Sourcing Renewables  -  September 24, 2021 - By John Failla, Smart Energy Decisions

SED’s Commitment to Reconnect In Person – Safely

The last 18 months have thrown unimaginable challenges and roadblocks at everyone. Through it all, Smart Energy Decisions’ commitment to your success has been steadfast and second only to our commitment to the health and safety of our community and our team.

The pandemic also created opportunities for us to learn, innovate and reinvent how we serve our community. Last May we announced the launch of an innovative virtual event platform that to date has served as the foundation for six SED events and hosted over 1,500 one-to-one business planning sessions between customer and supplier members of our community who found the opportunity valuable as they still have jobs to do and projects to execute. I’m extremely proud of our team and their tireless efforts on your behalf to fulfill our mission.

As COVID moves from pandemic to endemic, the time has come for us to once again innovate and reinvent how we serve you as a community. We’re excited to introduce the next generation of our innovative event model at the upcoming Renewable Energy Forum, December 6-8 at the Hyatt Regency Resort, Huntington Beach, California, which has been thoughtfully designed with the goal of reconnecting our community in person, safely.

At the RE Forum in December, onsite safety will be top of mind. The Forum will be a FULLY VACCINATED event. This means:

• All attendees – including customers, suppliers, and speakers – will be required to be fully vaccinated.
• Admittance will not be allowed to anyone who has not met this requirement.
• SED will not collect or store anyone’s medical information.

In addition:

• Masks will be provided for everyone and encouraged.
• We are limiting attendance and participation at the event to a maximum of 190 people from 60 customer companies and 40 supplier companies. Our focus is NOT selling thousands of tickets, but rather to offer a safe, focused, and effective event.
• Sanitation stations will be available in abundance.
• The Hyatt hotel has a robust series of safety and cleanliness protocols in place.
• We’re working with the Hyatt to develop floor plans and food functions to implement as many mitigations as possible including physical distancing considerations and using outdoor space whenever possible.

In summary, our requirements currently exceed those of the CDC and Orange County. Should their requirements increase, we will adjust our protocol accordingly.

Feedback and research from the SED community confirm the time is right to reconnect in person - safely. Consider the following:

• Applications for 42 of the available 60 customer company spots are already in
• Almost 75% of these customers are planning on executing a renewable energy deal within the next 12 months. Commitments are accelerating and pent-up demand is building.
• Over 70% of respondents in a survey we conducted this week said they would be “Very Comfortable” considering attendance at an industry event if vaccines are required.
• One of our keynote speakers responded to his speaking invitation within minutes saying “It’s exciting to be talking about being together again in person. I’d be happy to join the December event. Looking forward to it.”

While some things will change at our event in December, the features you tell us that you value most at our in-person events will be as present as ever. The RE Forum will be an event focused entirely on your success. Attendees will experience a highly curated, intimate event delivering unparalleled peer networking and the unique opportunity to conduct business planning sessions designed to help you accomplish your goals and address your challenges.

Visit the RE Forum website for more details on participating. We look forward to celebrating the opportunity to reconnect our community in person, safely this December in Huntington Beach.

Your success is our business.

John Failla is the Founder and Editorial Director of Smart Energy Decisions.

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