HILTON HEAD ISLAND, SC (August 29, 2011) - Hilton Head Island has long been considered an environmentally sensitive destination, but to advance environmental stewardship and become a more sustainable community, a local Sustainability Advisory Committee for Hilton Head Island has formed, and an introduction of the effort will take place Tuesday, September 20th at 3:30pm.

The Sustainability Advisory Committee for Hilton Head Island is a citizen led group that developed from the Mayor's Task Force Vision Plan recommendations adopted by the Greater Island Council of Hilton Head Island and Bluffton, a nonprofit organization. The committee's role is to research, develop, and facilitate opportunities to support sustainable practices that further the journey to sustainability for Hilton Head Island, considering impacts on the economy, ecology, and the people. The announcement and introduction of the committee's members will be part of the Lowcountry Leadership in Sustainability roundtable session during the TIES (The International Ecotourism Society) conference -- an annual event -- which is expected to attract between 350-400 delegates from around the world. The public is invited to attend this session and the conference.

The roundtable session - Lowcountry Leadership in Sustainability -- has been organized by local leaders and is designed to highlight sustainability initiatives and create an environment for discussion among regional stakeholders regarding ideas, opportunities, successes, methods and resources related to leadership, launch and success of organizational efforts. The panel of experts will include Andrew Craig, the Senior Manager of Environmental Initiatives for the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), the new five-year sponsor of the PGA Tour's Heritage golf tournament at the Harbour Town Golf Links, Sara Clow, General Manager of the GrowFood Carolina program recently launched in Charleston, and Will Paddock, Director of Strategy for Sustainable Solutions, a consulting firm that works with local government, communities, and corporations to implement sustainable practices to impact the triple bottom line. The roundtable session will be facilitated by Teresa Wade, founder and executive director of Experience Green, a non-profit organization on Hilton Head Island providing experiential sustainability education, and Denise Grabowski, principal of Symbioscity and member of the Chatham County Environmental Forum, a group that created a county adopted resolution to make Chatham County the Greenest in the State of Georgia.

"The panelists contributing to this discussion represent ongoing efforts that capitalize on the comprehensive value proposition associated with sustainability. These are examples our community needs to inspire action." said Teresa Wade, executive director of Experience Green. The effort will also identify participants for an ongoing roundtable network for collaboration and information exchange to further community, profit and nonprofit organizations, and government sustainability efforts in the Lowcountry. The future roundtable meetings will be facilitated by Experience Green as well. The public is invited to participate in the discussion which will focus on themes such as stakeholder engagement, goals and measurement, value creation, and more.

The roundtable session is presented by Experience Green, in conjunction with the Hilton Head Island-Bluffton Chamber of Commerce, and Sustainable Solutions.

Although registration is required to attend the TIES conference, the roundtable session is open to the public, free of charge with advanced online registration, and local and regional attendance is encouraged. Register online at http://www.experiencegreen.org
For more information call David Zunker at 843-341-8370 or email him at dzunker@hiltonheadisland.org. To schedule an interview with Teresa Wade, call 615-866-1954 or email info@experiencegreen.org