Pretentious Musings of a Meet Green Martyr

Follow Along, Won't You?

2015-01-27T10:26:00.000-08:00

"Change is constant." Why, yes it is. Change is usually for the better too. That is especially true in this case when I move my blog to it's new location at http://meetgreen.com/media/blog/

This updated home allows me to do all sorts of cool stuff while still bringing you tips, resources and everyday stories about my life as a green meeting planner. It will require you to subscribe once again (I know, I am sorry).

Thanks to all of you who have been so gracious with your comments and support since 2008. I look forward to many more years of sharing and learning as we continue to sustainably transform an entire industry.

Looking for a Role Model?

2014-11-20T14:53:00.000-08:00

Then look no further. The UUA General Assembly has just published it's 2014 Event Sustainability Report and it is another successful year for the planning team of Jan Sneegas, Don Plante, Steve Ransom and Stacey Dixon.

Highlights from this year's event include:

Converting the Convention Center to 100% compostable serviceware for all concesions and catering during the General Assembly.
Expanding the the recycling and composting programs at the Rhode Island Convention Center to include co-mingled recyclables and front of house food and serviceware. The Dunkin Donuts Center offered composting for the first time.
Record-high contributions toward a carbon offset project.
100% of exhibitors signed sustainability Terms and Conditions for their booths.
Hotel worker solidarity was an important issue as the UUA canceled contracts with two local hotels due to outstanding labor issues.

and the list goes on.

The planning team would tell you they didn't get there overnight or without the help of their vendors, volunteers and participants. To help you along the way, they have shared a "road map" in the form of all past case studies posted on this website (scroll down for the past reports). They share openly about their challenges, opportunities and successes. Take a few moments to learn from the best.

2015 will find the UUA General Assembly in Portland, Oregon. The team is already meeting with the city, convention center, hotels and vendors to make sure sustainable practices are in place. Keep watching!

Saving Green by Going Green at the Pump

2014-11-12T06:57:00.000-08:00

Ten years ago, my reason for buying a Prius was to be gentler on our planet. I was concerned about reducing greenhouse gases and my dependence on oil (full disclosure: there are some who say I wasn't concerned enough to give up my car completely. You are right, it is a journey for me too).

Two weeks ago, the Prius turned over 100,000 miles and all of the early hoopla about the batteries not lasting and other scary myths have been put to rest. I calculated the cost of gas for driving those 100,000 at my average of 47mpg. Based on $3.35/gallon (avg) paid at the pump, this was a total of $7,127.66.

Just for fun, my husband calculated the cost of gas for his business' pick-up truck, which also has 100,000 miles, and found he paid over $21,000 to drive the same distance. I saved nearly $14,000 in gas alone by driving a hybrid!

It turns out, by "doing the right thing" for the environment, I did the right thing for my pocketbook. Perhaps it is time to dust off the bike after all.

Taking the Leap to Paperless

2014-11-04T11:12:00.000-08:00

No more binders full of paper, no more printing banquet event orders, no more copies of production schedules. We did it! Thanks to technology, resourceful team members and a true commitment to reduce our own event planning paper stream, this fall's event documents are now 100% electronic.

Carole Garner, Director of Conference Management, made it her own personal mission to go digital and through her leadership transformed the way we do business. The team learned a lot during the testing phase and incorporated those learnings into a final product. During a pre-con this week, the Grand Hyatt New York Conference Service Manager and staff said we were the first to go through a full week of events without one piece of paper.

In the picture of Carole above, you will also note, we were able to source name badges that don't require plastic name badge holders (Thanks to Shawna McKinley, Director of Sustainability). The lanyard she is wearing will be reused.

If you want any details, please, just ask! Those of you familiar with MeetGreen, know that we openly share our resources and don't believe fellow industry professionals should have to reinvent the wheel.

After all, "One small step for man, one giant leap..."

Treading Lightly Near the Rim

2014-10-30T16:19:00.001-07:00

Leaving Las Vegas for the Grand Canyon, I had a lot of expectations around the vast natural beauty I was soon to explore. What I didn't expect was a sustainable lodging experience, second-to-none, with an honest concern for treading lightly on the Earth.

