How to Host a Green Event

Find it: www.sustainabletravelinternational.com

Use it: for background on why you should reduce your eco-footprint, for green meetings suggestions, and to create a custom carbon-emissions calculator

National Recycling Coalition's Green Meetings Policy

Find it: www.nrc-recycle.org/greenmeetingsp.aspx

Use it: as a complete guide to green meetings, right through to questions to ask in evaluating the meeting's success on “green” terms; for links to help you determine the recycling capabilities of your meeting destination

Venue Selection Questionnaire

Find it: www.bluegreenmeetings.org

Use it: to send to hotels before your RFP process

Fairmont Eco-Meet Checklist

Find it: www.fairmont.com/environment

Use it: to get an overview of Fairmont's eco-initiatives and as a guideline for evaluating other properties

Vertigo: Plan to Meet Green

(A project of the Canadian chapters of Meeting Professionals International)

Find it: www.mpiweb.org

Use it: as a comprehensive guide to green meetings and an environmental policy primer. Included are numerous sample corporate environmental statements.

Green Hotels Association's Meeting Planner's Questionnaire

Find it: www.greenhotels.com

Use it: in concert with your RFPs, to gauge the extent of a hotel's sustainability efforts. The questionnaire asks if there is a recycling program, if there is a recycling program in which guests can participate, if the hotel will provide recycling bins in meeting rooms, and if the hotel will commit to seeing that items collected are recycled.

Simple Steps to Green Meetings

Find it: www.meetingstrategiesworldwide.com

Use it: Attend this seminar, given by green meetings pioneers Nancy Wilson, CMP, and Amy Spatrisano, CMP. For upcoming dates, e-mail operations@meetingstrategiesworldwide.com.

The Convention Industry Council Green Meetings Report

Find it: www.conventionindustry.org

Use it: to find minimum best practices for event organizers and suppliers. This was the original report on green meetings, released in 2003, but it still offers useful info.

Be a Green Traveler

Find it: www.greenhotels.com

Use it: to e-mail attendees suggestions for eco-friendly things to do before they leave home and during their hotel stay.

Special Report: Green Meetings

Find it: meetingsnet.com/green_meetings

Use it: for the latest green meetings trends, checklists, tips, and resources

Related article:  More Green Meetings Tips, Trends, and Resources