What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas? Well, I hope not. There were too many good ideas proposed at last week’s HD 2007 Expo & Conference to not take them home. Kudos to Hospitality Design magazine, the Network of Executive Women in Hospitality and all others involved in the organizing of the Green Luncheon, educational sessions and exhibits for putting on a successful event. Except for the sparsely attended session on the last morning of the conference, all of the environment-related sessions were packed with designers, architects, vendors and hoteliers interested in sustainable building and design.
All of the speakers at the green sessions did a great job and were passionate about the content of their speeches. Vendors selling environmentally friendly products had signs designating this at their booths. This made it easier to find them. I was impressed with the variety of companies selling products that were either organic, recyclable, made from recycled content or created through sustainable manufacturing processes.
Having said all of that, I would like to make some suggestions to the organizers of the Expo & Conference and anyone else planning to green an expo or conference in the future.
• Offer sessions for beginners just learning about Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) and other issues, but also offer sessions that dig deeper into green issues—what makes flooring sustainable or green, for example. There are designers, architects and others that are ready for advanced content and for the opportunity to network with others pursuing sustainability in their own industry niche.
• Don’t create a Green Room for exhibitors or give vendors the opportunity to be designated green exhibitors without a screening process. I was told that to be considered green at the HD event, one need only check off a box on a registration form. Green Room participants got there by paying an additional $750. (Yikes!) I realize that publishing companies are always looking to make some extra bucks but vendors and experienced hoteliers see right through this and it diminishes the value of being called green. In fact, it is an insult to those companies that truly walk their talk.
• If you are going to add a green element to an event, make it a green meeting. There are plenty of resources available to help you do that. Green events need not generate so much waste or use so many resources. I did not see any recycling containers at the HD event and it just did not seem right to be giving away so many thick, glossy exhibitor guides. And what about those canvas bags for carrying all of that paper? Are those really necessary?
• Any travel industry event, at the point of registration, should offer the opportunity to offset the carbon impact of one’s travel. There are plenty of good offsetting specialists available. I have mentioned a number of them on Green Lodging News.
I don’t want to sound like Andy Rooney on a bad day but I believe the above points are valid. I realize we are all still learning this new way of doing business. Of course I would love to know what you think as well.
NRA Show Coverage
I will be attending the National Restaurant Association Show at McCormick Place this weekend and will be reporting on it on the Green Lodging News website. I am looking forward to learning about the latest kitchen innovations that impact resource consumption.
As always, I can be reached at editor@greenlodgingnews.com.
