Home News & Features GMIC Membership Boost Helps Attendance at Annual Conference

GMIC Membership Boost Helps Attendance at Annual Conference

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DENVER—When compared to last year’s Sustainable Meetings Conference in Pittsburgh, attendance was up significantly at this year’s event held in Denver from February 9 to 11. This year’s conference was held at the Colorado Convention Center. The facility, which has a 300-kilowatt solar system on its roof, is in pursuit of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver certification. A total of approximately 250 people attended this year’s event, reflecting the growing interest in the Green Meeting Industry Council (GMIC), the organizer of the conference.

Two years ago, membership in GMIC stood at 185 members. Today, there are 577 members. According to Amy Spatrisano, GMIC president, the organization’s goal is to have 1,000 members and 10 chapters by the end of this year. GMIC now has four official chapters—Oregon, Atlanta, Colorado and Northern California—with chapters in formation in Southern California, Southern Florida, Arizona, and Chicago.

Jan Peter Bergkvist, with SleepWell Sustainable Business Advisors, kicked off the opening session of the conference with a summary of sustainability principles and goals—eliminating our contribution to the degradation of nature, contributing as much as we can to the meeting of human needs in our society worldwide, incorporating sustainability principles in standard operating practices, etc.

‘The Story of Stuff’

Annie Leonard, author and host of The Story of Stuff, was the keynote speaker. In her work she focuses on explaining the underside of human production and consumption patterns. Her website includes animated films that explain the lifecycle of what humans purchase and ultimately throw away. Eight million people viewed her first online film. “We are trashing the planet, we are trashing each other, and we are not even having fun,” she said. Offering advice to those in attendance, she said, “Environmentalists spend too much time working on what they are against, not on what they are for. Green meetings demonstrate what is possible.”

In a session on “Selection, Contracts and Brand Standards,” Megan Rooksby, American Express Business Travel, moderated a session that included Molly Ray, manager, Sustainable Partnerships, Kimpton Hotels Seattle, and Doug MacGowan, assistant director of sales, Hilton Portland & Executive Towers. Rooksby summarized the benefits to going green: saving money, reducing impact, improving corporate reputation, promoting innovation, and developing a competitive advantage.

To those meeting planners in her session, Rooksby suggested that they ask several important questions when evaluating a potential meeting site: Does the venue provide documentation of the environmental savings experienced during a meeting? Does the venue collaborate with you to reach sustainability goals? Does the facility educate its staff about sustainability, recycling, etc.?

“Get specific when seeking out a green hotel,” Rooksby said. Ask for a copy of the facility’s environmental policy. Ask what they do to reduce electricity and natural resource consumption. Ask if there are any legal actions pending. Ask them to explain the waste diversion process at the facility. Look for a site that has a central location, ask for a back-of-the house tour, and ask whether or not the facility has obtained any type of green certification or if one is being pursued.

Provisions, Performance Clauses

When preparing a contract for an event, Rooksby recommended that meeting planners include an “Environmental Provisions Clause” that explains exactly what is expected during an event. She also suggested including a “Performance Clause” that dictates the amount of penalty or “credit” the facility would be responsible for if all environmental action steps are not carried out.

Kimpton’s Molly Ray explained her company’s EarthCare program and how it relates to the greening of meetings. She said that when a Kimpton property hosts a meeting, recycling bins are used in meeting rooms, water pitchers replace bottled water, recycled paper or cloth napkins are used, almost all food is organic and/or local, excess food is given away or composted, and washable cups or mugs are used. “How do we keep our practices constant? We have an eco champion at every property,” she said.

The Hilton Portland & Executive Towers’ MacGowan said Hilton is currently in the process of implementing a HEAT (Hilton Environmental Analysis & Tracking) program at its properties. It will allow Hilton managers to compare their properties’ environmental performance with others in the chain. For meetings, MacGowan said Hilton is transitioning to seasonal menus focused on local products (to be accomplished by the end of March 2010).

Mark Petruzzi, vice president of certification and strategic relations for Green Seal, led a session entitled, “Food and Beverage Standards and Green Meetings.” Last summer, Green Seal announced that its Environmental Standard for Restaurants and Food Services, GS-46, had been approved by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). In developing GS-46, Petruzzi said Green Seal found that 95 percent of the environmental impact in foodservice operations is from the food itself—the growing of the food, transportation of it, etc. Ironically, he added, the National Restaurant Association’s Conserve site does not address the impact of food; it only addresses energy, water and construction.

“Food should be part of the conversation if you are talking about the environmental impact of food today,” Petruzzi emphasized.

Focus on Barriers to Green Meetings

In a session entitled, “Facilities: Handling Objections,” attendees heard from panelists representing convention and meeting facilities. They discussed the barriers to sustainable meetings and ways of overcoming them. Travis McCready, principal, Fidere Consulting Group, said meeting planners interested in holding green meetings need to be flexible and understand some of the challenges that conference facilities face. There are increased operational costs in recycling/composting, for example. Steps considered low hanging fruit may be easy to include in a contract but beyond those there needs to be room for negotiation and understanding.

Julie Klein, director of environmental affairs, Rock Resorts/Vail Resorts Hospitality, said that when dealing with convention centers, it helps to know what services are outsourced and who represents the suppliers providing those services. Ultimately, what the success of a facility/meeting planner relationship comes down to, McCready said, is knowing who makes what decision in an organization and throughout the supply chain.

Last summer it was anticipated that the long-awaited Green Meeting and Events Voluntary Standards would be reviewed and passed by the beginning of 2010 (click here for article). The effort has been led by the Convention Industry Council’s Accepted Practices Exchange (APEX), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and GMIC. According to Tamara-Kennedy Hill, executive director of GMIC, the standards should all be reviewed and passed by June 2010.

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