What Happened to Green Meetings?

Was “Green Meetings” a hype or a phenomenon with lasting impact? For a while, it seemed everyone was pushing hard to jump on the proverbial bandwagon.  Now, there is little progress report on the beneficial impact of going green with our meetings. We may have to start by revisiting the concept. 

A green meeting is defined as a “meeting that incorporates environmental considerations throughout all stages of the meeting in order to minimize the negative impact on the environment.” According to the Sustainable Events Guidepublished by the United Nations Environment Programme in 2012, a sustainable or “green” meeting must meet specific criteria: These include an accessible and inclusive setting, a safe and secure atmosphere, having minimal negative impact on the environment, promoting responsible sources, and encouraging more sustainable behavior. 

Staging a green meeting is clearly a commendable effort, one loaded with financial benefits and beneficial corporate image. To “green” their meetings, event planners have to make deliberate effort to ensure that every aspect of the planning process takes into account the impact of the meeting and/or event on the environment—i.e., reducing the adverse effect on the environment. This “state of mind” begins with site inspection all the way to the conclusion of the event. Every effort must be made at each step to minimize waste through recycling, composting, avoiding disposable items, and making a positive contribution to the community (CSR).  

Many organizations changed their modus operandi to embrace the green concept in their daily lives—beyond meetings and event. Others just paid lip service. The green revolution placed meeting planners at the front and center of this wave. Some became the champions of the cause, while others took the back seat. As a result, the green meeting has been growing at varying speed—not only among countries, but also among companies. 

While Canada, the US and Western Europe lead the way in emphasizing and enforcing green meetings, the rest of the world, for the most part, lags behind. The case for green meetings appears not have been made convincingly enough for many Asian countries. Hong Kong, Singapore and to some extent, Thailand are the leaders in embracing green meetings in that continent. Regrettably, China with its immense heft lags behind. 

It appears that the case for green meetings has to be made all over again.  When we think of being “green” or environmentally responsible, recycling is usually the first thing that comes to mind. A green meeting or event goes beyond recycling.  Greening an event encompasses all aspects of the planning process. By making choices at every stage of planning, from site selection to serving condiments like ketchup and sugar from bulk containers, the environmental impact of the event can be significantly reduced. It means taking steps to minimize waste through recycling, composting and avoiding disposable items, to decrease energy consumption, and to use products with post-consumer recycled content and food that is organic, local or fair trade. Green meetings also incorporate social aspects such as charitable donations and projects that give back to the community. 

Why is it important to make meetings green? A small meeting may not seem important.  But take a large-scale event. The effect on the environment can be enormous. For example, during a typical five-day conference, 3,000 attendees will use 75,000 plates, over 100,000 napkins, 90,000 plastic cups and glasses and more than 100,000 cans or bottles. Add to these figures, the greenhouse gas emissions resulting from traveling to/from the conference and paper and plastic waste from conference handouts.

In the US alone, last year there were nearly 2 million meetings with over 260 million attendees.  This shows the staggering effect of meetings on the environment if tangible steps are not taken to enforce green concepts. Thankfully, both meeting planners and venue/hotel principals appear to be very committed to following green principles to the extent possible.  

The Roadmap to Greener Meetings

Before choosing an event destination, hotel, venue, transportation, etc., the meeting planner should consider what impact these services provided by suppliers would have on his or her objective to organize a green meeting or event. The event planner must ensure that the selected suppliers considered elements of sustainability, including the recycling of their own products and services throughout the year. As it relates to the environment, using recycled materials, reusing items and reducing materials can significantly lessen the potential impact of events.

When it comes to being "green," it is as much about what you don't use as is about what you do use. To be truly environmentally friendly, it's not just about the products you buy or the appearance of being green. If your corporate client strives to reap the eco-friendly reputation benefits from their green event, you might suggest including some educational material that explains to guests the ways in which the event is sustainable and how they too can make small changes for a greener lifestyle at work or at home. And don't hesitate to promote the eco-friendly value of your event!

What’s In it for Me?

Benefits of planning green events are well documented. The primary benefit of planning a green event is the positive impact on the environment. While this should always be the principal driver for green events, event planners must recognize that it's a business as well. It can be strategic to "go green" both in terms of financial savings as well as reputation.  While sometimes, the eco-friendly option can be more expensive, certain aspects of green meetings and events can actually save money. For instance, collecting name badge holders for reuse at the 3,000-attendee meeting example can save approximately $2,250 for the event organizer the next time around. Not only does this practice save resources, but it limits the investment that must be made in the initial purchase. Of course, there are also the intangible benefits that many companies seek from holding green events and meeting. Reaping the reputation benefit of a positive and trendy buzzword is generally part of a company's motivation—particularly when the "green" option is the more expensive or difficult option.

To help you accomplish your green meeting goals, let GMSMEETINGS plan your next environmentally-responsible event.