A Million Tons of Trash

GMIC issues an environmental challenge to the meetings industry

Apr. 1, 2009 Betsy Bair | MEETINGSNET

The Green Meeting Industry Council, an association dedicated to sustainability for meetings and events, has a challenge for the industry: Divert, recycle, or compost a million tons of trash between Earth Day, April 22, and the end of 2009.

GMIC issued the Million Tons of Trash Challenge during its Greening the Hospitality Industry 2009 Conference in Pittsburgh, where nearly 200 green meetings devotees gathered at the end of February. The challenge is intended as “a fun, competitive way to inspire meetings, festivals, and other live events to measure and reduce the waste they produce, cut their carbon emissions, and save money along the way,” said Amy Spatrisano, CMP, GMIC board president and president of Meeting Strategies Worldwide.

Meeting planners, venues, and hotels are invited to measure the waste they recycle or compost and enter the total weight in an online system. Those with the best recycling and waste diversion rates will be recognized, and the results will serve as a best practices guide for the entire industry.

“Oracle is excited to participate in this global challenge,” said Paul Salinger, vice president of marketing and green-event champion at Oracle. “Our goal is to run Oracle OpenWorld, the world's largest conference for business software, as a completely sustainable event. In 2009, we'd like to reduce or divert 100 tons of waste, a substantial increase from the 67 tons diverted in 2008.”

In other GMIC news, Spatrisano announced that 16 cities or regions around the globe are interested in forming chapters, adding to the chapters-in-formation in Atlanta, Chicago, and South Florida/Caribbean. GMIC also announced that it is launching an online Green Meetings Portal.

To join or sponsor the Trash Challenge, visit sustainablemeetingsportal.org or greenmeetings.info.

Into the Hall of Leaders

The Convention Industry Council has named individuals who will be inducted into the Hall of Leaders in January 2010 in recognition of their significant contributions to the meetings and conventions industry:

M. Theresa Breining, CMP, CMM, president and CEO of Concepts Worldwide, Carlsbad, Calif.

Thomas M. Mobley, Jr., senior vice president for convention centers at Global Spectrum Facility Management, Philadelphia

Steve Porter, former president, the Americas, Intercontinental Hotels Group, Atlanta

Preston Robert Tisch, former chairman and co-owner, Loews Hotels, New York

Jerry A. Wayne, vice president, sales and marketing, The Greenbrier, White Sulphur Springs, W.V.

Calendar:

May 26-28

IMEX
Frankfurt, Germanywww.imex-frankfurt.com

June 21-23

FICP 2009 Education Forum
Colorado Springs, Colo.
www.ficpnet.com

July 11-14

MPI World Education Conference
Salt Lake City, Utah
www.mpiweb.org

August 23-26

NBTA International Convention & Exposition
San Diego
www.nbta.org

Sept. 29-Oct. 1

The Motivation Show
Chicago, Ill.
www.motivationshow.com

Oct. 30-Nov. 2

Site
International Conference
Aruba
www.site-intl.org