• Featured will be top State leaders in the climate change and green initiative in Florida, national hotel brand leaders and technical speakers to help your hotel go green.
• Both the Front of House and Back of house issues will be addressed.
• Vendors for environmentally friendly products will be on hand to assist you
• Florida Department of Environmental Protection staff will be available to answer questions and help guide you through the Florida Green Lodging program process

The topics covered include:

• How do you get into the State Green Lodging Program?
• How do you retrofit your hotel to be green?
• An industry look at other tools for sustainability (the ultimate goal)
• Learn from others that have already travel this path

The demand for hotels to go green has been growing steadily since the inception of the Green Lodging Program in 2004. In July Governor Crist issued Executive Order 07-126 which has greatly increased the demand for designated green hotels for government meetings and conferences.

Section 4 of Executive Order 07-126 states “Effective January 1, 2008, state agencies and departments under the direction of the Governor may not contract for meeting and conference space with hotels or conference facilities that have not received the Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s (DEP) ‘Green Lodging’ program designation for best practices in water, energy, and waste efficiency standards, except when certified to the Governor by the responsible agency head that no other viable alternative exists.”

The Florida Green Lodging Program was established in 2004 by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) with the intent of recognizing and rewarding environmentally conscientious lodging facilities in the state. Through this rapidly growing program DEP encourages the lodging industry to conserve and protect Florida’s natural resources. The Florida Green Lodging Program is unique in that it covers an all-inclusive list of environmental initiatives that are specific to the Florida environment. http://www.dep.state.fl.us/GreenLodging/