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INUVIK - People who attend their fair share of trade shows will tell you they collect a lot of paper - documents, pamphlets, scribbled notes and invitations that pile up out of nowhere.

But the steering committee behind the Inuvik's ninth annual Petroleum Show, which wraps up today, was intent on reducing paper use this year.

Dr. Ken Coates, dean of arts at the University of Waterloo and a keynote speaker at the ninth annual Inuvik Petroleum Show, displays a two-gigabyte USB key that was handed out to all trade show delegates, instead of a binder containing paper documents, in an effort to go green. - Guy Quenneville/NNSL photo

Delegates registering for the show on Tuesday afternoon were given a two-gigabyte USB key containing the conference schedule and all other pertinent documents, along with the traditional tote bag.

They keys were an effort to steer people away from using paper-spewing binders, said Mayor Derek Lindsay.

"We're going green," said Lindsay, though he added that delegates who desired binders would be supplied with one.

"We talked about it one day at a planning session and said, 'Let's give it a try.' The Inuvialuit Corporate Group sponsored it. We put their logo on the USB keys and now everyone's going to get one."

The USB keys are part of a ongoing effort by the Town of Inuvik to cut down on its use of paper.

At the recent 72nd annual Federation of Canadian Municipalities Conference in Whistler, B.C., Inuvik town councillor Brian McDonald carried his documents in a USB port.

"We had conversations with a couple of people who said, 'Why isn't our town doing that?' And we just explained to them that, as the town of Inuvik, we're trying to go as green as we can," said McDonald.

Council is now considering switching to notebooks for meetings, during which each member typically receives a paper agenda averaging between 40 and 50 pages, which doesn't include extra copies and accompanying documents.

"As councillors, we go through quite a bit of paper with our meetings and stuff. We're trying to eliminate that process," said McDonald.

Going green does more than just save space, said Dr. Ken Coates, the dean of arts and a professor of history at the University of Waterloo. Coats gave a keynote address at the Petroleum Show on Northern resource development on Wednesday.

"What happens is, when you load up with a whole bunch of paper, you're hauling it all over the place and bringing it back and forth," said Dr. Coates.

In addition to Dr. Coates' address, Wednesday's lineup also included panel discussions about the future of Northern resource development and the Mackenzie Gas Project.

"Looking at these presentations, I'm eager to get copies of some of them, and I guarantee you that by the time I leave the conference, some of the presentations will have been shared with people all around the world, colleagues of mine who are in this field and who are excited about this kind of material.

"The new economy, the digital economy, is shaping the way we communicate with each other and this is a classic example of it."

In addition to the USB keys, trade show organizers also mixed up the layout of the speaking hall, throwing in a dozen or so seating tables in the front rows to give the space "a more relaxing and comfortable atmosphere," said Lindsay.