My hotel room at the Grand National Park Lodge surprised me with:

Bulk hand soap and a recycled-content, compostable cup


to fill with certified coffee from well-managed sources


and all the amenities I could need in bulk dispensers in the shower.

Now I'm no expert...

Well, maybe I am, but I was very impressed by the "legendary hospitality with a softer footprint" the Xanterra Parks and Resorts property offered during my stay.

Early members of the Green Meeting Industry Council, they have worked hard to provide sustainable accommodations to the 4.5 million people per year who visit the Grand Canyon alone. Since 2000, they have used:

48.6% less water

17.4% less electricity

40% less construction waste per project and 32% less waste overall.

Over 40% of their food is sustainably sourced and in the first three months of 2014, the mules munched three tons of kitchen scraps such as discarded apples, lettuce, melon rinds and pumpkins.

While not every hotel has mules to feed, every hotel has a responsibility to its guests and to the planet. Having seen this in action, I will be far more likely to hold hotels to a higher standard of sustainable hospitality.

Note: As I was happily running about the hotel room taking these photos, my patient husband simply said, "Oh no, I feel a blog post coming on."

#Eventprofs Call to Action

2014-10-22T15:44:00.000-07:00

When Lindsay Arell accepted the Convention Industry Council Pacesetter Award last week during IMEX America, she challenged the audience of top-level meeting industry professionals to change an industry. Her passionate plea is essential to our future and for those of you who didn't hear it, I share it with you now.

"I am so incredibly honored to be receiving this award from the Convention Industry Council and my colleagues.

For those of you who may not know me, my role in our industry for the past 8 years has been to work with planners and suppliers to implement more sustainable best practices in their operation and events. When I started in this role, these efforts were few and far between. However, the idea that we could and SHOULD do things different was beginning to take shape and the conversation was started. In fact, as I look around the room tonight, some of those early adopters and leaders are here.

One of the reasons I have been so inspired to continue on this path is because the scope of influence that the meeting industry has globally. When we bring innovation, creativity, and sustainability to our meetings and events, we have the opportunity to touch the lives of thousands of people. This includes not only the suppliers we work with and our staff, but also the attendees of our events and potentially their friends and family. If a person experiences sustainability at an event, they may very well bring those practices back to their office and into their daily lives and to their friends, partners and children. And as we all know, there is a meeting or association for every type of person… meaning our scope of influence is seemingly limitless.

But it all starts here… I truly believe each and every one of us can participate in this movement! Therefore I am taking this opportunity tonight to appeal to you all with a call to action. I urge everyone in this room – suppliers and planners – to begin the conversation around sustainability. Just ask… what can we do differently or expand upon to improve the sustainability of my operation? Then, take that step. Even if it is just one… we all need to get on the escalator of change and together we have the power to shift our industry. Thank you very much!"

- Lindsay Arell, October 12, 2014

Thank you, Lindsay, for your inspired dedication and the call to action. Let's make her proud!

Leave 'Em Behind

2014-10-10T14:26:00.000-07:00

Packing for IMEX America 2014, I pull out all my best "Las Vegas" shoes and fill up a suitcase.

All of this thinking about my feet reminds me of my carbon footprint.

Which reminds me of a fact I learned about last year's IMEX America...

"If every attendee had packed just one less pair of shoes, it would have saved 50,245 lbs. of CO2."

That's a lot of greenhouse gas.

With this in mind, I parse my shoe wardrobe and pull out these beauties to stay home. To which, my husband loudly remarked, "You should have left those behind a decade ago."

Headed for Vegas, Baby!

Quick Tips on Negotiating Internet Pricing

2014-09-30T03:43:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, we gave you some quick tips for determining the bandwidth needs for your conference here. That's not the only thing keeping you up at night though, right? You also need to know how to best negotiate for those internet services. The costs can certainly be a budget-breaker if you aren't prepared.

Realizing this, Carole Garner, Director of Conference Management, stepped back in front of the camera to share her expertise on negotiating the best deal.

