Cover Story

Going Green

Most planners acknowledge that they want to hold environmentally friendly meetings—even though they’re not always sure how to do it and don’t want to spend more money in the process. In turn, savvy suppliers are investing considerable time and money in “green”practices and projects.

By Seth Gardner

During the past two decades, environmental issues have taken on new importance in many industries, with energy conservation and minimized consumption of natural resources receiving the most public attention.

Only recently, however, have meeting professionals begun to fully consider the importance of environmentally friendly events. As more planners strive to minimize their events’ environmental impacts, suppliers are also working to make their meeting facilities more earth-friendly.

Today, the topic of green meetings is becoming more commonplace, and MPI is striving to educate planners and suppliers about best practices in this area. At its 2006 Professional Education Conference-North America (PEC-NA) in Charlotte, N.C., MPI implemented several environmentally friendly initiatives. These initiatives included working with the Charlotte Convention Center to recycle a variety of items, giving signs to schools and churches for later use as art supplies, donating leftover edibles to a local food bank and following green catering policies for networking events.

In addition, two of the conference’s educational sessions—presented by Amy Spatrisano, CMP, a principal of Meeting Strategies Worldwide—attracted planners who hoped to learn how they could make their meetings and events more environmentally friendly.

“Green meetings are far from being considered mainstream practice,” said Spatrisano, a Portland, Ore.-based independent planner who is also president of the Green Meeting Industry Council and a member of the MPI Oregon Chapter. “It is my intention that some day ‘green meetings’ will be an obsolete term, because producing environmentally responsible meetings will just be the way meetings are done.”

Making It Happen

Despite their apparent increased focus on and interest in green standards and practices, some meeting professionals still consider the topic a “hot potato.” Two planners interviewed for this article asked not to be identified or quoted because they didn’t believe their environmental efforts were exemplary and they feared being chastised—or making their organizations look bad—for appearing not to care about Mother Earth. In addition, one representative of a resort that had received good press for its green initiatives asked not to be quoted in this article because the coverage could be perceived as too self-serving.

Ultimately, however, planners and suppliers who spoke on and off the record seem to agree that any efforts facilitating greener meetings are generally good ideas—and that it will take teamwork and cooperation to ensure their collective success. Suppliers, in particular, realized the key roles they play in making “sustainability” and “ecological responsibility” more than mere buzzwords in the meetings business.

“Green meetings are an excellent way for organizations to demonstrate good corporate social responsibility by continuing to make sustainable lifestyle choices from the food they eat to the organizations they work with,” said Michelle White, manager of environmental affairs for Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, which boasts the award-winning Fairmont Green Partnership Program. “It is imperative that companies who share a similar environmental mandate work together to reduce our ecological footprint. Green meetings are an excellent way to do this and often serve to promote the concept for attendees or delegates who are experiencing the concept for the first time. It makes people think and will serve to share the stewardship message that not even an action as simple as a meeting is environmentally benign. All actions have consequences, and it is up to all of us to mitigate these.”

VisitScotland’s Green Tourism Business Scheme (GTBS), for example, encourages tourism- and meeting-related businesses to be environmentally friendly. Launched five years ago, the GTBS now has more than 420 members, all of whom are rigorously assessed and given Bronze, Silver or Gold awards, depending on the levels of energy-efficiency they achieve. They are encouraged to introduce measures as diverse as using low-energy light bulbs or corridor lights that go on when people approach, recycling paper products to make fire briquettes or using local produce on menus.

With so many suppliers—especially hotels and convention facilities—turning their attention to greener meetings and implementing more environmentally friendly processes, many planners are indeed quick to applaud efforts like these, as they help them do their jobs even better.

“Green meetings have been a really hot topic for the past 10 years, and more hotels and meeting venues everywhere are really trying to meet planners’ needs and expectations in this area,” said Kathleen Rossell, CMP, director of conferences and meetings for the Association of Legal Administrators in Lincolnshire, Ill., and a member of the MPI Chicago Area Chapter. “All planners want to be environmentally conscious, and it’s so helpful that suppliers are realizing that and incorporating that focus into their offerings. It makes it easier for me and other planners to use greener practices in our meetings and events. The whole process has become a team effort.”

Suppliers Take the Lead

While some meeting planners don’t put many green-related requests into their RFPs, it’s increasingly apparent that planners nevertheless expect hotels and other meeting venues to be environmentally aware in their business practices. Suppliers have responded in recent years by investing ample money and time to “go green.”

