Following up on my blog last week on the subject of Green Meetings, I had the opportunity to speak recently on this topic with our Jean Hays, from our e4 host property.  Here’s a look into how this hotel is adopting a greener approach to our industry:

Jean Hays

• Name: Jean Hays
• Hotel: Waldorf Astoria Orlando & Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek
• Title: Director of Group Sales
• Location: Orlando
• Number of years with this hotel: 3 years with Bonnet Creek and 11 with Hilton
• Professional background: El Conquistador Resort & Golden Door Spa; Hilton in the Walt Disney World Resort; Hilton New Orleans Riverside; Hilton Direct USA
• Role with current meetings at your property:  Our Events team at Bonnet Creek are all  experts  on hosting a “greener” meeting.  We find ourselves being “cheerleaders” for these initiatives internally.  So, in a way, I am the Head Cheerleader.
• Green Meetings “Ah-ha” moment – what got you engaged: Being a new property, we were always conceived with a “green” mindset.  As we made purchasing decisions for the hotels and convention center, we most often opted for greener choices.  It is much easier to start off that way.
• Biggest Green Meetings challenge currently: There really are no consistent standards for a “green meeting.”   It might mean something completely different from one organization to the next.
• Green Meetings accomplishment you are most proud of: So proud of our work with Clean the World which distributes recycled soap products, along with appropriate educational materials, to impoverished countries worldwide, and to domestic homeless shelters as well as Second Harvest Food Bank.  We live by the three Rs… reduce, reuse & recycle.
• Hotel environmental certifications or awards: We are currently working on our green certification.
• Green Meetings pet peeve: We want to help our clients reduce their “footprint” as much as possible.  Unfortunately, there are some “green” ideas  that just don’t lend to a quality meeting experience.  So we are always searching for better ways to help our groups become “greener.”
• Favorite Green Meeting gadget, tool, or accessory: The absolute easiest “green” initiatve that practically every meeting planner can implement today is a name badge recycling program.  It’s super simple – it only requires a bin at the end of the closing session.  And it just makes so much sense — doesn’t everybody end up with a bottom drawer full of old conference name badges?  Why not reuse them from year to year… or at least recycle them!
• What green tidbit(s) would you like Experient and their clients to know about your property prior to coming to e4? What’s one of the biggest components of waste at a large meeting?  Bottled water!  The convention center at Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek uses a Natura water system in meeting room sets as an alternative to bottled water.  This carbon-free, triple-filtered water system delivers H20 as pure as bottled water but without the packaging waste to our environment.  The water is served up in sharp-looking reusable glass bottles.

Mike Smith, CMP

I am a proud father of two beautiful girls; Emily age 4 and Leah 8 weeks.  I am also a proud member of the Green Meeting Industry Council and currently a founding member and Co-Chair of the Programs Committee for GMIC – Colorado Chapter.  As my life evolved deeper into fatherhood and into green meetings – I started to notice some quirky parallels between the accidental lessons in sustainability through parenting and the green meetings movement.  So by now I trust all have been inundated with “Green Meeting Lists” but trust me – the below is not certified or standardized by the EPA, APEX or LEED, just some thoughts by a blurry eyed and sleep deprived dad in the meetings industry learning how to survive with two girls (and the wife) in the house.

1. Hand-me downs (internal) – items reused from sibling to sibling:  clothing, car seats, toys, etc.  Stinks no doubt for kiddo #2 and beyond but good for sustainability and costs.  Green Meeting Reference:  reusing left over conference bags, signage, décor, centerpieces, name badges, etc. for next year’s annual or other one-off meetings.
2. Hand-me downs (external) – items donated from friends and family with kids: strollers, bouncy chairs, pac-n-plays, swings…you name it.  All of these necessities are scattered throughout our house and again offer huge cost savings.  Green Meeting Reference:  donating left over conference bags, signage, décor, centerpieces, name badges, etc. to another Association or an organization in need such as a youth shelter, local school or boys and girls club.
3. Reusable Baby Bottles –whether for formula or mom’s magic those baby bottles get reused again and again.  Green Meeting Reference:  Reusable Water Bottles – dump the need for plastic bottle water and offer attendees a conference take away while reducing your footprint.
4. Carpooling – what kiddo under 16 doesn’t carpool?  Think about it.  Green Meeting Reference:  Implement a ride-share program (especially for regional meetings) or guide/encourage attendees to utilize public transportation in the city of your conference.
5. Craft Projects – think milk carton birdhouse or paper towel tube telescope.  Stimulates creativity and beats the TV babysitter.  Green Meeting Reference:  Repurpose meeting materials by donating banners, conference bags, signage, décor, exhibitor tchochkies to organizations that repurpose these items like R.A.F.T. (Resource Area for Teaching ) http://www.raft.net/. One visit to an operation like this and you’ll see how green meetings can transfer outside the industry and into your local community.
6. Kid’s Meals – offered at almost every restaurant with smaller portions, limited menus at a value price.  Green Meeting Reference:  be vigilant on setting your guarantees and order sensible, portion controlled, plated meals.  No need to SUPERSIZE or go for the Renaissance Festival Buffet – this will save in wasted food and costs.  Banquet and Catering departments could reduce waste and their food distribution cost/footprint by creating “best of show” menus.
7. Home Gardening – although success rate might be low, food from the garden is “delish”.  Not to mention a good (OK –dirty) way to get the kids outside and a nice way to teach responsibility (somebody has to water right?)  Green Meeting Reference:  Easy – when creating your menus, think local and organic.
8. Wishing Well / Water fountain – ever walk by a water fountain feature with your kid…bet you’re diving into your pocket for some spare change.  And with every penny cast, a wish comes true (in theory).  Granted, some “wells” are self-serving but many donate contributions to a charity.  Green Meeting Reference:   Part of a sustainable meeting or Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is giving back to the community, creating a legacy and leaving the host city a better place.  Charity events should be coordinated to not only do good, but offer an emotional return to the participant.
9. Stroller Walk – what better way to sooth a crying baby than taking a walk with the stroller (OK, punkin’ seat on dryer works too) and burning some carbs?  Green Meeting Reference:  A trendy market niche is LOHAS (Lifestyle of Health and Sustainability) so to appeal to this attendee type, incorporate a healthy twist into your conference program…perhaps this is an organized fun-run, providing walking/running maps in the conference area or encouraging attendees to walk to/from their hotels to the convention center.
10. Ice Cream Cone –What a great concept this is; a container that actually can be consumed with no waste!  And what better treat for a kid than an ice cream cone in the dog days of summer.  Green Meeting Reference:  I am not suggesting you provide edible conference bags, but do look into bags made from sustainable materials or go without conference bags (do you dare?).  Consider a meeting without the “paper program”, offer speaker presentations on-line, post-event rather than giving wasteful handouts.  For “to go” meals, offer reusable lunch bags instead of paper boxes. Or do you we really need a paper sleeve for our hotel room key?