See you on the road!

Essential Information

2014-09-23T15:41:00.001-07:00

When Carole Garner joined MeetGreen in 2006, her passion for nature and a love of the outdoors came with her. As the Director of Conference Management and Leadership Team Member, she soon discovered bringing green to meetings wasn't always easy. Through her diligent, caring mentoring of both clients and staff alike, she has enrolled them in sustainability initiatives and created change. She also learned a lot along the way.

During September's Meetings Focus webinar, Green Meetings Essentials, she shared her insight with other professionals who play a role in bringing sustainability to meetings. Her strategies and observations are vital if you are leading a team to a more sustainable future, one conference at a time.

You can (and should) watch it on demand right here.

Having Nightmares About Event Bandwidth?

2014-09-09T04:12:00.000-07:00

Making sure all your attendees stay connected during the event has become your responsibility. Lack of connectivity is now tantamount to running out of coffee the morning after the big party. This new task crept into meeting professional's job descriptions catching many unaware and scrambling for information. We feel your pain. Our conference team set out to become experts on this issue and after much research, accomplished their goal.

So if you have more questions than answers and need a place to start, I invite you to watch this short video by Carole Garner, Director of Conference Management, MeetGreen.

If you need more help, don't hesitate to contact us at info@meetgreen.com. See you on the road!

Two (More) Words

2014-08-26T11:03:00.001-07:00

In article entitled, "Two Words," recently published in Smart Meetings, Jim Spellos taught us everything we need to know about the tech landscape as it relates to events, in just two words. I highly recommend reading and adopting his wise words. He included the words, Sustainable Events, understanding sustainability and technology are inseparably linked in this context.

One of Jim's favorite projects, the Whole Earth Calculator, was recently endorsed by The White House as part of President Obama's directive on greenhouse gas emissions. The Whole Earth Calculator converts the total pounds of paper products and plastics that are diverted from landfills into the amount of carbon dioxide that is not produced as a result, and then sends this information to social media. The tool can also be used to convert total pounds of donated food into meal equivalents and carbon dioxide averted equivalents. Simply brilliant!

Moving forward, the two words, Sustainability and Technology, will remain inseparably linked. They will provide tools to make meeting professionals lives easier and more environmentally friendly. In fact, they already have, e.g. online registration, conference apps and hybrid meetings.

Jim Spellos talks about embracing change, because "you really don't have a choice." Certainly this is true for both technology and sustainability. I would like to add my two words worth, "Start Today," because the future was never brighter for meeting professionals ready to make a change.

Rockin' the Recycling

2014-08-12T11:51:00.000-07:00

The long, hot days of summer are a perfect time to relax and enjoy live music in a beautiful outdoor setting. While listening to your favorite tunes, keep one eye focused on the environmental practices taking place at the festival. The good news is, here in the Pacific Northwest, festivals and events are going green this summer in record numbers. Hopefully, you are seeing this as well in your area.

If not, help the festival organizers along with these Top Ten Tips for Sustainable Events...

1. Talk to your waste/recycling hauler early in the planning process to develop a recycling program
2. Hire/appoint a recycling coordinator
3. Purchase green power for the stage and lighting
4. Use biodiesel to power generators
5. Require food vendors to serve local, sustainable food
6. Do not allow vendors or the venue to serve food in polystyrene and non-recyclable plastics
7. Provide incentives for the audience to use mass transit
8. Purchase carbon offsets to mitigate the travel by artists
9. Develop talking points for the artists to discuss what is being done to green the event
10. Just get started. Choosing even one idea from this list will have a huge impact. Measure what you have done and build on it next year.

As an audience member, don't forget to do your part by taking mass transit, bringing a reusable water bottle and using recycling bins provided. We're in this together!

Ignore the Polar Bear

2014-08-04T13:39:00.004-07:00

Last week I saw a consumer product with a photo of a polar bear. Right next to the sweet polar bear was the tag line, "The Right Choice." Searching the rest of the packaging, I was unable to find any reason this product was environmentally the right choice or better than the competition. Polar bears have become the symbol for Saving the Earth and can be found on cleaning products, office supplies and even the back of buses.