“While it is still fairly unusual for meeting planners to incorporate ‘green’ requirements into their RFPs, we are starting to see some stipulations within the proposals that the destination candidate must be ecologically and environmentally aware and have in place recycling and other green programs to help conserve the environment,” said Barbara Maple, general manager of the Vancouver Convention & Exhibition Center (VCEC) and a member of the MPI British Columbia Chapter. “As an overall trend, most meeting planners recognize [green meetings’] importance, but we often have to demonstrate how we can help respond through systems and processes. We work with clients to help plan a program of reuse and recycling as a fundamental part of an event. We offer guidance on how to make programs more environmentally friendly and offer systems and facilities to accommodate adjustments.”

Suppliers say more planners are aware enough of green initiatives that they at least inquire about their availability at properties where they wish to hold events.

“Meeting planners like to know what efforts a hotel puts forth,” said Patrick Sorge, director of sales and marketing at the Hyatt Regency Boston and member of the MPI New England Chapter. “Most will inquire about ways to recycle the leftover materials from their meetings and food from their banquet events.”

Convention centers are also seeing more interest among planners in their green practices—what they’re already doing and what they could be doing.

“We are seeing an increase in awareness that recycling programs are an important feature,” said Matt Pizzuti, director of sales and marketing for the Oregon Convention Center (OCC) in Portland. “[In addition to] cardboard and brochures, but also do shrink wrap, vinyl from the decorator’s tables, foam-core signs and all kinds of post-consumer organic food waste.”

But some planners believe that facilities can do far more than they are presently set up to do and increasingly expect those facilities to make changes. And suppliers are responding.

“Portland and the OCC are continuing to improve and stretch the performance in providing the most environmentally conscious facility we can,” Pizzuti said. “We have been surprised by some of the requests that make sense and can be implemented, and we had just never thought of them—things like no ice in water glasses unless requested, no saucers under cups and condiments served in bulk containers.”

Money Still Talks

Despite a prevailing perception that implementing green practices can cost considerable money for planners and suppliers, savings are actually likely to occur in the long run. According to a comprehensive report on green meetings released in 2004 by the Convention Industry Council (www.conventionindustry.org), following best practices for green meetings and events ultimately saves money—both for event organizers and the venues in which they are held.

“By ‘greening’ their facilities, properties will save on operating costs, including skyrocketing energy charges that are crippling many facilities’ profitability,” said Tedd Saunders, executive vice president of environmental affairs for Saunders Hotel Group and president of EcoLogical Solutions Inc. “There are usually so many ‘low-hanging fruit’ opportunities (i.e., low- or no-cost measures with exceptional return on investment (ROI) and ease of implementation) that a hotel does not have to spend a lot of money up front to realize tremendous savings. A hotel can then reinvest some of the savings from these options into longer-term measures that may require more investment to gain further savings.

“And because hotels and meeting facilities can save substantial money from efficiency measures without compromising quality or service, they should not be upcharging meeting planners for these services.”

In other words, these efforts will ultimately save planners money, too.

Chip Gray, owner and general manager of the Harraseeket Inn in Freeport, Maine, agrees that most green practices do save money over time, making them worthwhile pursuits beyond their simple environmental friendliness.

“I’m sure that it’s true that [properties] see little or no immediate ROI in green practices with regard to bookings—yet,” Gray said. “Most green practices do save money over time operationally, however. The expense of converting a traditional heating/air-conditioning system to an energy-efficient one or changing lighting fixtures to those that use less power will show up on the bottom line. Environmentally friendly cleaning products, recycling and composting all save money. Even the much-made-fun-of card in your hotel room that asks if you want your linen changed every day makes a difference.”

Barbara Maple of the VCEC argues that pricing still plays a big role in bookings, but adds that planners and suppliers alike cannot overlook the long-term financial benefits.

“Overall, as with most industries, price is still one of the major factors for meeting planners; environmental strategies aren’t winning bids single-handedly,” Maple said. “However, clients and suppliers are recognizing the financial benefits that arise from operational efficiencies tied to good business practices. While there obviously are initial and ongoing costs for setting up a program, there are many savings for clients and suppliers that come out of having and utilizing a ‘green program.’"

Pizzuti of the Oregon Convention Center acknowledges that his facility’s investment in green practices may not be paying huge dividends now…but it will.

“Business is not paying back the investment today; however, the investment in being green is really to save money in the long run for the facility in how it operates, not necessarily in the groups booked because of [the green practices]. It is more of a bonus and something to cheer about when it happens.”

Doing It Right … From the Beginning

Because the Hawaii Convention Center (which opened in 1998) was designed with environmental issues top of mind, the facility has not had to undergo many major renovations to implement green practices. According to Mike Polovcin, the center’s director of operations, the center saves tremendously in operations—which ultimately drives costs down for planners and suppliers—through energy efficiencies already in place.

