Green Meetings

1. Green Meetings Rebecca Mebane Director of Conferences and Meetings National Recycling Coalition

2. What is a ‘Green Meeting?’ “A meeting or event that incorporates environmental considerations to minimize itsnegative impact on the environment.” -As defined by The Convention Industry Council

3. How do I plan a ‘Green Meeting?’ NRC’s Green Meeting Policy: • Promotion/Printed Materials • Transportation • Working with Facilities • Food & Beverage Functions • Hotels - Exhibit Hall/Exhibitors • Educating Attendees • Evaluation of ‘Green’ efforts

4. Promotion/Printed Materials General Use/ Paper Copying • Always meet or exceed EPA standards for recycled content paper. (Executive Order 13101 states that paper purchased by Federal Agencies must have a minimum of 30% recycled content.)

5. Promotion/Printed Materials Closing the Loop 1. Diverting Recyclables from the Waste Stream 2. Companies use these recyclables to manufacture new products 3. Purchase products made from recovered materials

6. Promotion/Printed Materials How YOU can ‘Close the Loop’: • Make sure to use recycled content paper for in-house print jobs. • Ask your printer to use recycled content paper for large volume print jobs.

7. Promotion/Printed Materials Other considerations: • Always use back to back copying/printing ($) • Do not use goldenrod or fluorescent colored paper • Limit any use of glossy paper

8. Promotion/Printed Materials Promotional Materials • Utilize electronic advertising/promotion whenever possible ($) • Make printed materials self mailers wherever possible ($) • Clean-up mailing lists ($) • Offer registration on-line • Find mailing labels with water-based adhesives • Print with non-volatile vegetable-oil based ink

9. Promotion/Printed Materials Confirmation Materials • Send confirmation materials electronically ($) • Make information available on website, and mailed only when requested • Provide Attendees “Green” Traveler Ideas (Ask Green Hotels Association for permission to reprint.) www.greenhotels.com

10. Promotion/Printed Materials Speaker Handouts • Ask speakers to provide handouts electronically and post these on your website ($) • Then ask attendees to download materials in advance or provide computers/printers on-site for downloading presentations.

11. Promotion/Printed Materials • Provide attendees with disks/USB flash drives with all presentations • Or • Request that speakers ask attendees for business cards to mail any materials that are not provided on-site

12. Promotion/Printed Materials On-site Materials • Collect and reuse name tag holders/lanyards ($) • Have badge collection boxes at the registration area, exit of exhibit hall, and at exit of convention center on the last day • Ask conference hotels to have collection boxes at front desk for check-out • Offer a prize drawing from those recycled name tag holders

13. Promotion/Printed Materials • Conference give-a-ways (tote bags, mugs, etc.) should be made with recycled content materials. • Speaker gifts/awards/etc. should be made from recycled materials or be environmentally conscious.

14. Recycling’s true value comes from preventing pollution and, saving natural resources and energy- not just landfill space.

15. It takes 95% less energy to recycle aluminum than it does to make it from raw materials • Recycled Plastics 70% • Recycled Steel saves 60% • Recycled Glass and Newspaper 40%

16. Promotional/Printed Materials • Use reusable or recyclable signs ($)

17. Transportation • Choose a destination with minimal travel requirements for delegates.  Shorter distances will result in less environmental impact.  • Choose hotels/meeting venues accessible to airport by public transit system and have “free time” activities (restaurants and shops) within walking distance of each other.

18. Transportation • Use or give delegates incentives to travel via public transit (free passes or transit route maps). • Offer attendees bike rentals.

19. Transportation • If transportation is being arranged for delegates, choose a vehicle powered by electric or hybrid power, natural gas, propane, methane gas or ethanol. • Offer “Carbon Offset Programs”

20. Working with Facilities In Advance • Send a “Recycling & Waste Prevention Information Checklist” with your RFP • Ask if they are a EPA Energy Star, Green Seal, or LEED Certified Building. • Ask about recycling programs, energy conservation, purchasing of recycled content products, etc.

21. Working with Facilities Use this information to evaluate and choose facilities

22. Working with Facilities Contracts Add as an appendix to your contract any “Green Meeting” requirements: “Facility agrees to abide by the following for all NRC events. If any additional costs are to be incurred by NRC for any of these items, these costs must be identified in the contract.” • You should include green meeting requirements with all vendors (decorators, printers, etc.)

23. Working with Facilities Setup a recycling program for: • Paper • All Beverage Containers (i.e. glass, plastic, aluminum cans) that are being served. • Cardboard (done behind the scenes recycling containers not needed in 'public' areas).

24. Working with Facilities -Collection areas should be visually well identified -Make sure to educate attendees on what can be recycled and where -Make sure to have trash cans near recycling containers

25. Food & Beverage Functions Eliminate use of disposable service ware • Require all facilities to use non-disposable service ware

26. Food & Beverage Functions Using 1,000 disposable plastic spoons consumes over 10 times more energy and natural resources than manufacturing one stainless steel teaspoon and washing it 1,000 times.

27. Food & Beverage Functions If non-disposable service ware is unavailable: • use biodegradable disposable service ware in conjunction with a compost program or • service ware made from recycled content materials.

28. Food & Beverage Functions • Onsite concessionaires: • Ask concessionaires to use recycled content products or biodegradable disposable service ware in conjunction with a compost program • Ask concessionaires to serve beverages to attendees in their Conference mugs. • Promote/recognize concessionaires who are willing to work with you in those areas.