In the past, we have talked about greenwashing, the practice of "advertising positive environmental practices while acting in the opposite way", and hoped it would subside. Sadly, it is alive and well in 2014 although as consumers have gotten more savvy, so have the claims being made. How can you avoid falling prey to greenwashing in the meeting and event industry?

Here are a few tips:

Be informed. The first step is to make sure you research your supply chain. What does it mean when your suppliers say they are sustainable? Don’t be afraid to ask them about their specific practices.

Understand what terms such as ‘organic’ and ‘natural’ mean. Natural does not necessarily mean healthy--arsenic, uranium and formaldehyde are natural yet poisonous. And as far as non-toxic goes, everything is can be toxic, or deadly in sufficient dosages including oxygen, water and salt.

Be clear on the criteria used by ecolabels and certifications. The hotel sector has quite a few, such as Green Seal (US), Green Key (Canada) and Green Globe (Europe and Austral-asia). These are all third party certifications which look at sustainable operations. LEED certification looks at green construction. When researching ecolabels and certifications look for those using clear criteria, that adopt third party verification and report regularly on their environmental performance.

Participate in a back of house tour. This is the most effective way to ensure that vendors who claim to be green actually have sustainable practices in place. Ask to see the kitchen and areas where waste is sorted. Vendors who are being honest will not be fearful of letting you see what they do in the back of house. Note: this is a critical step which I missed once and learned the lesson the hard way. Learn from my mistakes.

Be transparent in your own practices. Do what you say and be honest about what you do. Your risk of greenwashing in your organization is reduced when you are clear and up front about your commitment, intentions and actions.

Step away from the polar bear and remember the general rule of thumb applies: Caveat emptor – buyer beware!

Business Lessons from Twenty Years in the Event Industry

2014-06-24T06:30:00.000-07:00

Celebrating MeetGreen's 20th Anniversary

They say if you start a business and it is still in business five years later, you are a success. I would add, if you start a business and twenty years later you are still engaged, excited and passionate about what the company brings to the world, you are triumphant.

As we celebrate MeetGreen’s 20th Anniversary this year, the excitement and passion for our work as a talented group of impeccable professionals is unmistakable. Not resting on our laurels of being acclaimed pioneers in sustainable meeting management, we are pushing forward to bring the power of human connection to the future of meeting design.

Pausing to reflect during this important company milestone, I share the secrets of our triumph:

ALWAYS surround yourself with the best, brightest and most passionate people.
Technology is your friend, embrace it.
Empower your team to take the initiative.
There is no such thing as giving a client too much service.
Make decisions based on people, profit AND planet.
Hiring people is fun, firing is not.
Never stop learning and growing.
Data is important. Track it, measure it, analyze it.
Someone else probably has a better idea than you.
Always acknowledge an employee’s contribution.
Nothing is off the record.
Treat your vendors as true partners.
Everyone pitches in during “crunch time” and that means everyone.
Showing stress at work is contagious, so is showing kindness.
Your very first client should still be a client.
Listen!
A bad year isn’t the end, but it is an opportunity for change. Use it.
Look out for each other.
Collaborate with your competitors, you all win in the end.
Be grateful!

Thanks to all of our employees, clients, partners, mentors, fans, significant others, and esteemed colleagues for making this the best 20 years of my life.

Reprinted from the MeetGreen July, 2014, Newsletter

The Question that Never Ends

2014-06-17T14:54:00.000-07:00

There's a children's song called, "The Song that Never Ends" and thanks to Lamb Chop & friends, the music still plays in my head.

Likewise, in sustainable meetings, there is a "Question that Never Ends" and, by golly, it hasn't. The question is..."Is it illegal to donate food after an event?"

Rarely does a week go by, when someone doesn't ask me this question. Then it hit closer to home yesterday when my daughter asked the same question. Working for a hotel, she had volunteered for the property's Green Team thinking it was going to be an easy project given all of the "green stuff" she has been inundated with over the years. When she raised her hand at the first meeting and asked why they didn't donate food, she was told for "liability reasons." She argued her point for a while and then came looking for back up.

