Pushing Your Vendors

1. Pushing Your Vendors • How to get affordable local, organic foods for your meetings and events

2. Session Objectives • Present a case study showing the process of an attempt to create more sustainable F&B for meetings and events • Demonstrate what the team of Greg Christian Consulting, Dallas Convention Center, Centerplate Catering, and PCMA were able to accomplish and implement for the PCMA 2010 Annual Meeting • Discuss the challenges faced and what the team was not able to accomplish/implement along with how to overcome these challenges for future meetings and events

3. A Conversation and an Idea • How it all started – Meredith Rollins at PCMA • PCMA environmental mission statement: • “…committed to educating members on green meeting practices, conducting meetings and organization in an environmentally friendly way, and moving our industry to a more ecologically responsible future”

4. The Assignment • To incorporate more sustainability initiatives into the F&B service for the annual meeting • Bring together the facility, the food service provider, the meeting organizer, and an outside consultant to complete the assignment • Make sure the process is demonstrated to meeting attendees so attendees can implement the process in their own meetings/events

5. GCC’s Vision • Menu Development • Integrate local, seasonal, and/or organic items into the menus • Local, Seasonal, and Organic Procurement • Include food maps and farm descriptions to display during meeting • Manage, Divert, and Reduce F&B Waste

6. GCC’s Steps • Incorporate APEX Green Meetings Standards (those that apply to F&B) – determine caterer’s current greening initiatives via questionnaire • Initial meeting with key F&B players • Gather information/specifics about menu, food quantities, and sources • Research creative solutions

7. Initial Challenges • Geographic • GCC in Chicago; caterer and venue in Dallas • January in Dallas • Menu development stage • Already set before GCC became involved • Budget

8. Menu Development

9. Local, Seasonal, & Organic Procurement Mental Model: Better Living Through Chemistry

10. Local, Seasonal, & Organic Procurement Ideal Strategy • Organize what and how much F&B needed to be bought • Map/research current suppliers to see if any are currently local, seasonal, and/or organic • Research clean food in Texas and surrounding areas

11. Local, Seasonal, & Organic Procurement Reality • Not in Dallas to map foods • January in Dallas • Food quantities • Cost constraints

12. Local, Seasonal, & Organic Procurement Reality • Dairy • Fruits and vegetables • Beverages • Olive Oil • Honey • Chocolate

13. Local, Seasonal, & Organic Procurement Reality • Chicken • Whole versus cuts • Beef • Short ribs versus alternate cuts • Bone-in versus boneless

14. Waste Management, Diversion, & Reduction Mental Model: Take, Make, Waste

15. Waste Management, Diversion, & Reduction Ideal Strategy • Current capabilities • Determine where improvements can be made • Research laws around recycling and composting • Find recycling and compost haulers • Implement waste system, including education

16. Waste Management, Diversion, & Reduction Reality • Dallas Convention Center has an extensive recycling program • DCC would be handling food donation • Bulk condiments • Reusable dishware, cutlery, and linens • FOG is being recycled • No composting

17. Conditions of the Game

18. Waste Management, Diversion, & Reduction Reality • GCC’s Focus: Composting • Find locations to take compost • Find haulers • Storage of compost • Education around handling compost

19. Marketing Materials: Food Maps and Farm Descriptions • Materials could not be created as envisioned for a variety of reasons • However, telling the story is still crucial to the process • Sales and marketing • Lessons learned

20. Suggestions: How to Successfully Green F&B for an Event • Find out what items are seasonal near your geographic meeting location and create menus around these foods: http://www.nrdc.org/health/foodmiles/

21. Suggestions: How to Successfully Green F&B for an Event 25 Years 15 Years 5 Years 3 Years 18 Months

22. Suggestions: How to Successfully Green F&B for an Event • Sustainability requirements must be implemented from the beginning… Put these requirements into your RFPs.

23. Suggestions: How to Successfully Green F&B for an Event • Examples of what to include in RFPs: • Request copies of facility waste management and purchasing policies • Divert certain amount of waste from landfills • Require auditing and tracking of pre- and post-consumer waste • Require non-alcoholic beverages be served in bulk

24. Suggestions: How to Successfully Green F&B for an Event • Examples of what to include in RFPs: • Minimum amount of local, seasonal, and/or organic food purchased by vendor/food service provider • Specify by category • Vegan and vegetarian entrée options available at each meal and as main entrée at some meals

25. Suggestions: How to Successfully Green F&B for an Event • Determine what is most important to you and your attendees • Determine what your minimum sustainable requirements are for F&B: challenge your vendors and suppliers to be creative to meet or exceed your requirements! • Learn from each event to improve what you can implement in the future

26. The Power of the Meeting Professional Source: Energy Information Administration

27. The Power of the Meeting Professional • $5 billion is spent annually on catering (Source: First Research, Catering Services Industry, Quarterly Update 4/21/2008) • You can play a large part in improving the environmental impact of the food service industry.

28. Green Guide: Sustainable Food and Beverage • Any questions? • Email: greg@gregchristianconsulting.com • Website: http://www.gregchristianconsulting.com • Phone: 312-656-8489