT (4.3) Provide a circular system, enabling affected communities and key stakeholders to give feedback at various points to determine if needs are being met.

Compliant. Feedback loops exist with staff, vendors, and attendees in an annual cycle for event scope.

PRIMARY PURPOSE / VALUES (4.6)

Provide vision and values for sustainable development of the event that will guide event activities / decisions.

Non-compliant, minor non-conformity. Event has a purpose, however, key sustainability values are not yet documented.

POLICY (5.3) Document a formal policy with leadership support for sustainable development of the event.

Non-compliant, minor non-conformity. Policies and procedures exist but have not been signed by leadership.

ISSUES, OBJECTIVES, & PLANS (6)

Identify issues that present risks and opportunities for sustainable development of the event. Craft clear objectives that act on material issues. Document a plan that will enable objectives to be met.

Non-compliant, minor non-conformity. Event-specific objectives, targets, and plans are identified. Key sustainability issues need to be documented.

IMPLEMENTATION (7 & 8) Provide resources to implement the plan, such as: human resources, training, communications to key stakeholders, operational control and supply chain management.

Compliant. Oracle twiki, training tools exist. Procurement is engaged. Communications with stakeholders ongoing.

CHECK & REVIEW (9 & 10) Measure outcomes and monitor performance against objectives to evaluate progress and improve. This includes senior management reviews, data collection and other tactics.

Compliant. Annual event green team action plan, review, and goal-setting.

ISO 20121 is an emergent management system standard for sustainable events. As of August 2011 it is in the process of public review of the Draft International Standard (DIS), anticipated to be launched in 2012. This standard requires events be managed using a process that integrates stakeholder concerns and sustainable development issues. It does not provide a traditional checklist of performance requirements or best practices. In that respect it affords a more flexible approach. It may be applied to an event, multiple events, or an event organization.

The anticipated requirements have been summarized and briefly described in the table to the right. Further details on each can be provided by referring to the numbered item in the standard itself.

Preparedness has been assessed using a three-tiered scale. The event may be compliant, or non-compliant due to non-conformity with a standard requirement. Non-conformities may be major—requiring a significant amount of work to address—or minor. Significance is determined based on the typical effort required to engage stakeholders and document outcomes.

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APEX-ASTM StandardThe APEX-ASTM Environmentally Sustainable Event Standard is a performance-based standard for event sustainability. Unlike a process standard, it identifies very specific technical requirements all events must meet. It is therefore more aligned with the “green checklist” approach many organizations have adopted.

The draft Standard has 436 requirements in nine different event sectors. Each sector has requirements for the planner and supplier. In order to comply an event must meet 100% of requirements in all sectors for all parties. An event may meet Level 1, 2, 3, or 4 performance.

This analysis considers compliance with applicable Level 1 requirements only. Detailed requirements for each area can be provided.

Eight of the nine sector standards have passed, with Accommodations still pending approval. Certain required items are open to interpretation. Based on this preliminary analysis Oracle OpenWorld and JavaOne are compliant with 65% of all requirements.

SECTOR NUMBER OF REQUIREMENTS IN LEVEL I OF THE STANDARD

NUMBER OF REQUIREMENTS MET OR DEEMED NON-APPLICABLE

DESTINATION PlannerSupplier (CVB):Host City:

171311

Planner:Supplier (CVB):Host City:

15 / 88%6 / 46%11 / 100%

ACCOMMODATION Planner:Supplier:

1633

Planner: Supplier:

11 / 69%9 / 27%

VENUES Planner:Supplier:

2238

Planner: Supplier:

17 / 77%25 / 66%

FOOD & BEVERAGE Planner:Supplier:

3436

Planner:Supplier:

28 / 82%29 / 81%

EXHIBITS Planner: Supplier:Exhibitors:

241813

Planner:Supplier:Exhibitors:

18 / 75%15 / 83%0 / 0%

TRANSPORTATION Planner:Supplier:

2021

Planner:Supplier:

13 / 65%11 / 52%

ONSITE OFFICE Planner:Supplier:

3013

Planner:Supplier:

24 / 80%9 / 69%

COMMUNICATION Planner:Supplier:

2122

Planner:Supplier:

16 / 76%5 / 23%

AUDIO VISUAL Planner:Supplier:

1519

Planner: Supplier:

12 / 80%10 / 53%

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MeetGreen® Calculation

The MeetGreen® Calculator measures overall event sustainability. It considers a combination of best practices and measured performance achievements to determine an overall meeting sustainability score (graph right), along with scores in 10 different areas of meeting management (graph next page).

Oracle OpenWorld and JavaOne 2011 has improved slightly on the 2010 event, from 82% to 86%.

Red bars are non-Oracle events. Comparison events have been filtered to include those held since 2009 within the United States that are of like size (5000+ participants). Both corporate and association events are represented.

