Use meeting metrics, CSR to enhance performance, bottom line

In Mexico, the number of major trade shows “going green” rose from zero to three last year, and at least one university now offers entrepreneurs and organizations an education in green operations.

These developments support a growing conviction among meeting professionals that the international demand for green planning is no longer simply a trend, said speakers in a Monday morning session. Yet, despite the sustained demand, planners and suppliers must still find ways to measure their progress toward green goals, and the positive impact the initiatives have on business.

“We look at profitability and revenue growth all the time, but it’s not very often that we apply numbers to our green efforts,” said Midori Connolly, CEO of Pulse Staging. Connolly authored the first set of green guidelines for the audiovisual industry in 2007, and she helped draft the Convention Industry Council’s Accepted Practices Exchange (APEX), to be released in June 2010.

A logical step for many organizations is to use measurements already available through established certification programs. Green Seal, a widely-recognized third-party certifier, recently gave its approval to 25 hotels in the Chicago area, and is partnering with others in Los Angeles. The U.S. Green Building Council has just published its Green Venue Selection Guide, featuring forms planners and suppliers can use to evaluate green operations. Hotels can also seek Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) certification, and businesses can apply the rigorous guidelines contained in British Standard 8901.

“If you become LEED certified, you can expect an immediate 25%–40% reduction in your energy consumption, and a 33% reduction in your carbon emissions,” said Amanda Gourgue, CMP, LEED AP, and chief revolutionist of Meeting Revolution.

Connolly and Gourgue designed a spreadsheet to help planners analyze the social, economic, and environmental impact of their green changes. The form tracks costs and returns of individual actions, and allows the user to score them. Other online calculators, like the Carbon and Ecological Footprint Events Calculator on the Visit Denver website, may also help.

“Use these tools,” Connolly said. “Get those key performance indicators down, and really start tracking them year after year.”

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