Best Practices for Green Meetings were just formulated by a Convention Industry Council task force and approved by the CIC board of directors. Minimum and "strongly recommended" best practices are outlined separately for planners and suppliers. Find them and links to other green meeting resources at www.conventionindustry.org. *
Green Meetings Policy, developed and adopted by the National Recycling Coalition in 2001, presents guidelines on how to include recycling and waste prevention in requests for proposal, plus contract addendum on green meeting policies. Go to www.nrc-recycle.org/resources/resources.htm or www.bluegreenmeetings.org. *
The recently formed Green Meetings Industry Council (www.greenmeetings.info), still in development, aims to provide a single base of information to help planners source their reduction, reuse, and recycling needs, and to develop a certification process for planners, meetings, and suppliers. *
The nonprofit Oceans Blue Foundation promotes initiatives for environmentally responsible tourism and hosts www.bluegreenmeetings.org. The site features tips on getting started, an assessment tool, resources, and links for planners and suppliers, plus case studies on successful initiatives. Its activities are temporarily on hold due to the departure of its president, but the Web site is still active. *
The Environmental Protection Agency's Green Meetings/Conference Initiative was developed and is supported by the agency's Pollution Prevention Division. Access www.epa.gov/oppt/green meetings for a checklist for minimizing the environmental impacts of meetings; contract language for obtaining "greener" conference planning/support services; and links to related initiatives. Among EPA's 26 Partnership Programs (www.epa.gov/partners2/comments.htm), the most applicable to the meetings industry are Energy Start, Green Lights, Green Power, Waste Wise and Water Efficiency. *
"How Green Are You?" is a resource and reference guide produced in January 2000 by Meeting Professionals International. It outlines activities that support green meetings, 10 easy ways to be green, and recommendations for accommodations, transportation, food and beverage, facilities, exhibitions, communications, and general office practices (www.mpiweb.org/village/greenmeetings/) *
With the recent merging of CharityDirect (www.charitydirect.com) into Network for the Needy, the Professional Convention Management Association (www.pcma.org) brings surplus product, equipment, and materials donation alongside food donation to meetings and exhibitions. The program also raises awareness about the Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act, which counters donor concerns about liability. *
With its the Green Hotel Initiative, The Coalition for Environmentally Responsible Economies helps businesses integrate environmental stewardship into their core strategies to improve profits. Planners can use CERES' "Best Practice Survey," which develops a sketch of a property's environmental management practices, with other criteria in the procurement process. *
Since 1995, Green Seal (www.greenseal.org/greeninglodge.htm) has promoted environmentally responsible products and practices within lodging properties. It has developed a purchasing and operations guide, "Greening Your Property," and initiated a certification program to help travelers, planners, and government and corporate travel buyers identify environmentally responsible lodging properties (www.greenseal.org/certproducts.htm#lodging). *
The Coalition for Environmentally Responsible Conventions was formed to promote environmental best practices at the 2004 political conventions. More than 150 volunteers from 50 local organizations in Boston are working towards greening the Democratic National Convention. "5 Easy Steps to Making Your Hotel Greener" and a Green Events Guide help properties and event hosts prepare (http://www.cerc04.org). — Maxine Golding