FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

FIRST GREEN TRAVEL SUMMIT TO SHOWCASE COST REDUCTION STRATEGIES & CSR INITIATIVES THAT YIELD POSITIVE ROI

CNNMoney host Olivia Zaleski, Sustainable Development Experts David Refkin & Auden Schendler, EPA Attorney Advisor Harry Lewis, Gather to Address Sustainability in a Business Environment

MILFORD, CT, March 13, 2009, -- The Green Travel Summit^TM, the first fully dedicated forum focused on exploring green travel strategies and their impact on business travel and corporate meetings, announced today an elite line up of speakers. They include Olivia Zaleski, Host of the CNNMoney program, ‘The Business of Green’, Auden Schendler, Executive Director, Aspen Skiing Company, David Refkin, former Director of Sustainable Development, Time Inc. and Harry Lewis, Attorney Advisor U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The Green Travel Summit, to be held at the Fairmont, Newport Beach, California, March 23-24, 2009 will assemble executives from a cross-section of the travel industry including: corporate travel buyers, managers, meeting and incentive planners as well as travel marketing executives, corporate travel suppliers and destination marketing organizations.

The Business of Responsible Travel
Corporations are accelerating their efforts to create enterprise-wide sustainability strategies not only to address the climate change issue, but also to realize cost savings and position themselves for competitive advantage. With travel as the second largest variable expense for organizations, there is a real opportunity to attain measurable cost savings, reduce carbon emission liability and differentiate themselves from their competitors as socially responsible companies to stand out in the marketplace.

Green to Green strategies, or the business of converting environmentally-friendly interests into revenue generating opportunities, have evolved to become a real driver of ROI, but only if they are designed and implemented properly. The Green Travel Summit focuses on the strategies, measurement tools and implementation tactics to prepare executives in developing a green travel and meetings strategy that is right for their organizations.

The Program
Attendees will hear from the industry visionaries, experts and peers skilled in Green travel strategies. Topics will include:

• Recession Proofing Your Travel Program with CSR;
• The Effects of Global Climate Change on the Business of Travel;
• The ROI of Green & The Journey of Getting There;
• The Greening of Hotels & Venues;
• Getting Green Done: Hard Truths from the Front Lines;
• The Green Journey: Traveling Smarter by Focusing on Demand and Change Management.

Panelists include Frank Schnur, Innovation VP, Global Advisory Services, American Express Business Travel, Leilani Latimer, Director Sustainability Initiatives, Sabre Holdings and Guido Bauer Green Globe Green Hotel Certification CEO.

The Green Toolkit
To round out the Summit, a portion of the program will guide attendees through ways to assess, design and implement a responsible travel program. For example, attendees will be provided with insight on the creation of a marketing message, discuss how small changes can help make smarter economic and environmental decisions, and offer guidelines for green meetings.

“The issue of green in the business travel and meeting arena is not going away,” said John Golicz, CEO of Unicomm LLC, organizers of the summit. “In developing this event, we knew it was critical that we address all aspects of the issue with a view to allowing the attendee to take away concrete guidelines and specific models to improve or start their own CSR Programs. As we watched the global economy transform, it became apparent that there was also an imperative to focus on the ROI of green,” he continued.

Two Prestigious Awards Programs
In a first-of-its-kind initiative, the National Business Travel Association (NBTA) will launch its CSR Awards honoring companies for innovative, environmentally responsible programs.

“The Summit is long overdue and necessary for our members to have the opportunity to share and exchange ideas on this critical topic”, says Suzanne Fletcher, Past President, National Business Travel Association and Chair, NBTA CSR Awards Committee. “What a perfect venue to share our results and our industry’s best!”

In addition, Nielsen Travel has created the Greenest Planner Awards, which is sponsored by Successful Meetings and MeetingNews showcasing the best green program from a hotel, conference center, CVB or gaming facility.

Sponsors & Supporters
The Green Travel Summit has attracted premier organizations serving the corporate travel and meetings industry including American Express Business Travel who joined the event as Presenting Sponsor, Fairmont Hotel as Official Hotel, Co-sponsor National Business Travel Association (NBTA) and Intercontinental Hotel Group as Gold Partner. Maritz Travel & American Airlines have joined as Silver Partners, BCD Travel and TSX as Bronze Partners and the Association of Travel Marketing Executives (ATME) as Association Sponsor. The event is supported by Media Sponsors Business Travel News, Successful Meetings, Meeting News and TravelMole. SkyTeam is the Official Airline Alliance and EcoSecurities as Official Carbon Offset Provider.

For more information and special registration rates, please visit the website www.greentravelsummit.com or call 203-878-2577 ex 117.

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About Unicomm, LLC - Unicomm LLC. is an independent business-to-business communications company specializing in conceiving and managing trade shows and conferences in nascent markets.