6 Simple Steps To Start Greening Your Meetings | By Nancy J. Wilson

The Green Issue

6 Simple Steps To Start Greening Your Meetings

By Nancy J. Wilson, CMP, principal of Meeting Strategies Worldwide and co-author of "Simple Steps to Green Meetings & Events: The Professional's Guide to Saving Money and the Earth."

There's a lot of buzz these days about green meetings, but getting started can be the scariest part. But it doesn't have to be scary at all, if you remember this: it's just another aspect of planning a meeting or event—a "filter," if you will.

Look at it this way: You're going to choose a venue, order food and beverage, and invite attendees. You may also choose an exhibit decorator, transportation company and hotel accommodations. You do all those things daily. Now do the exact same things through the green "filter." Add a few questions to the RFP (request for proposal) about the venue's environmental policies; ask the caterer for a sustainable menu; invite attendees electronically instead of on a printed document. By adopting just one environmentally responsible practice, planners can reduce consumption of the earth's resources and their organization's expenses—a win/win situation for everyone.

There are really just five simple steps to getting started.

1. Establish Commitment. As with any conference or event, setting goals and objectives is essential to producing a successful event. During this process, make sure green meeting practices are incorporated as well. If the sponsoring organization is greening the meeting for the first time, it can begin by establishing the commitment of the organization to go green. Once the organization's level of support is received, you have full license to determine what green strategies or practices to put into place.

2. Develop Minimum Standards. The next step is to develop minimum standards to incorporate into all events. You should create criteria for all the vendors used, including convention centers, hotels, caterers, transportation services and even convention and visitors bureaus. The Convention Industry Council's Green Meetings Report offers helpful guidelines in eight areas of planning. It's important that your guidelines are part of any initial conversations with destinations, convention and visitors bureaus, vendors, etc. Remember to include the guidelines in the RFP stage of planning. This will make negotiating and implementing the practices much easier.

3. Communicate Objectives. You'll need to communicate your objectives for the event very clearly, especially if greening practices are new. Communicate with your own organization first. Let them know what policies or new practices are being put into place to green the event, why they are important, and the plan to implement them. Clear communication can establish expectations for your event and help to enroll stakeholders in the process.

4. Inform attendees. Attendees will be more engaged in greening efforts if the what, why and how are communicated to them. Let them know why the organization is doing things differently and why it is important to make a change. Attendees do not usually respond well to surprises, but they frequently are open to new practices and ideas if they are well explained.

Informing the media about greening efforts could offer a press-worthy angle to the meeting. Consider writing a case study outlining the purpose of the meeting, what decisions were made to green the meeting, who participated in the greening efforts, what was accomplished, what lessons were learned and what measured results will be achieved. Case studies can be used as a post-conference selling tool on the organization's website or as a press release. The press—and, in fact, the entire meetings industry—is anxious for measurable results from greening. Tell them.

5. Negotiate Green Practices. The next step—the negotiation phase—is no different from other negotiations. But remember that many of your organization's greening practices may be new to your suppliers. Know which practices your organization is willing to compromise on and which ones they are not.

Most green practices are actually cost-saving or cost-neutral for suppliers. Use the cost savings as leverage in negotiations. For example, serving items in bulk instead of individual packets can save 50 percent or more of the cost. In many parts of the United States, recycling is less expensive for a facility than sending garbage to a landfill.

The crucial component to remember when negotiating green efforts is to ensure they are included in your contracts. Make sure to include an environmental clause in the contract, with measurable results and consequences for non-performance. Alternatively, offer an incentive for complying with the agreed-upon green practices.

6. Measure Results. The last step is measuring the results—don't skip this step. Tracking both the environmental and economic impacts provides the ability to quantify the results. Just as you should provide a post-conference report and budget reconciliation, measuring greening results is important. For example, track the pounds of waste recycled or how much money was saved by eliminating conference bags. Ask attendees for feedback. Did the attendees notice and like any of the changes? Do they have suggestions for next time?

Also, think about publishing your results. People love data. Tell attendees, publish information on the sponsoring organization's website, and tell suppliers. Sharing the measured results is a great way to enroll and engage the sponsoring organization to want more greening action. This multilevel approach moves the notion of "greening" a meeting from a fringe behavior or perspective to a mainstream practice.

The key to getting started is just starting. Think of green meeting practices not as another item to add to a to do list. Rather, incorporate the practices into the planning processes you already use. Even if you're only able to implement one environmentally responsible practice, you will have made a difference!