“The Hawai’i Convention Center started well out of the gate,” Polovcin said. “The building was designed under the green program, which ensured that environmental consciousness would always play a part in our practices.”

In Pittsburgh, the relatively new David L. Lawrence Convention Center was also green by design. The facility’s design and construction incorporate a variety of greening elements, including the recycling of up to 80 percent of waste and the use of non-toxic and recycled materials. As the United States’ first green convention center and the world’s largest green building, the center capitalized on its environmentally smart structure by utilizing natural daylight and natural ventilation to light and heat the building and incorporating a water reclamation system. All of the greening efforts were expected to cut the facility’s utility costs by 40 percent, paying for the initial investment in seven to 10 years.

Greener Groups = Higher Standards

Planners for groups predisposed to greener operations, including government organizations, are among those most eager to utilize facilities with well-established green practices.

“We are finding socially and environmentally responsible companies predisposed to choose a green venue over a traditional one when the choice is there for them,” said Gray of Maine’s Harraseeket Inn. “We have seen a major publishing company ask to be sure the paper products used at the property come from manufacturers using sustainable timber harvesting, and we recently saw an RFP for a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency meeting mandate a venue with green certification.

“In our case, the reputation the property has for green practices often causes like-minded organizations to approach us without sending out other RFPs. Environmental groups, conservation organizations and educational groups are all particularly affected by this. We believe that as this trend gathers awareness and momentum, we’ll see more and more attention being paid to this in RFPs.”

Saunders maintains that pursuing green standards not only attracts groups who seek out such contractual terms, but also sets Saunders Hotel Group properties apart in a fierce meetings marketplace.

 “I think the majority has yet to make environmental performance a high priority, but we have found in our hotels that it helped us differentiate ourselves from the competition and win contracts that we might have otherwise lost,” Saunders said. TMP

SETH GARDNER is a freelance writer based in Chicago.

Sidebar: Honoring the Best in Green Meetings

Amid a gradual shift in global attitudes toward environmental protection, IMEX and the Green Meeting Industry Council (GMIC) recently announced a new name and format for their joint annual industry awards. The previously named “Environmentally Responsible Meeting Awards” are now the “Green Meeting Awards,” while the “Programmes of Purpose” are now called the “Commitment to the Community Awards.”

The changes reflect the increasingly common worldwide use of the word “green” to cover everything from global warming to recycled paper and the desire of many companies in the meetings, conferences and incentive travel market to support local communities.

Recent IMEX research found that 75 percent of meeting and incentive travel buyers believed that issues of corporate social responsibility would become progressively more important every year. In addition, 42 percent said that they already took environmental considerations into account when planning meetings, conferences or incentive travel programs.

The awards will be presented May 31 in Frankfurt, Germany. For more information, visit www.imex-frankfurt.com/greenawards.html.


Sidebar: Getting Started: What Planners Can Do

With hundreds of thousands of meetings and conventions held each year for millions of attendees, the meetings industry is uniquely positioned to reduce its environmental impact on a truly meaningful scale. Research has shown that, during a typical five-day conference, 2,500 attendees may use 62,500 plates, 87,500 napkins, 75,000 glasses or cups and 90,000 bottles or cans.

How does a meeting planner who’s a little “green” about green meetings get started? Amy Spatrisano, CMP, and Nancy Wilson—principals at Meeting Strategies Worldwide, a conference management company committed to environmentally responsible planning—recommend several ways in which a planner can implement simple, greener approaches.

Basic Operations

• Communicate via e-mail rather than traditional mail or memos.
• Use an online registration system.
• Make two-sided copies.
• Use recycled paper.
• Do not hand out a conference bag. If you must have a bag, make sure it is constructed of recycled materials.

Marketing Materials

• Print on recycled paper with vegetable-based ink.
• Publish the registration brochure online only. At most, send a postcard with the date steering attendees to a Web site.
• Limit speaker handouts.

Food and Beverage

• Serve items such as cream and sugar in bulk containers.
• Provide water in pitchers or large bottled water stations instead of individual bottles.
• Donate consumable items to a local food bank.
• Use local and sustainable food products.
• Implement recycling.
• Use cloth instead of paper napkins and cutlery instead of plastic utensils.
• Eliminate the use of disposable items, especially Styrofoam.

Meeting Location

• Choose a hotel within walking distance of the convention center.
• Eliminate shuttles.
• Educate attendees about public transportation and walking routes.

Hotel Facility Management

• Request a linen reuse program.
• Request bulk amenities and make sure consumable amenities are not replaced daily.
• Turn off lights and air conditioning while not in hotel rooms.

For more information, visit www.meetingstrategiesworldwide.com.