Business Innovation Fair set for Nov. 20 at Embassy Suites in Loveland

By: InnovatioNews Thursday October 31, 2013 0 comments Tags: ClimateWise, Estes Park, Fort Collins, Jerre Stead, Judy Dorsey, Larimer County, Longmont, Loveland, The Brendle Group, Tracey Hewson

LOVELAND - The eighth annual Business Innovation Fair, which aims to help businesses increase their sustainability, will be held Nov. 20 at Embassy Suites in Loveland.

The event, which will be held from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., includes eight breakout sessions on sustainable planning and building, transportation, waste reduction and awareness and leadership.

The fair will also feature exhibitors of sustainable services and products.

The fair has traditionally been focused on Fort Collins but is being expanded this year to include more of Northern Colorado, according to Tracey Hewson, customer relations business specialist for the city of Loveland.

"We wanted to make it more of a regional event," she said. "We want to have a collaborative effort to send the same message."

Hewson said the fair will feature innovative ideas about how businesses can save costs.

"There are so many new ways to do these things," she said. "There's a lot of new technologies to help people save money.

"It's changing the way we look at doing business, using more innovative ways to do the same work. I think that takes innovation."

The event kicks off at 8 a.m. with a panel discussion on "Net Zero Cities, Rebuilding and Beyond" by invited city and county managers from Fort Collins, Loveland, Longmont and Estes Park and Larimer County. The panel will be moderated by Judy Dorsey, principal of The Brendle Group in Fort Collins.

Invited buffet lunch keynote speaker is Jerre Stead, Gov. John Hickenlooper's rebuild executive, who will discuss the state's sustainable infrastructure recovery efforts following the September floods.

Hosts of the event, which is free and open to the public, include the cities of Fort Collins and Loveland, Longmont Power and Communications, Fort Collins ClimateWise and Platte River Power Authority.

For more information or to register, visit https://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/eventReg?oeidk=a07e8by0c72b1acacc7&oseq=&c=&ch=