This past week I attended the Green Meeting Industry Council’s (GMIC) Sustainable Meetings Conference at the Doubletree Hotel Portland (Ore.). For the second year running, it was a well attended event with 250 in-person attendees and another 60 following along via webcast (see article). There were many highlights, including a keynote presentation by Dr. Karl-Henrik Robèrt, founder of The Natural Step, a nonprofit dedicated to education, advisory work and research in sustainable development. From a news standpoint, however, the most important development pertained to the upcoming Green Meeting and Events Voluntary Standards (see article).
Following last year’s Sustainable Meeting Conference in Denver, also held in February, I wrote a column with this headline: “New Green Meeting and Events Voluntary Standards Expected in June.” Due to delays that are inherent in the ASTM International standards development process—it is a consensus-based process involving a lot of back and forth between those writing the standards and those with a stake in them—the June deadline was never met. According to those leading a session on the Standards at this year’s conference, the release of the Standards is finally very close.
Those with a stake in the meetings world—meeting planners, hotels, meeting centers, destination marketers, etc.—should pay close attention to the Standards. They have been in the works for about seven years and are the result of an effort led by the Convention Industry Council’s Accepted Practices Exchange (APEX), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), GMIC, and ASTM International. There are nine topic areas in the Standards: Accommodations, Audio Visual, Communication, Exhibits, Food and Beverage, On-site Office, Destinations, Meeting Venue, and Transportation.
To Be Used as a Guide
The Standards, which will evolve over time, are not meant to be enforced by anyone but are to be used as a guide for planning and operating green events. That said, you can bet many meeting planners at corporations, associations, nonprofits and others will use the Standards to help decide who is ready or not ready to do business with them. Will the Standards include a rating system component? “There will be an element that is a rating system,” said Lawrence Leonard, APEX program director and a conference session panelist. Michael Luehrs, sustainability services manager, MCI Group, and moderator of the session on sustainable meeting standards, emphasized, however, that earning a rating or label is not what is most important. What is important, he says, is the journey toward sustainability and the lessons learned along the way.
The Green Meeting and Events Voluntary Standards are reaching their final stage just as yet another sustainable event management system—ISO 20121—gets rolling. It is due out for public comment in April and is expected to be released in 2012. ISO 20121 is based on BS8901, the British sustainable event management standard which defines the requirements for a sustainable event.
Be sure to continue to follow Green Lodging News for additional updates on the Green Meeting and Events Voluntary Standards. Got questions about the standards? Send them to editor@greenlodgingnews.com and I will be sure to forward them to the appropriate contacts.
Earth Day & Earth Hour
Earth Day is coming up on April 22 and Earth Hour on March 26. If your property is planning to participate in either or both of these events, send details to editor@greenlodgingnews.com.
Green Lodging News Adds Greenview as Directory Partner
Green Lodging News welcomes Greenview as a Green Product & Service Directory partner. Greenview provides expertise to organizations interested in publishing a sustainability report. The company can advise on the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) framework, manage the reporting process, analyze and format data, write the report, and engage stakeholders as well. Greenview’s goal is to advance sustainable development within the hospitality industry by increasing the presence of sustainability reporting, measuring, and metrics. For more information, e-mail info@greenviewsustainability.com, call (202) 470-1094, or go to www.greenviewsustainability.com.
Advertising Opportunities
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