Planning an important meeting or conference may be a very small component of your entire business operations.  Nevertheless, events can consume disproportionately large amounts of resources.  Think of all the extra energy and materials needed for participants to travel to your event, to sleep and eat away from home, and to distribute glossy brochures.

Luckily, you have the power to reduce the impact of your event!  There are many simple steps you can take to green your event, from limiting printed materials, to selecting a venue that‘s close to hotels and served by public transit,to serving local, vegetable-focused meals, and to ensuring recycling is easy and convenient.

• BlueGreen Meetings

  Planning or supplying a green meeting gives businesses the competitive edge, a great reputation, and can save time and money in the process.  BlueGreen Meetings can help hosts, planners and suppliers find the tips, tools and resources to make environmentally responsible choices for meetings.

  www.bluegreenmeetings.org

• CERES: Green Hotel Initiative

  The Green Hotel Initiative has created a Best Practice Survey that is an easy-to-use list of criteria that helps an event planner assess a hotel’s environmental commitment and performance. Using the survey enables decision-makers to choose hotels that meet all business needs, including their own environmental preferences.  This tool also helps make the hotel industry aware of business demand for “green” accommodations.

  www.ceres.org/NETCOMMUNITY/Page.aspx?pid=761&srcid=563

• Convention Industry Council

  The Convention Industry Council’s (CIC) Green Meetings Report outlines minimum best practices for event organizers running environmentally friendly events.  Using recycled materials, recycling/reusing items and reducing materials used can significantly lessen the environmental impact of an event.  But planning and executing a green meeting isn’t just about being environmentally responsible; in fact, many of the minimum recommended guidelines can actually save money and provide valuable marketing opportunities.

  www.conventionindustry.org