In response to attendee evaluations, we are making some big changes to make the SHSMD conference a more environmentally friendly experience!

• It’s a paperless conference. Tired of lugging around those bulky session handouts? Wish you had access to all the handouts provided at the Annual Conference—not just the ones of the sessions you attended? Good news; this year the Annual Conference is paperless—meaning we will not distribute session handouts onsite.
• We’re eliminating disposable plastic water bottles from conference events. When you arrive, you’ll receive a refillable travel mug (made from recycled material) for use during the conference and beyond. Water coolers will be available throughout the meeting space.
• The conference bags will be made from 100% organic materials. Reuse them after the meeting for groceries; no more plastic bags!
• Conference pens are made from 100% biodegradable material.
• Badge lanyards are made from recycled and reclaimed materials.
• Dropoff bins for recycling conference materials will be available in the registration area.
• We are asking our conference partners in the exhibit hall to be environmentally conscious when developing marketing materials.
• The San Francisco Marriott and Freeman Decorating have extensive plans in place for practicing the 3 Rs: reduction, reuse, and recycling.

The Paperless Conference
All registered attendees will have three ways to access session handouts before and after the conference.

1. Before the meeting, visit www.shsmd.org where all handouts submitted by speakers will be available. We will e-mail you to let you know when they are available so you can print or download the materials before you leave home.
2. At the meeting, you will receive a CD-ROM of all handouts submitted by speakers.
3. After the meeting, handouts will be available in the members-only Resource Center at www.shsmd.org and the SHSMD Knowledge Community (www.shsmdcommunity.org) so you can access them when you return to the office.

Have a "green" idea? Send it to shsmd@aha.org!

Return to conference website.