Forget high thread counts or butler service. Show me your biodegradable soap, high impact fluorescent light bulbs, and recycle bins. The meetings industry is going green, or at least becoming more conscious about recognizing the need to adopt environmentally-conscious practices and standards.

In a very short time, eco-friendly initiatives have gone from becoming a thoughtful thing to do, to becoming a conscious decision. FutureWatch 2008, the sixth annual international study conducted by Meeting Professionals International (MPI) and sponsored by American Express, confirms that environmental sustainability interest tops the chart. A survey of 1,643 meeting and event professionals and suppliers from around the world lists conservation and environmental concerns among the top three trends affecting 19 percent of professionals surveyed.

What is a green meeting?

A typical five-day conference for 2,500 attendees will use 90,000 cans or bottles, 75,000 cups and 87,500 napkins (Meeting Strategies Worldwide, 2003). That's a lot of waste heading to the landfill!

Meeting Strategies Worldwide defines a green meeting, "Green meetings have been defined as a meeting that incorporates environmental considerations throughout all stages of the meeting in order to minimize the negative impact on the environment. Greening an event encompasses all aspects of the planning process."

Your meeting might be as simple as arranging for three local partners to meet with your boss, or as complex as site selection for thousands for an annual convention in Las Vegas. But the goal of a green meeting is always the same: reducing the environmental impact of the event.

A green meeting is more than recycling. It also includes composting and avoiding disposable items, decreasing energy usage, and choosing products with "post-consumer recycled content and food that is organic, local or fair trade."

Social responsibility (also known as CSR: Corporate Social Responsibility) aspects are also included. CSR includes charitable donations or participating in projects benefiting a community.

Going Green

Kermit the frog might've coined the phrase, "it's not easy being green," but a green meeting doesn't have to be that difficult. Taking baby steps toward making your meeting or conference green is progress. You don't have to do it all in one meeting.

Whether planning a single event for a few or a major convention for thousands, the first step is commitment. Success is a team effort, so communicate your goals to your team.

Whether your meeting is a board meeting for six or a large scale convention, you start the commitment with simple steps by making responsible and conscious decisions based on the three R's: reduce, reuse and recycle. Begin internally by reducing paper waste, such as registration forms, handouts, evaluation and collateral forms, etc. Share your green meeting goals with your suppliers, vendors, organizers and attendees, so that they can participate in the process - and feel good too!

Get Started

Want to get started? Meetings Strategies Worldwide offers basic tips to greening your meeting.

For the bigger picture, incorporate an events checklist, such as this one:

• Venue: is it a green building?
• Energy: is it renewable?
• Materials: are cups, plates, etc reusable or compostable?
• Food: is it organic and without a large transportation greenhouse gas burden?
• Transportation: Are the greenhouse gases from the attendees travel minimized and offset?
• Wastes: are food, paper and other wastes reused if possible? If not, then at least composted or recycled?

Once you've done the basics, you can get serious. AASHE, the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education, did the homework for you and created this Sustainable Meetings and Conference questionnaire to plan a sustainable (green) meeting.

Not only do green meetings make sense, but sustainable meetings also save money, energy and resources while upping your ante in environmental commitment.