PORTLAND, ORE.—The world’s first guide to aligning meeting and event planning practices with the scientific principles of sustainable development is now available as a free download, thanks to an innovative collaboration between The Natural Step and the Green Meeting Industry Council (GMIC).
Meeting the Future was launched on the GMIC website after the two organizations pooled their knowledge to explain sustainability in a set of simple terms and clear examples for meeting organizers and suppliers.
“The meetings industry has been clamoring for a practical approach to creating better events through sustainability,” said GMIC president Paul Salinger, vice-president of marketing at Oracle Corp. “Usually, the resulting resources are either too technical to easily implement, or too basic to really move the needle on sustainable practices. It took The Natural Step’s scientific framework and GMIC hands-on experience to bring the two worlds together.”
Guide Can be Applied Globally
“Until now, the lack of clear guidance has been a barrier to action,” said co-author Jan Peter Bergkvist, principal of Stockholm-based Sleepwell AB, a 20-year Natural Step veteran who sits on GMIC’s global board of directors. “This guide can be applied anywhere in the world to spark innovative solutions and improve event ROI.”
“The meetings industry is large enough to drive positive change in destinations everywhere,” said Åsa Stenborg, CEO of The Natural Step Sweden. “Meeting the Future can help introduce this influential audience to the robust framework of The Natural Step, as part of an effort to build better business and better events.”
GMIC offers members a discount for online learning created by The Natural Step, and is developing additional educational content based on the The Natural Step framework.