Here are a few links I passed along:

http://media.law.uark.edu/arklawnotes/2013/08/08/the-legal-guide-to-the-bill-emerson-good-samaritan-food-donation-act/

http://www.foodtodonate.com/Fdcmain/LegalLiabilities.aspx

http://feedingamerica.org/get-involved/corporate-opportunities/become-a-partner/become-a-product-partner/protecting-our-food-partners.aspx

and there's an app for that http://www.pcma.org/convene-content/convene-article/2014/04/03/an-app-for-leftovers#.U6C2lrGEeVp

Long story, short, The Bill Emerson Food Donation Act allows you help the hungry.

What does the law do? The law protects good-faith donors from civil and criminal liability in the event that the product later causes harm to its recipient. The Emerson Act gives uniform protection to food donors who may cross state lines.

Who is protected? The law protects food donors, including individuals and nonprofit feeding programs that act in good faith. More specifically, the law protects individuals, corporations, partnerships, organizations, associations, governmental entities, wholesalers, retailers, restaurateurs, caterers, farmers, gleaners, nonprofit agencies, and others.

What sort of food is protected? The Emerson Act provides protection for food and grocery products that meet all quality and labeling standards imposed by federal, state, and local laws and regulations - even though the food may not be readily marketable due to appearance, age, freshness, grade, size, surplus, or other conditions.

Where can I find a place to donate? Find a local food bank using the Food Bank Locator on Feeding America's website. Your role is to connect the local food bank and the catering firm. They will take care of the details.

In the current economy, food banks are struggling to fill their shelves to help the hungry and planners want to know how to help. I am glad this question keeps coming up because at least people are still asking about food donation. Now I just need a few lyrics and a memorable melody!

The Accidental Planner

2014-06-12T12:09:00.000-07:00

It wasn't too long after starting my job as communications director for a national healthcare firm, when the president appeared at my desk one day. "It time we start planning our annual conference and by we, I mean you," he calmly stated. The blank stare on my face was hiding the sheer panic in my mind and my racing heart.

Over the years, I came to realize I am not the only one whose meeting planning career wasn't part of the original plan. I have met meeting planners who started as nurses, engineers, musicians, computer programmers, scientists, and yoga instructors--all accidental planners. Whether through volunteer work in their field or as job responsibility in a large corporation, they were drawn into the role of producing a meeting.

All of us have fumbled our way through learning about budgets, how many people a gallon of coffee will serve, meeting room sets, why good AV is so vital, and how temperamental VIPs can act. Dealing with the simple logistics before we ever heard anything about the ROI or meeting architecture.

Luckily for me, meeting planning was a natural fit. As the company grew, so did my professional skills until the day when I became the Director of Conference Management. But I have never forgotten my first meeting.

So for all of the accidental planners out there, I feel your pain. In an effort to help, we have put together a 12-Step Program called Event Planning 101. This list will at least get you started asking the right questions and learning a few of the fundamentals involved in planning a meeting. You've got to start somewhere, right?

There is No Finish Line

2014-06-05T09:17:00.002-07:00

Here's the deal...there is no finish line. Marathon runners cross the line only to start training for the next race hoping to beat their best personal time. Graduation day celebrants talk about what is lies ahead. Work promotions are steps to the next goal. Event planners know they are only as good as their last event and look forward future events.

So it goes with sustainability. There is always more to learn, attempt and accomplish. First it was implementing basic green meeting practices, then came measuring/benchmarking and on to reporting. As the next event rolled around it was time to increase initiatives and beat the personal best.

The fact there is no finish line shouldn't make us want to give up and stop trying, it should invigorate each one of us to keep going to reach even higher goals. That is the beauty of the human spirit...we keep trying!

Embrace the joy, hope and excitement as you keep creatively integrating sustainability into your work and your lives.

Data is a Beautiful Thing...so is Water

2014-05-29T15:48:00.001-07:00

Data is a beautiful thing. It helps you tell a story, understand the significance and ultimately, demonstrate you are doing the right thing. The right thing, like conserving water. In today's "radical transparency" world of social media, your personal, professional or organization's reputation may depend on it. Just a few tweets by watchful participants at a conference can significantly impact your reputation in either a positive or negative manner.

