Green Meetings

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Overview

Green meetings or Green conventions are conducted in ways which minimize the environmental impact imposed by such activities. Green event planners apply environmentally preferred practices to waste management, resource and energy use, travel and local transportation, facilities selection, siting and construction, food provision and disposal, hotels and accommodations, and management and purchasing decisions for a conducting a more sustainable gathering.

Environmental Impact

By following Green Meeting guides and suggestions, organizations can significantly reduce their environmental impact. Green meetings minimize waste, save energy, conserve water, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Depending on the size of the meeting, the impact of these efforts may vary but all of them help contribute to more sustainable activities.

Meetings and Conventions recently published an article, "Affordable and Green" (October 2009), highlighting green planning savings in virtually every aspect of meeting production.

In the article, Microsoft was noted for saving nearly $500,000 since implementing water coolers instead of individual plastic water bottles at corporate events. The Unitarian Universalist Association held its annual conference in a compact city center conducive to walking and saved $80,000 in transportation costs.

The same issue reported research results that 59 percent of surveyed planners who had implemented green meeting initiatives had realized or were projecting cost savings.

Other specific economies have been outlined by MeetGreen*, including:

Reusing banners - 40,000 attendee conference, five days: $89,250 savings
Reducing daily shuttles - 40,000 attendee conference, five days: $60,000 savings
Reducing handouts - 1,300 attendee conference, two days: $2,000 savings

The list goes on, including savings from local food sourcing, water and energy conservation, and streamlining transportation costs.

For example:

Suppliers and hoteliers can also realize great economic savings through green meeting practices; for instance, hotels can save 307,914 gallons of water per year, a cost savings of $1,163 annually by replacing 3.5 gallon-per-flush toilets with 1.6 gallon-per-flush toilets.

In addition to cost savings, green meetings offer environmental savings; for example, using china service rather than disposables for a group of 2,200 attendees can eliminate more than 1,800 pounds of plastic products being sent to a landfill.

Benefits of Green Meetings

The Economic Bottom Line – Planning and executing environmentally sustainable events isn’t just about being environmentally responsible, they can have economic benefits for the event organizer.

The Environmental Bottom Line – Using recycled materials, recycling materials used, reusing items and reducing materials used can significantly lessen the environmental impact an event has.

Green Meeting Criteria

Destination Selection

Accommodation and Venue Selection

Transportation

Food and Beverage

Exhibition Production

Communication and Marketing

Office Procedures

Green Meeting Resources/Guides

EPA Green Meetings- The Green Meeting website provides information to incorporate environmentally friendly practices for event planning, accommodations, food service, and event space. Links to current environmental initiatives and tools are available.

EPA Region 9 Green Meetings and Conference Policy- This policy aims to reduce the environmental footprint of Region 9 conferences and meetings, and supports the Agency's and Region 9's goals of preventing pollution, minimizing use of resources, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions from federal activities.

BlueGreen Meetings- Whether you are a host, planner or supplier, this is where you'll find the tips, tools and resources to make environmentally responsible choices for your meetings.

Meetingsnet- Green Meetingsnet Resources related to environmentally conscious meeting planning and trends.

Convene Green Alliance- The Convene Green Alliance is a grass-roots, industry initiative spearheaded by associations that encourage positive environmental practices via national, regional and local outreach and education. Participating organizations strive to reflect best environmental practices.

Green Meetings Industry Council- The GMIC is a non-profit, membership-based organization. The mission is "transforming the global meetings industry through sustainability." The Green Meeting Industry Council is leading the meeting industry in improving meeting management by supporting collaboration and the development and dissemination of resources and opportunities that improve the environmental performance of meetings and events.

Green Biz - GreenBiz is the leading online news and information resource on how to align environmental responsibility with business success. It offers more than 8,000 resources, including daily news and feature stories, reports, checklists, case studies, and links to organizations, technical assistance programs, government agencies, and recognition programs. Its free e-newsletter, GreenBuzz, reaches more than 20,000 professionals every week.

Meet Green - MeetGreen is an award-winning, environmental firm that specializes in the meetings industry. They provide leading-edge organizations with unique expertise and resources to produce sustainable meetings, conferences and events.

Environment Canada's Green Meeting Guide - This guide is a practical reference tool for anyone faced with the task of organizing a meeting or conference with the aim of making the event environmentally responsible.

It’s Easy Being Green! A Guide To Planning And Conducting Environmentally Aware Meetings And Events - This EPA guide demonstrates the advantages to designing environmentally conscious events and provides an easy-to-follow checklist for integrating waste minimization into event planning.

Denver Convention and Visitors Bureau - Guidelines for Greening Events and Meetings.

American Institute of Architect's Green Meeting Guide - A resource to help reduce the environmental impact of meetings and events.

National Recycling Coalition's Green Meetings Policy - A resource tool for reducing the environmental impact of meetings and events.

Sustainable Nations Green Meeting Guide 2009 - The guide is designed to assist organisers and hosts of small to medium sized meetings of up to 200 participants in greening their meetings.

Green Meeting Basic Steps

BlueGreen Meeting's 10 Easy Steps for any meeting to make it more environmentally responsible:

1. Put it in writing. Establish an environmental statement or policy for the meeting, and get buy in for it from the meeting host organization's management. Share the policy with suppliers, delegates and speakers.

2. Use paperless technology. Use new media and electronic technology to cut down your paper use. Create a conference web site; offer electronic registration and confirmation; and advertise using the web and/or email.

3. Meet close. Reduce distances traveled by speakers and delegates. Choose a host city that's close to as many delegates as possible, and within the city choose a venue and hotel that are close to the airport and within walking distance of each other.

4. Practice the 3Rs. Ask your hotel and meeting venue to provide visible and accessible reduction, reuse and recycling services for paper, metal, plastic and glass.

5. Bulk up. Have your food & beverage service provider use bulk dispensers for sugar, salt, pepper, cream and other condiments.

6. Lighten your Stay. Choose a hotel that offers a linen reuse program and bulk dispensers for shampoos and soaps in guest suites.

7. Eat green. Include vegetarian meals, and have meals planned using local, seasonal produce.

8. Close the recycling loop. Have all printed materials published on recycled paper, using vegetable-based inks, and on both sides of the page.

9. Save energy. Coordinate with the meeting venue to ensure that energy lights and air conditioning will be turned off when rooms are not in use.

10. Spread the word! Tell delegates, speakers and the media about your success.