29. Food & Beverage Functions • Eliminate the use of plastic or wood stir sticks with any beverage service, reusable spoons should be used at coffee service. • "Box lunches" must be served buffet style • Request cloth napkins and table cloths be used. In cases where this is not feasible, request compostable napkins or napkins made from recycled content materials.

30. Food & Beverage Functions • Have cocktail napkins available at bar service but instruct bartenders not to automatically give them with each drink. • Provide or ask attendees to use mugs. • Use water coolers instead of individual bottles of water.($) • Have a recycling program for type of beverage containers that will be served (i.e. glass, plastic or cans).

31. Food & Beverage Functions Food Service • All condiments (ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, jelly, butter, sugar, creamers, etc) should be served in serving containers and not in individual packets. • Ask to have food served without garnishes or use edible garnishes.

32. Food & Beverage Functions • Where possible, donate surplus food to local shelters, soup kitchens, etc. • Plan menus with locally grown or organic food (including fair trade, shade grown coffee, tea, chocolate, and cocoa). • Serve only environmentally friendly seafood. • Provide a “signup form for meals” section on registration form

33. Food & Beverage Functions Food Composting • Ask Facilities to provide food composting or • Sell scraps to Pig Farms

34. Hotels Linen/Towel Program For hotels who don't already change towels and bed linens as requested, have them commit to doing this for your attendees during your stay.

35. Hotels • Provide cards that guests can use during their stay to let housekeeping know whether they want their towels and bed linens changed. • Give these cards to hotel for them to give to your guests during check-in. • Let attendees know in advance to expect these cards at check-in. • Attendees should be instructed to call housekeeping at the hotel if the hotel is not following the instructions not to have their towels and bed linens changed.

36. Hotels Dispensers in the bathrooms for shampoo/ soap/etc, • If they don't have a program already in place,, collect and donate opened hotel toiletries and soap. • Work with the host committee to find organizations who can use opened hotel toiletries and soap. • Have a collection box set up at the Convention Center on the last day and see if we can also setup collection boxes at the hotel front desk.

37. Hotels Recycling • Check to see if the hotel has in-room recycling containers or is able to collect recycling items from the trash. If not, instruct attendees to bring any recyclables from their hotel room to the collection stations in the meeting areas of the hotel.

38. Exhibit Hall/Exhibitors The goal is to make recycling for exhibitors a positive experience and not to be so restrictive or make recycling so difficult that you discourage exhibitors from participating at your Conference.

39. Exhibit Hall/Exhibitors Give-a-ways • Ask exhibitors not to over-package give-a-ways • Set up a collection for any 'useful' give-a-ways that would normally be thrown away and donate them to local shelters or schools. • Ask exhibitors that give-a-ways be reusable items or items made from recycled materials.

40. Exhibit Hall/Exhibitors Exhibitor promotional materials • Give exhibitors your "Green" policy for promotional materials and ask/suggest that they adhere to them. • Let exhibitors know in advance the expected number of attendees to help them in their planning an appropriate number of handouts/give-a-ways to bring.

41. Exhibit Hall/Exhibitors • Encourage exhibitors to bring small quantities and then mail materials to clients from their offices after the show or refer clients to their web site. • Suggest exhibitors avoid printing dates and slogans on exhibit materials so that they may be easily reused. • Let Exhibitors know how/where they can recycle their materials

42. Exhibit Hall/ Exhibitors Recognition of "Green" Exhibitors • Develop criteria to recognize "green" exhibitors. • Send to criteria to exhibitors in advance. • Recognize exhibitors, who meet a required level of the criteria, in post-Congress materials and at the following year's Congress (special notation on their booth signage or other signage which they can display at their booth).

43. Exhibit Hall/ Exhibitors Decorator • Work with decorator on putting decorator kit on the website. • Work with decorator on trying to eliminate non-reusable materials (draping for tables, etc) or see if they can be reused by local schools, etc.

44. Educating Attendees Educating Attendees • Pre-Conference information Let attendees know in advance (either by e-mails or in Congress Confirmation materials) about general recycling programs that will be in place and how they can participate. If you will be providing the 'bed linen/towel changing' cards to the hotel, let attendees know they should be receiving them at check-in.

45. Educating Attendees • Program Book • Include details of your on-site recycling/waste prevention program, including: what materials will be recycled and where recycling bins are located; what 'behind -the-scenes' recycling is taking place at the Convention Centers/Hotels/Off-site Facilities; • Notice of any special deals that on-site concessionaires are offering (that promote waste prevention)

46. Educating Attendees Program Book (cont’d) • Other waste prevention measures you are taking (reusing names badges & signage, mug program, confirmation materials on the web, etc). • Information should start with an intro into why we have this program in place.

47. Educating Attendees Educating Attendees • Announcement at sessions • Reminders in daily signage

48. Educating Attendees Encouraging/Rewarding Attendees • Provide attendees seen with "I was caught green handed" buttons, pins, etc to help provide an incentive/reminder for attendees to recycle/eliminate waste.

49. Educating Attendees Recycling Advisors • Have designated volunteers to serve as recycling advisors. Have special badges, shirts or ribbons to identify these advisors. Purpose of recycling advisors is to help identify recycling areas to attendees and to help assist and encourage attendees to recycle.

50. Evaluation of ‘Green’ efforts Attendee & Exhibitor Evaluation • Have a section on the Conference Evaluation Forms asking them to rank your ‘green’ meeting efforts • Ask questions like: • Were you aware of our programs? • Rate the ease of participating in the programs • What other areas can our organization improve upon?