Initial data from the Living Future unConference 2014 helps tell the story of a sustainable meeting. The conference organizers made informed choices and the data makes it real. For instance, they...

Chose chicken instead of beef for the dinner event saving 257,750 gallons of water.
Chose apples instead of tropical fruit such as bananas saving 9,536.75 gallons of water.
Chose a hotel with a linen-reuse program saving 1,340 gallons of water, thanks to attendee participation.
Provided tap water for attendees to refill their reusable water bottles saving enough energy to run an average American household for 2,062 hours. Note: changed from tap to a filtered water system after Portland announced a Contaminated Water Alert during the conference. Even with this alert, no individual bottles of water were consumed (a blog post unto itself).

These are in addition to other policies we posted about earlier such as serving 100% either local or organic food or verifying recycling during the event.

If you haven't already, start today collecting data, measuring, reporting and sharing your story. Let them catch you doing something right, it's a beautiful thing

Source: Fun facts generated by "If One Attendee" tool.

100% Fresh, Local, Organic Meals at a Hotel? You Bet!

2014-05-22T11:11:00.002-07:00

The challenge...serve 100% local or organic food at the Living Future unConference 2014. In our experience, this has never been done before for a group of over 1,000 people for three days.

Bryan Siegel, Executive Chef, Hilton Portland & Executive Towers, was up to the challenge this week. He diligently sourced the conference menus and was able to serve 100% local, organic or both local/organic food (in many cases). Fresh, healthy food to feed the innovative participants of this event and support of the local farmers, ranchers and companies.

With a huge thank you to Chef Bryan, the Hilton Banquet staff, and all of the community farms and vendors who worked so hard on our delightful meals (roll credits)...

Mary Organic Chicken

Zenners – sausages

Carlton – pork loin

Beecher’s Cheese

Tillamook Cheese

Stieber Farm – Eggs

Columbia Valley Organic Juice

Nancy’s Yogurt

Rumiano Family Cheese

Essential Baking – bread

Marsee Bakery – breakfast pastries, cookies, desserts

Bob’s Red Mill Granola

Ryan’s Juice

Odwalla Juice

Farms

Goldie

Homegrown

Wholesum

Kinsey

Earthbound

Broetje Orchards

Viva Tierra

Rainier Fruit

Cal-Ore Potatoes

Food Source

Deardorff Family

Field Fresh

Del Cabo

Herbco

Driscoll's

Champs

New Horizon

Is Our Meeting Sustainable?

2014-05-20T12:36:00.002-07:00

If you are attending the Living Future unConference 2014, relax we've got you covered.

Even before you made plans to attend, The Living Future Institute conference organizers and MeetGreen team were on the job, planning an environmentally-responsible event. The first step was choosing a Green Seal and Green Key Certified hotel, the Hilton Portland & Executive Towers. The hotel is in a walkable community with access to mass transit from the airport, local shopping and dining.

It is not enough to select the hotel and hope all of the green initiatives are in place, the team must also verify these practices before the event begins. So yesterday, one day before the unConference 2014 was set to begin, we took a back-of-house tour where we saw all of the systems in action and breathed in the sweet smell of composting material.

Here's what we found:

Recycling bins in the meeting rooms and guest rooms
A 2014 year-to-date waste diversion rate of 72.74%
An elaborate waste system which has eliminated two days of garbage hauls per week
Three master recyclers on staff
1,500 lbs. of plastic wrap is recycled each year
and a composting bin tipper, affectionately named "Tipper Gore" by Don George, Hilton's Composting Guru

It must be said all of these sustainable efforts take place at a downtown hotel with less loading dock space than most people's back decks. It is a 24-hour process to bring compost and recyclables from the five kitchens in two buildings.

So check-in, grab your name badge and rest easy, we've done the heavy lifting for you. Stay tuned for the 100% local or organic food to be served. It will be a first in our experience!

No, Not the C Word!

