Green Meetings and Events and the New Environmental Trends Sweeping the Hospitality Industry!
by Shannon Kilkenny

Yes folks, it is the topic of the times, the trendy buzzword and the cover of nearly every magazine this last year. Everyone is talking green, but have you changed now that you have all the information?

Meetings and events leave a heavy footprint. We are aware that our industry has to change the way we do business. We must realize this is not a fringe movement any longer - it is real and it is here to stay. This is a perfect opportunity to stand out in the industry especially if you are an independent meeting planner. Are you marketing yourself as a green planner? If not, why not?

What Does Green Planning Mean Anyway?

In short, it is a responsible way of doing business by integrating environmental and sustainable decisions during each phase of the planning process. It includes making choices to conserve energy and natural resources, reduce waste, reuse and recycle goods and use earth-friendly products. By planning events with this enhanced awareness our industry will have an extraordinary environmental and ecological impact all over the world. And that's a big deal!

Times are evolving rapidly in this direction and event planners, venues, suppliers and participants are beginning to respond. Those of us who are traveling on the green path and changing our decision making process are ahead of the pack. Now is your chance to be leader of the pack. Or are you a part of the herd?

What You Can Do Starting Now?

The audience for Perspective is a bit more enlightened than most. We are fortunate to live in an area that is among the top five greenest places in the United States. It is easy to find green businesses in the Bay Area, however, many of us plan events outside this Emerald City (great and unintentional pun). We have and will run up against naïve and unwilling clients, vendors, suppliers, etc. in other parts of the country and world. What can we do?

I can give you 10 easy specific steps to begin today but instead, I challenge you to go further than bulking up on your condiments and shampoos or using both sides of a piece of paper. (Don't get me wrong, those are very important too!). Instead, I dare you to go further and investigate this emerging movement and discover what part you will play. If you want to stand out as a green planner, do nothing less than the following five suggestions:

1. Create Standards

Establish environmental standards in writing and get buy-in from your clients, the organization's management and/or your clientele. Share your standards with every supplier, vendor, speaker, and your participants. Know exactly where you will draw the line with minimal guidelines.

2. Get and Stay Educated

Keep informed and up-to-date with what is new in our industry. What hotels are utilizing green practices or what cities have the best transportation record, etc. The number of businesses going green is changing rapidly. Keep up! Buy books, read magazines, listen to the experts and ask them for guidance. Make informed choices!

3. Choose Wisely

Make every choice dependent on the environmental impact. Think about the consequence before you finalize any decision. Ask yourself, what is the legacy of this decision? Give priority to destination cities, venues, vendors and suppliers who are developing, implementing and are innovating environmental and sustainable practices. If you are locked into a particular venue for example, bring your standards with you. Ask them to make changes at least while your group is there.

4. Build Green Partnerships

Work closely with everyone you do business with and ask them to green up their practices or find someone who does. Make sure everyone involved with your event is on the same page. Bring people on board and train them if necessary. If their practices are substandard with your standards and guidelines, help them do to better. Set examples that create permanent change. Be in harmony with all parties!

5. Share your Success and Sell you Success

Tell everyone involved - your participants, speakers, and the media about your successes. You will be surprised. Green efforts are contagious. And they are a great marketing tool too!

Each meeting is unique and requires working with different businesses and people at each juncture. Each event brings with it distinctive challenges and solutions. Be creative and encourage involvement and follow your standards. If you start today, before you know it, it will become second nature to make the right choices.

Oh yeah, have fun with it and be proud of your efforts no matter how big or small. Every green decision is a good one!

You Can Start Now ... Save the Planet and Save Your Application Fee!

Earn an accredited Online MBA, Diploma or Certificate in Sustainable Management through the Anaheim University Kisho Kurokawa Green Institute.  Print this text out along with this 6-digit code and have your $100 Application fee waived: 460756

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