ORLANDO—Less than a month remains before the Third Annual Green Lodging & Hospitality Conference. The event will be held November 8 to 9 at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel at the Entrance to Universal Orlando. The conference will include two tracks of breakout sessions in addition to three pre-conference events. Sponsors for the conference include the Green Meeting Industry Council’s Florida/Caribbean chapter; the American Green Lodging and Hospitality Assn. (AGLHA); the Eric Friedheim Tourism Institute, University of Florida; the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; Florida Restaurant & Lodging Assn.; Visit Orlando; the Hospitality Advocacy Committee of the U.S. Green Building Council Central Florida chapter; and Green Lodging News.
On November 7, attendees will have the option of choosing from three pre-conference events. The Green Meeting Industry Council’s Florida/Caribbean chapter will host an environmental field trip to Walt Disney World during the morning hours. The tour will include stops at Animal Kingdom, Reedy Creek South Service area and the BoardWalk Inn. During the afternoon, attendees can choose from either a Clean the World facilities tour and community service event or a training session entitled, “The Art and Science of Assessing a Sustainable Lodge” at the host hotel. The session will include two presentations: “Introduction to Sustainable Hospitality Assessments,” presented by Peter Goren, president of the American Green Lodging and Hospitality Assn., and “Focus on Water, Energy and Waste Assessments,” presented by Dr. Daniel Meeroff, associate professor, Florida Atlantic University. These presentations will be followed by a walk-through of the conference hotel to view many of the items discussed in the session.
The full conference begins on the morning of November 8 with an introduction to the new National Sustainable Lodging Network website presented by Andy Bray, project manager with The Northeast Waste Management Officials’ Association. Next will be the keynote address by Hervé Houdré, general manager of the InterContinental New York Barclay. Houdré is one of Europe and America’s most respected hoteliers and the co-editor of “Hotel Sustainable Development: Principles and Best Practices,” published by the AH&LA Educational Institute.
Two Concurrent Session Tracks
After the opening general session, the conference splits into two concurrent tracks with the odd numbered breakout sessions primarily focusing on sustainable lodging issues and the even numbered breakout sessions mainly dealing with topics of interest to event professionals, especially meeting planners and hotel group sales.
The first breakout session is entitled, “Managing a Sustainable Property,” and focuses on the combination of environmental, social and financial capital needed for a green hotel to create an integrated bottom line. The session features presentations by two consultants, Rebecca Ruggles with Gensler and Alexa Stone with ecoPreserve, LLC, in addition to Tampa InterContinental’s director of engineering, Mary E. McCarthy. Dr. Brijesh Thapa, director of the Eric Friedham Tourism Institute at the University of Florida will moderate this session.
“Making the Most of Your CSR” is the title for breakout session two. This session will focus on the method of aligning corporate social responsibility activities and programs with a group in need to boost the positive outcome of the efforts. Shawn Seipler, executive director, Clean the World will be this session’s guest speaker.
GSTC Chairman is Luncheon Speaker
Kelly S. Bricker, associate professor at the University of Utah and chairman of the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC), an initiative led by the United Nations Foundation, will be the conference’s luncheon speaker. She will discuss some of the work of the GSTC.
Breakout session three, entitled “Tools for Green Facility Management,” will be moderated by Glenn Hasek, publisher and editor of Green Lodging News and features a group of three speakers who will discuss some of the tools currently available to manage a green property. The speakers include Dr. Daniel Meeroff, associate professor with Florida Atlantic University; David Allen, Water Conservation Unit supervisor with the South Florida Water Management District; and Richard Reiss, director of Antrac Technologies, Inc.
“Sustainable F&B” is both the title and topic for breakout session four. This session will include an interactive panel discussion on how to work with chefs, hotel staff and suppliers to create locally sourced, sustainable, seasonal F&B choices, served sustainably. Moderator will be Laurel Brown, marketing and program coordinator, UF TREEO. Panelists will include: chef Anthony Fothergill, DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel at the Entrance to Universal Orlando; Molly Crouch, director of Environmental Services, Centerplate; and Kelly Murphy, director of Business Development Florida, Classic Party Green Zone from Panache, A Classic Party Rentals Company.
Breakout session five is entitled, “Fulfilling the Green Commitment—Overcoming Daily Challenges to Maintain Sustainable Practices,” and will focus on an important issue every sustainable hotelier faces: How to balance day to day operations and still maintain sustainable practices in light of constant changes in staff and management, rising operating costs and an uncertain economy. The panel includes David Starnes, general manager, Residence Inn by Marriott; Ray Hobbs, senior vice president, Kelco Hotels; Sonya Dees-Byrnes, general manager Disney Vacation Club Resorts; and Hema Patel, managing partner, Courtesy Management, Inc. Peter Goren, president of AGLHA, will moderate this session.
Focus on Federal, State Programs
Breakout session six, entitled, “Federal Executive Orders to State Programs: Impacts to and Resources for the Hospitality Industry,” will include corporate, association, nonprofit and government planners in a panel discussion to focus on federal initiatives and the impact of Executive Orders signed by the President, as well as a state level program that has been replicated in other states given its quality.
The second day of the conference will begin with a general session focused on the soon to be released APEX/ASTM Sustainable Event Standards and will include a panel moderated by the Green Meeting Industry Council’s Katherine Manfredi. Panelists will include: Jan Addison, Chief Financial Officer, Orange County Convention Center; Carol Hinton, associate director, UF TREEO Center; and Adrienne Six, director of Destination Meeting Services, Visit Orlando.
Breakout session seven, entitled “The World of Sustainable Hospitality Certification,” will feature a panel of certification experts from many of the largest and most respected certification organizations and will be moderated by Dr. Kelly S. Bricker, the conference’s luncheon speaker. The panel will include Cerise Bridges, certification specialist, Green Seal; Fredik M. Realbutto, director of Audubon International’s Audubon GreenLeaf Program; Ray Burger, Pineapple Hospitality and founder of EcoRooms & EcoSuites; Anthony Pollard, managing director of Green Key Global; Dr. David W. Randel, lead advisor in Florida for Sustainable Travel International; and Mike Hess, P.E., LEED AP with EXP U.S. Services Inc., representing the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED program.
Breakout Session Eight
“Green Luxury—Not an Oxymoron” is the title of breakout session eight. Featured speakers will include Rebecca Ruggles, associate, and Melissa Mizzel, senior associate of Gensler, and Francis Purvey, sales director at The Shores Resort & Spa. This session will address whether it is possible to be sustainable yet offer a luxury experience at the same time.
In the closing session, entitled “Forward Movement—Your Next Step,” attendees will gain essential tools and information that will help them move forward and advance their organization’s quest for improved sustainability. Speakers will include: Danielle Adams, CMP, president, Green Meeting Industry Council Florida/Caribbean chapter; Dina Belon, U.S. Green Building Council Hospitality Advocacy Committee chair; and Shawn Seipler, executive director, Clean the World.
Attendees will also benefit from knowledge shared by exhibitors, who will demonstrate and discuss their latest advances in sustainable products and services for the hospitality industry.
Click here for more information on the Third Annual Green Lodging & Hospitality Conference.
