Apr 17 2008
At its twelfth annual Technology and Marketing University (TMU), TRAMS, Inc. and Sabre Travel Network will host an eco-friendly luncheon Wed., April 24 at the Rio Hotel in Las Vegas that will not only stimulate the conversation on travel-related sustainability efforts, but also give back to the local community of one of the world's travel capitals, Las Vegas.
This year’s TMU theme “Better Together,” which focuses on unique combinations of business products that will help travel agents become more productive and profitable takes a different approach on Wed. when local elementary students from Lake Mead Christian Academy and their school founder Sue Blakely join Lee Rosen, Sabre Travel Network Vice President and President of TRAMS, at the TMU “Green” luncheon.
Rosen will present Blakely and five kindergarten and first grade students with more than 70 unique centerpieces from the luncheon. The centerpieces include selected herbs that are sustainable in the Las Vegas climate, and bamboo – a sustainable plant with many uses. The children at Lake Mead Christian Academy will not only plant the herbs, but also maintain them and harvest them for use in the school lunch program, and the bamboo will be used to stimulate classroom discussions on the importance of cultivating sustainable materials in our environment.
“Whether we’re in the travel industry or not, we will hear a lot more about environmental impact and sustainability in the months and years ahead,” said Rosen, “But at Sabre and at TRAMS we feel it’s important that we don’t just talk about these issues, rather, that we put into practice what we learn and make sure that we’re preparing and educating future generations on the impact they have on our environment.”
In addition to the presentation to school representatives, agents attending TMU will see a brief presentation focusing on how they can make positive impact on the environment through sustainability efforts in their homes and offices as well as encouraging more eco-conscious travel practices. TMU organizers have also made efforts to significantly reduce the use of paper at the conference, providing all of the session materials digitally. Other efforts include chartering buses with unique emission control filters for low carbon-dioxide output.
Sabre has a tradition of sustainability and recently received recognition from The State of Texas Governor on their five-year anniversary commemorating the design of its global headquarters as a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified building. Other Sabre environmental efforts include significant recycling efforts which generated 98.52 tons of materials in 2006 and that fifty percent of the building’s materials are from recycled content. Sabre Holdings has a growing and globally diverse Corporate Social Responsibility program.