2014-04-24T07:00:00.000-07:00

Yes, that's right, "Collaboration." The word, collaboration, is widely used when talking about sustainable meetings. Sustainable event planners go on and on about how they must collaborate with the venues, chefs, waste haulers, general service contractors, hotels, transportation companies and even entire cities to produce an environmentally and socially responsible event. They are right. It takes communication and cooperation between all parties to really drive this change to the next level.

Now for the scary part. The next level will also require collaboration between industry competitors, even to the extent that we share our failures. There is no quicker way to move this process along than to talk about a failed attempt and the lessons we learned. Imagine each of us, checking our egos at the door and discussing a fabulous plan that just didn't work out. To be vulnerable to our peers with the hope that in the spirit of collaboration, we all learn. Thanks to Elizabeth Glau, who bravely did just that on her blog.

For years, Oracle Open World (pictured above) has thrown open it's doors for planners (including competitors) to go behind the scene and see Oracle's successes and failures during this huge event. They collaborate with the entire hospitality community and repeatedly offer other conferences the opportunity to share their resources in the San Francisco area.

Ten years ago, we first had to sell a potential client on the very idea of being more environmentally conscious before talking about our services and our competitors were very few. Today, most clients are aware of the benefits of corporate social responsibility and the number of competitors vying for the business has increased significantly. The landscape has changed.

Let's not let the fear of increased competition keep us from collaborating with each other. Let's instead manage this monumental shift in our industry by sharing resources, ideas and, yes, even failures. If the recent reports of climate change are any indication, there will be plenty of work for all of us. We can make this work a little lighter with an open spirit of collaboration along the way.

"If everyone is moving forward together,

then success takes care of itself." - Henry Ford

SCRAPy Solution to Event Waste

2014-04-23T11:12:00.001-07:00

Imagine, someone begging for donations of used signage, conference bags and lanyards? Me neither, until I took a field trip to SCRAP during the GMIC Sustainable Meetings Conference.

SCRAP takes an amazing amount of used items (ones that Goodwill and Habitat for Humanity won't) and diverts 250 tons of waste from the landfill each year. The Creative Reuse Center and Warehouse is organized by type of material: wood, metal, glass, fabric, paper, images, plastic, natural materials, beads & buttons, arts & crafts, toys, and more. The entrance contains a section of free materials. The rest are available at low-cost to artists, teachers and the creative public. Monies raised from the depot keep SCRAP going, offering free materials pick-ups, low-cost workshops, school field trips, and more.

Never again will conferences and events in San Francisco have to wonder where they can donate those leftover items.

Stop Hunger. Looking Silly Optional!

2014-04-17T12:00:00.000-07:00

On Day Two of the GMIC Sustainable Meetings Conference, participants took part in a project to help Stop Hunger Now.

This is one of the most well organized volunteer projects I have ever been involved in. It was easy for attendees to step right in and begin packing food for the hungry. It was fun, worthwhile and the music kept the energy up. In just one hour's time, attendees were able to pack nearly 30,000 meals and look silly all at the same time.

Take a look at their website (linked above) and consider doing the same at your event.

No Excuse Guest Recycling

2014-04-16T20:05:00.000-07:00

No guest room recycling because your hotel can afford to add recycling bins? Look no further. This low tech answer is as close as a paper bag. When the GMIC Sustainable Meetings Conference convened at the Hilton San Francisco Union Square, guests found this solution in their rooms which resulted in a twitter fury praising the hotel.

Sustainable event planners will definitely remember this idea the next time their conference hotel pushes back on in-room recycling.

For those not able to attend the event, check out the impressive playlist of sessions for virtual attendees

Poetry Friday

2014-04-11T11:12:00.000-07:00

There once was a team from MeetGreen

They didn’t like polystyrene

They said, “No more at our meetings
or there will be beatings”

For we want our planet pristine.

Because sometimes it is okay to be silly and not take our work in sustainability so seriously. Looking forward to some silly, innovative, enriching and thought-provoking discussions next week at the Green Meeting Industry Council's Sustainable Meetings Conference in San Francisco!