COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO.—First Affirmative Financial Network and the Social Investment Forum, hosts of the 19th annual SRI in the Rockies Conference, have designed their 2008 event to be a green meeting. This year’s conference is expected to draw a record 700 sustainable and responsible investment (SRI) industry practitioners and professionals to Whistler, British Columbia, Canada, October 26 to 28, 2008. According to the Convention Industry Council’s definition, a green meeting is “a meeting or event that incorporates environmental considerations to minimize its negative impact on the environment.”
George Gay, CEO of First Affirmative, is planning for the 2008 SRI in the Rockies Conference to be a model of social responsibility, and not only with regard to the environment.
“It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the changes necessary to create a genuinely green meeting,” Gay says. “But whatever we do now—even simply asking questions of hotels—contributes to the momentum that will move green meetings to the mainstream.”
GHI Best Practices Survey
As part of First Affirmative’s conference planning process, hotels are asked to complete a request for proposal (RFP) that includes the Best Practices Survey developed by the Green Hotel Initiative (GHI). Hotels that fail to address the RFP’s sustainability questions or to complete the GHI survey are eliminated from consideration.
The SRI in the Rockies request for proposal also includes extensive questions regarding a hotel’s sustainability efforts, such as whether or not the property has evaluated its carbon footprint, is LEED-certified (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), uses locally grown and/or organic food, has a recycling program, and exhibits a commitment to energy efficiency in its operation.
“It’s an evolutionary, rather than a revolutionary, process,” says First Affirmative president, Steve Schueth. “As we continue to raise the bar on this event each year, we encourage more green events and conventions across the spectrum.”
Greening SRI in the Rockies includes working with hotel staff on-site to create awareness as well as lowering energy usage. For example, rather than daily room delivery of newspapers, they are distributed by request. At meals, pitchers of water and other beverages are made available with empty glasses rather than all glasses being pre-filled; bottled water is not available. When attendees enter their rooms, they will find that the television is off, as is all superfluous lighting. Rather than housekeeping replacing bed linens and towels daily, they are instructed to replace them only upon request. The conference has a recycling sponsor, and a carbon offset sponsor.
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