Green Meetings

and Events
Guide
By Stacy E.
Canada
CSU CHICO
 Green Meeting Overview
British Standards Institute definition of
sustainability:
An enduring, balanced approach to economic activity,
environmental responsibility, and social progress.
Green meeting and events benefit everyone
involved:
– The planner, venue, destination, community,

“A green meeting or event

incorporates environmental
considerations throughout its
planning process to minimize its
negative impact on the
environment.”
Corporate Social
Responsibility
A core culture of an organization that requires the organization to be
responsible for its triple bottom line.
– Economic, environmental, and social
– Internal and external practices of organization

CSR promotes sustainable development throughout an organizations by

aligning their principles
with their actions.

Sustainable development is any development environmental,

social, or economic
that takes into consideration “the needs of the present without
compromising the
ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”In order for a
business to When planning a green meeting or event its very
carry-out sustainable development
important they
to know the must
core uphold
culture their
of the Corporate
stakeholders
involved and to work with like-minded businesses.
 Why Green Meetings and
Events?
Benefits of a green meeting or event from the PMM5 Checklist.

Green meeting practices offer meeting managers a variety of cost-saving

opportunities without
compromising quality; for instance, selecting properties within walking
distance to events can eliminate thousands of dollars in shuttle services.

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.
 Standards for Green
Meeting
Standards allow
Industry standards for green meetings have
businesses to:
been developed by The British Standards Institute
- Attract and and The Convention Industry Council. These
assure
customers standards define minimum guidelines to be
- Demonstrate followed throughout the three stage event
market process; planning, implementation, and review.
leadership When upheld, the standards will provide
- Create validation for the system and its performance to
competitive allow the event to be considered sustainable. By
advantage following the practical roadmap an event is
- Develop and ensured that all environmental, financial, and
social considerations have been made for the
event (corporate social responsibility).
March 20,2009:
The U.S. Green Building Council’s conferences and events team has earned
certification under the new British standard for planning sustainable events,
known as BS 8901. The event planners at USGBC are the first in the U.S. to
earn the distinction.
 Where to begin…
Steps:
2. Start thinking “green” about all planning associated with
the event.
3. Set goals and objectives.
4. Get all stakeholders to agree and commit to sustainable
development.
How can you convince clients to
green their meeting or event?
When talking to the client discuss all the social,
environmental, and economic benefits that come
from having a green event or meeting. Show them
the measurable results from following green practices
and explain to them what less of an impact they will
have on the environment if they choose to do
business in an environmentally conscious way. When
they can see the numbers and the money they can
save they will support green practices it will have a
positive effect and they will want to know that they
can be a part of preserving the environment.
 Destination Selection
The destination of an event is something that should never be overlooked. When you have an event
at a selected destination you are having an affect on the people around that destination and also the people
who will be attending the event. This means that your decisions affect many and it’s important to select a
destination that best fits the type of event you’re having. In both the examples in the videos you could see
the negative and positive impact an event can have on the local people surrounding the event destination.
To increase the success and happiness of the attendees and host of the event it’s a good gesture to
immerse yourself in the local activities available at the destination. If you work with the people and
businesses surrounding the event destination you can have a greater sustainable impact and create
personal connections with those that can help out the event directly.

Factors to consider when evaluating the

environmental aspects of a destination:
1. Know the events purpose and what
implications it has on attendees.
2. Include minimum guidelines and
parameters that the
venue/destination has green
practices in place.
3. Asses the destination and its
adherence to green practices and
determine the best option for the
event.
 Food and Beverage
When working with a
venue
At the 2008 Democratic National Convention
the food and beverage contractor, Levy or caterer you should
Restaurants, followed numerous sustainable ask
measures to make the convention the them if they have a
“greenest convention in history.”
- From the article “Sustainable food and
sustainable menu or
beverage: An interview with Tim Stein of follow

Five environmentally responsible practices a food and beverage provider

can do:
1. Choose to serve water from pitchers not plastic bottles
2. Use food that is in season
3. Choose food raised in sustainable environments
4. Use china or biodegradable silverware
5. Choose food that the attendees prefer and will best suit them.
 Accommodation
Considerations
Research
Ways hotels are helping the What is a sustainable hotel?
A hotel that follows sustainable practices and
planet: improves its bottom line in doing so in a way that
•Renting bicycles to guest
•Solar energy being used for lighting uses its resources most efficiently in a manner
signage and to heat water that reduces the hotels impact on the
•Using renewable resources throughout the environment.
hotel, such as recycled windshield glass as
tile flooring
•Maintaining gardens on hotel grounds to
support produce needs at restaurants
within

You should personally take a tour and ask a person

from the personnel to show you how the green practices
are being carried out. Many hotels may say that they follow
green practices, but in reality they only do so in the front-
of-house operations that are seen by the guests. It is your
responsibility to ask for a tour and do a personal check of
all the promises the hotel has made that they truly do
follow green practices.
 Orchard Garden Hotel
San Francisco, CA
First LEED certified hotel The Orchard Garden hotel is a
in CA simple, elegant, and comfortable
Opened in 2006 hotel located in a prime location in
10-stories, 86 rooms downtown San Francisco. The
Located in Chinatown owners, designers, and
5,675 square feet stakeholders chose to construct a
green hotel so that they could
provide a healthy environment for
occupants, lower operating costs,

Best practice products and activities on the

hotel grounds:
•Energy Efficiency and Innovation – Guest Room Key
Card System
•Environmentally Friendly Cleaning Supplies
•Efficient Space Planning
•Effective Team Collaboration
 Meeting and Venue
Selection
When should you discuss green meeting expectations with a venue?

When you first make contact with the venue it’s imperative that you discuss the green
meeting expectations with them. This will be beneficial to all involved and will let the venue
know what they have to do in order to make the green meeting or event a success. It’s
important to acknowledge the benefits of implementing green practices, both for the venue
and the event or meeting itself. By bringing light to the reasons and environmental impact
that having or not having green practices in place may allow you to persuade the venue to
commit to maintain these practices after the event has taken place.

Checkout The Convention

Industry Council’s “Green
Meeting Report” to see the
minimum bets practices for a
green event venue.

* This photo is of the LEED certified

American Airlines Arena in Miami, FL. It is a
green venue location that is home to
numerous sporting events, conferences, and
concerts throughout the year
 Transportation
Event planners should provide resources to
assist their guest in selecting a green mode
of transportation. Some possible green
transportation options for meeting and
event attendees include:
“The transportation
sector is becoming
•Public transit
increasingly linked to •Bicycle
environmental •Walking
problems.” •Carpool
– Dr. Jean-Paul Rodrigue
You can educate and provide resources to attendees on the
options they have when getting to and from an event. Sometimes
the impact of attendees choices for transportation is overlooked by
event planners and the choices that they make greatly impact the
environment. If you provide information about the various
transportation options that are available to attendees you can
greatly influence the choice that they make and attendees will
 Communication
Throughout the process of planning a green
meeting or event all stakeholders must have
continuous communication so that they can put on a
successful meeting or event. Communication is key
when putting in place green practices and policies for
all suppliers, attendees, vendors, and stakeholders
associated with the Some
event suggestions
or meeting. regarding communication for
event planners:
- Make sure everyone is informed about green
strategies.
- Try to reduce printing material as much as
possible.
- Use the vast technological resources available to
market and communicate for the event.
-Do event registration on-line and provide all event
related material electronically.