Total Conference ScoreOracle OpenWorld JavaOne 2011

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1

2

3

4

5

CarbonFor the first time in 2011 Oracle offered a voluntary offset purchase option within the

registration system for Oracle OpenWorld and JavaOne. Attendees purchased 594 metric tons of offsets, amounting to 1% of the event footprint, which is typical for a voluntary program. Offsets were purchased through TerraPass.

Property improvementsAlready committed to sustainable practices, San Francisco hotels and Moscone Center continue to

push to improve sustainable practices. This reflects the City of San Francisco’s direction to encourage and require more sustainable performance from city businesses. In the last year Moscone Center has upgraded to more water efficient fixtures and invested in additional recycling program improvements, which led to some increases in diversion for the Moscone West building. In addition hotels have been working to improve recycling diversion rates.

TransportationGround shuttles continue to be reduced at Oracle OpenWorld and JavaOne. This year 35,000 lbs

of carbon emissions were reduced by the proactive measures described on page 11 of this report. In addition more modern, fuel-efficient buses continue to be sourced. 73% of attendee shuttles are 2007 or newer, compared to 34% in 2010. All shuttles are sourced within 3 hours of San Francisco.

Name Badge SustainabilityOracle was not able to recover as many name badge holders for reuse as in previous years,

which led to a slight drop in the Communications and Marketing score. Lanyards were retained for reuse and will be used in 2012 if the current sponsor is maintained, as was the case in 2011. Although Oracle did not reuse as many signs from previous years, a higher than historical number were retained for reuse into 2012. These trends had a neutral effect on the Calculator score.

Event Category ScoreOracle OpenWorld JavaOne 2011

Onsite Office All shipping by show management took advantage of SmartWay certified haulers. This

program, operated by the US Environmental Protection Agency, recognizes freight companies that adopt sustainable shipping practices.

1

2

3

4 5

*Note: Additional requirements were introduced into the MeetGreen® Calculator in 2010. This was done to integrate advancing requirements for

sustainable events based on ISO 20121 and the ASTM-APEX Standard. Reductions in scores in 2010 should be interpreted as a shift in standard

baselines that increase expectations for sustainable events, rather than a decline in event performance for this event specifically.

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Since 2010 Oracle has been expanding event sustainability best practices beyond San Francisco. In 2011 this included 38 pilot projects on 5 continents, impacting 32,000 event attendees. Following these pilots Oracle identified 16 minimum practices for all events, challenging their global event marketing teams and agencies to implement and report against these guidelines. Since launching the program in June 2011 over 600 events in Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Latin America, and North America have started to measure their efforts. The goal by June 2012? Half of Oracle events on the path to implementing best practices, consistently implementing at least 50% of guidelines. In addition, special efforts have and will be taken with larger showcase events, such as Oracle OpenWorld in Beijing, Tokyo, and Sao Paulo. In the first half of 2011 this initiative has resulted in $142,000 in savings, showing that even for small events simple green acts like name badge and sign reuse, collateral reduction, and doing away with bottled water add up!

Event Sustainability Goes Global

Global Green Event Status*

1. North America: 358 events enrolled

2. Latin America: 0 events enrolled

3. Europe, Middle East, Africa: 149 events enrolled

4. Asia-Pacific: 109 events enrolled

5. Showcase events: 4 events executed

* Engagement status as of December 19, 2011

5 55

5

1

2

3

4

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Challenges & Ideas

2. Source Reduction

While use of some materials at Oracle OpenWorld and JavaOne—such as carpet, paper, shuttle buses, and water bottles—continue to drop, some material use is climbing, particularly event signage. If Oracle would like to work toward reductions in this area a good first step would be to evaluate the need for adhesive signage, which would reduce overall sign use and improve diversion of graphics from landfill. Removing dates from street banner signage would also help improve reuse. These steps may also contribute to an overall reduction in waste per attendee, which has held fairly constant at approximately 5 lbs per attendee over the last few years.

While reducing signage is environmentally and financially desirable, it will be important to ensure that attendee satisfaction is not compromised, particularly at the JavaOne venues that require a significant amount of directional signage.

Now that baseline energy use from AV has also been established, targets could also be discussed and set to reduce power draw by gradually integrating more efficient equipment. Careful consideration of this piece will be required as there may be cost implications associated with newer, greener technology.

1. Social Responsibility

The first four years of Oracle’s event sustainability program have elevated environmentally responsible practices by event service providers in San Francisco in specific and measurable ways.

There is now an opportunity to broaden the sustainable event plan to include social responsibility. Social responsibility can take a variety of forms, from ensuring event plans and supply chains account for employee health, safety, and well being, to making sure organizers are proactive about considering attendee accessibility needs. It also includes having policies that address and plan for event risks and ethical concerns related to event contracting.

Social responsibility can also include special projects that improve community access to the benefits from events. This might involve skills training for youth or the disadvantaged. Another opportunity may be to create a local demonstration project that links the event host with community stakeholders to create win-win outcomes that might be showcased during the event.