Ultimately, as a father, my real hope is to leave the future brighter and the world a better place for my daughters – and isn’t that what sustainability is all about?  Now, off to squeeze in a nap before the next diaper change or game of Candyland.

Keep it Green!

Mike Smith, CMP

This is the first in a two-part series from Mike on Greening for Meetings.  Next week we will feature an interview with the Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek, with some insights from the hotel perspective.

Hello E4 readers and thanks for stopping back by! In the coming weeks, I will be publishing a series of blog entries to expand on each individual point presented in my original post on how to green your meetings and events.  As you may recall, my first point was to “Stop thinking Green”.

Alternatively I suggest you begin thinking about sustainability and sustainable meetings. Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m certainly not any type of environmental expert.  For the longest time I actually thought that “green” and “sustainable” were interchangeable terms. But, upon further study, I soon recognized the differences.

Triple Bottom Line Accounting

Sustainability takes into account the terms, “People, Planet, Profit”. The concept encompasses more than just the planet. So, as long as we continue to limit our thinking to just “green”, we will not be looking at the entire picture of what comprises a successful and enduring business enterprise.

It is just as important to consider the human and financial elements of a business. If a meeting planner were to sacrifice their entire event payroll in order to convert their meeting to a solar-powered gathering, would that make any sense or contribute to the overall success of the business? Of course not!

Have you heard of triple bottom line accounting? Well, if not, this is a modern business valuation system. Balancing the returns in the three categories of people, planet and profit has been the hallmark of long-term growth for the most successful businesses in the world.

So what does this mean to a meeting planner?

The first step is to adopt a holistic view of your meetings portfolio. As with the practices of a Strategic Meetings Management Program, take a step back from your individual meetings and take a look at your program as a whole. Evaluate where you will be able to improve within one category without sacrificing the other two.  Begin shifting your focus from “greening” everything to spreading your efforts amongst all three.

Please stay tuned for updates as we will continue to explore the additional steps to achieve a sustainable meetings program – perhaps ultimately we’ll achieve an SSMMP: Strategic Sustainable Meetings Management Program?!

When planning food and beverage for your convention, the first thing we generally consider is what we have to spend.  There are several great ways to ensure that you are spending somewhat less, making smarter choices and making a positive impact on the environment and the local community where your meeting is being held.

Purchase local fruits and vegetables. By purchasing local produce, you are not only supporting the local community, you are getting a fresher product, cutting down the amount of energy expended since trucking is limited and shipping is not necessary, and you could also be saving money.  Yes, saving money!  By offering what is in season in your meeting location, you not only save money, but you are also providing your attendees a chance to truly experience the flavors of the region you are visiting.  Work with your local caterer to find out what fruits and vegetables are in season and customize your menus based on that.

In a recent survey that I conducted with the Experient Meeting & Event Managers, I found that the perception is – to buy local produce will cost you more. I was surprised by this perception, so I reached out to some convention center caterers to see what their experience has been.

The Chef with Levy Brothers at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh, PA, says that the prices are actually more reasonable, since they cut out the middle man. Aramark in Portland, replied that their experience is that local produce does cost less when in season.  Oregon enjoys a mild climate and has a lot of fertile farmland so they tend to have a longer growing season than some areas of the country, so know the market you are working in.

Food planning based on history is a major key to cost saving success and being greener by eliminating waste.  Through our Experient post convention reports, we track our ordering history, consumption and final guarantee numbers so that we can continue to make smart choices and guarantee wisely year to year.  Therefore, we are saving a great deal of money due to good guarantee numbers and we are not wasting food.

The key is to know your group, have a good history from which to place your orders, talk to your caterer and make good choices based on what is available locally.  Then you will enjoy the “fruits” of having a cheaper and greener event!

Have you started requesting locally grown for your events?