FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Virtual Energy Forum Makes History as First Major Online-Only Conference and Exhibition on Energy Efficiency, Policy, Management, and Sustainability

 

Web-based conference united thousands from business, government, academia, think-tanks and the public in interactive exchange on energy.

 

Boston and The World Wide Web, June 17, 2008

The world's first Virtual Energy Forum took place last week over the World Wide Web, June 10 and 11, 2008.  4,000 people registered for the conference, and participants attended the event online--from the convenience of their homes or offices across the United States and worldwide.

"The Virtual Energy Forum is a historic event. Never before has there been a Web-based event focused on energy issues that matched its scale, participation level, rich content, expert participation, and technological innovation," said Robert Rosenbloom, President of PlatformQ, the producer of The Virtual Energy Forum. "We'd like to thank all who participated: sponsors, exhibitors, partners, speakers and attendees--for helping to make the Forum an unqualified success."

Highlights:

  • Keynote speakers including Sen. John Kerry, Newt Gingrich, R. James Woolsey, and Howard Learner - energy policy advisors to presidential candidates
    John McCain and Barack Obama, respectively.

  • - Sessions by 40+ experts from business, government, think tanks, non-profits, universities, etc. 

  • - A virtual tradeshow floor featuring  50 exhibitorsincluding vendors of clean technology products and services, associations and media sponsors.

  • - Over 12 million pounds of CO2 saved by having the event online (carbon calculator available on our homepage)

 

Lauded as "the greener way to gather", the Virtual Energy Forum's LIVE, interactive environment furnished online equivalents of physical conferences: keynote addresses, presentations from expert speakers, venues for networking and an exhibition floor. As CNET's Green Tech Blog wrote, the Forum provided an eco-friendlier way for thousands of people to participate by "not showing up. "

 

Kudos on the Virtual Energy Forum from Participants:

 

Keynote Speakers:

 

John F. Kerry, U.S. Senator and former Democratic presidential candidate spoke on"Reshaping US Policy to Combat Global Climate Change," and described the Forum as "the future of communications" and "the perfect way to connect with thousands of people across the country and throughout the world."


Newt Gingrich, Former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives and presenter of "A Contract with the Earth," said "the Virtual Energy Forum is a wonderful example of an energy conscious event that practices what it preaches."

 


Sponsors:

"As a first-of-its kind event for our industry, I believe that the Virtual Energy Forum was a huge success.  We had a greater number of Web hits, booth visits and leads than we receive at traditional format shows.   The fact that we had such a measureable increase on our ROI for this event, combined with the obvious environmental benefits, leads me to believe that this format has great potential for success," said Brian Dutt, VP Sales & Marketing, Delta Controls Inc. (www.deltacontrols.com), sponsor and exhibitor at the Forum.

 

"The Virtual Energy Forum is a wonderful demonstration of the power of virtual events to engage large audiences without the generation of carbon emissions from travel," said Julian Dautremont-Smith, Associate Director of the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE), association partner of the Forum.


Attendees:

 

"Thanks for putting together this wonderful meeting in cyberspace! I was able to attend only those sessions that dovetail with my interests, without budgeting an expensive meeting and days of downtime, without driving 60 miles to the airport and enduring security procedures, and without leaving my family and staying in a hotel.  Your content was superb.  Thanks to the luminaries for terrific keynote speeches, and thanks to the policy and niche business experts as well," said Becky English, Energy Committee Chair, Sierra Club Rocky Mountain Chapter, and Forum attendee.

 

Doors are Still Open

While the 'live' interactions of The Virtual Energy Forum are now over - anyone who attended, or would still like to access the event's content, can do so for the next 90 days---by registering at  www.virtualenergyforum.com.  Archived content and information includes:

  • 40+ hours of archived streaming video of presentations given at the forum including keynote addresses and expert sessions covering five content tracks:
    Corporate Sustainability, Investing in Green Energy, Energy Management Best Practices, Green IT, and Putting Renewable Energies to Work.
  • A Networking Lounge where visitors can meet and chat with one another.
  • Downloadable materials from participating exhibitors’ virtual booths, and presenters' presentation files.

 

About Virtual Energy Forum
The Virtual Energy Forum is a unique virtual event designed to allow people interested and involved with sustainable energy management operations to connect and successfully interact with one another in ways that are impossible at physical events, through powerful Web-based software and services. PlatformQ, the producer of the Virtual Energy Forum, is a company whose mission is to leverage the accessibility of online events to connect individuals, companies and organizations, across North America and internationally-- who might otherwise not be able to travel to physical events or communicate with leading experts or thought leaders.  http://www.virtualenergyforum.com 

 

Virtual Energy Forum and PlatformQ are trademarks of PlatformQ, LLC. All other trademarks or service marks are property of their respective owners.

Press Contact: Patrick Rafter, prafter@virtualenergyforum.com, 617-901-2697

 

Keywords: energy efficiency, energy policy, sustainability, energy management, renewable energies, alternative energies, green business, John Kerry, Newt Gingrich, John McCain, Barack Obama, carbon emissions