Marching Forward

Every year Oracle OpenWorld’s Green Team revisits past progress in order to assess emerging challenges and capitalize on new opportunities. The following items have been identified as possible areas needing attention in 2012. Action items are proposed to Oracle by MeetGreen® and Green Team members.

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5. Carbon Accountability

Oracle OpenWorld took an important first step toward improving accountability for event-related carbon emissions that cannot be avoided this year by providing a voluntary offset option for attendees at point of registration and onsite. This program experienced an expected level of participation. To increase emissions offset Oracle could consider acquiring a sponsor for offsets or a way to embed offset costs into registration or exhibitor costs.

It may also be possible to tie offset projects in with event-related services onsite, such as providing generator fuel from offset project providers, and/or buying produce from farms that operate methane capture.

Lastly, it may be possible to tell a deeper story about how online participation in Oracle OpenWorld and JavaOne is leveraging more attendance at a reduced carbon footprint. With 100,000 people opting to attend online, virtual participant data may be able to be quantified in ways that show emissions avoided by proving non-in-person means to engage in the event.

4. Waste Management

Waste production and diversion has plateaued at Oracle OpenWorld, holding steady at a rate of 5 lbs per attendee and 60% diversion from landfill. The following tactics could be considered in order to achieve previously set targets:

• Engaging waste haulers in one-on-one auditing and mentorship of venues that are experiencing less than 70% diversion in order to identify and help venues correct trouble spots.

• Considering back-of-house waste auditing by Green Angels-type teams that could catch and sort waste for contaminants prior to hauls being picked up by Recology.

• Implementing uniform signage about waste disposal throughout all venues using symbols and colors that are easily interpreted by international audiences.

• Education about appropriate waste sorting through attendee communication media such as mobile apps, pocket guides, and dailies.

3. Food & Beverage

While improvements in sourcing continued by McCalls and Savor, steps to include hotels venues in food tracking made little progress in 2011. This is because most hotel venues decided to out-source lunch functions to the Boxed Lunch Company, a third-party vendor. The degree of separation resulting from this arrangement limits Oracle’s ability to understand what kinds of ingredients are sourced and if improvements to sustainability can be negotiated. Short timelines for menu planning also limit the ability for third-party vendors to research and source different ingredients if sustainable options are not already being provided.

Oracle is encouraged to pursue earlier conversations with hotels and the Boxed Lunch Company to see if sustainability partnerships are possible, or possibly outsource the lunches to a different vendor who can handle the volume, meet price points, and is willing to integrate sustainability considerations.

ENDNOTES:

1. Includes emissions produced from attendee air and ground transport

as well as venue energy, hotel accommodation, and catering.

2. Starting in 2009 energy and water use includes associated guest rooms

at hotels providing meeting space.

3. Freight includes show management freight only.

4. Food miles are based on analysis of three typical event functions: a

breakfast, lunch, and reception. Food miles for prepared foods are

tracked back to point of processing while raw “scratch” ingredients are

tracked back to farm. Reported miles account for some consolidation in

shipping where appropriate.

5. To be considered sustainable substrates must meet one of the

following criteria: made of post consumer recycled content, recyclable,

compostable or biodegradable materials, and/or made of renewable

resources.

6. This section reflects the estimated cumulative benefits of decisions to

reduce, reuse, and recycle, based on available data. This may include

things like use of recycled content paper, water bottle reductions,

recycling benefits, fuel use reductions, shuttle elimination, virtual

participation, etc. Where reduction is measured it reflects the

reduction over previous year, based on decisions made and actions

taken within the single event cycle. Source data supplied from

vendors and supplemented by the Environmental Paper Network

Paper Calculator, US EPA WasteWise Tool, Carpet America Recovery

Effort, International Bottled Water Association and Plastics Europe

- Association of Plastics Manufacturers. Emissions calculations by

TerraPass. The large increase in savings in 2009 is accounted for

by estimating benefits resulting from carpet reuse, which was not

previously measured but was practiced. Copyright 2011 MeetGreen®.

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http://www.oracle.com/openworld/index.html

Interested in more?We welcome your feedback and questions at any time.

Please contact: MeetGreen®| 6220 NE Glisan Street Portland OR 97213 | T: +1 503-252-5458 | F: +1 503-261-0964 E: info@meetgreen.com | W: www.meetgreen.com

Acknowledgements:

Sincere thanks to those individuals who have made this report possible: Paul Salinger, Jodi Morrision, Kelley Young, Krystal Benko, Nancy Bsales, Sophia Campodonico, Jeff Chase, Jane Grodem, Jeff Hall, Kathleen Hennesey, Herbert Kaltschmid, Evelyn Neumayr, John O’Brien, Joe Pestka, Bob Sauter, Joyce Schroeder. Gratitude as well to all the suppliers on and outside of the event Green Team who partner with Oracle to provide data.

Photos: Hartmann Studios, MeetGreen®

Copyright © 2011 by MeetGreen® All rights reserved.