PORTLAND, ORE.—The sixth annual Sustainable Meetings Conference, organized by the Green Meeting Industry Council (GMIC), kicked off yesterday with a full slate of educational sessions and news that GMIC has grown to 600 members in more than 30 countries. The conference, which has drawn 250 people in person and 60 “virtual” attendees, is being held at the Doubletree Hotel Portland. Four years ago, when the conference was also held in Portland, total attendance was closer to 60. Guy Bigwood, president of GMIC and director of sustainability, MCI Group, told attendees that GMIC currently has 20 chapters up and running or in development, up from seven at the same time last year. There are also now 47 business members, support that Bigwood says has put GMIC in a financially sustainable position for the future.
Bigwood led off the first day by moderating a session on the “Business Dimensions of Sustainability.” Panelists included Dr. James Tansey, president, Offsetters; Dr. Ian Lee, Sprott School of Business, Carleton University; Regina Hauser, executive director, The Natural Step Network; and Denise Taschereau, co-founder, Fairware. When asked what current or future business trends are having or will have the most impact on the meetings industry, panelists offered different opinions. “There’s a movement toward localization,” Taschereau said. “People want a sense of connection.” “The cost of energy will completely transform our economy and drive localization,” Lee said.
Tansey said he is seeing North American companies being more strategic toward sustainability. “It’s becoming more natural to consider the sustainability of new products,” he said. In regard to supply chains and sustainability, Hauser added, “You had better be living what you are asking your suppliers to do.”
Lee warned attendees that when the price of a barrel of oil hits $150, airlines will begin to go out of business. Hauser added, in regard to future new energy sources, “We tend to look for magic bullets. There are no magic bullets. Tansey added that demand reduction is the cheapest source of new energy.
Wrapping up the session, Taschereau offered this advice to those interested in talking to their supply chain about sustainability: “Ask them what they are doing in their own company. Follow up with a survey. Get in the habit of telling your sustainability story to your clients.”
Sustainable Destinations & Venues
Another highlight of the conference’s first day was a session on “Sustainable Destinations & Venues.” The moderator was Janiece Sneegas, director of General Assembly and Conference Services, Unitarian Universalist Assn. Panelists included Kathryn Wakefield, director, Client Services, Tourism Toronto; Dysthe Paige, senior event planner, WHQ Meetings & Events, Nike; and Martie Sparks, vice president of Catering and Convention Services, Mandalay Bay Convention Center.
When asked what a meeting planner should look for when considering a green destination or venue, Wakefield listed the following: what the locale does to divert waste; what products go into the recycling stream; whether or not there is public transportation available, especially from the airport; whether or not hotels are within walking distance of the convention center; whether or not renewable energy is employed; whether or not there are any ride share programs; having local food available—food from within a 100-mile radius of the meeting spot; and whether or not it is possible to donate excess food to social agencies.
When asked how meeting planners can ensure that their green expectations are met when working with a hotel or meeting center, Mandalay Bay’s Sparks said they should specify their demands in the request for proposal, in the contract, and detail what types of post-event reports (e.g., how much paper was recycled, etc.) they will expect from the client. Sparks added that clients often want to leave a destination better than they found it—by volunteering while they are there, donating leftover food, etc.
Sneegas emphasized in her comments that a green meetings program at a destination will only be successful if there is a green champion at the property—someone to oversee the green initiatives and make sure client expectations are met.
Green Supply Chain Defined
Mike Ellis, president of EA Logistics, in his presentation on “Supply and Demand: Sustainable Supply Chains,” explained the differences between a traditional supply chain and a green supply chain. In a traditional supply chain, a product begins with raw material, that material is transported, manufactured, transported again to the consumer, and then transported again—this time to a landfill. In a green supply chain, the product’s lifecycle is considered even before raw materials are extracted. There are still multiple transportation steps but the product is designed to be reused or recycled at the end of its life.
One of the last sessions of the day was one entitled, “Sustainability Reporting and Meetings: The Corporate Hotel Perspective.” It was led by Eric Ricaurte, principal, Greenview. Ricaurte summarized the reasons hotel companies report on their sustainability progress: for employees and customers, for shareholders and government, and to help lessen their environmental impact. “I have seen a big growth in sustainability reporting,” Ricaurte said, adding that he expects several big chains to publish sustainability reports for the first time this year and in 2012.
In Ricaurte’s session, there was significant discussion about the metrics hotel companies could eventually use to quantify their environmental impact. These are still being discussed by the major chains.
Glenn Hasek can be reached at editor@greenlodgingnews.com.
