Successful Meetings - June 2008 - (Page 14)

News & Analysis > Suppliers and Washington DC. A big difference also will be made in Marriott’s supply chain, as the company has asked its top 40 vendors to supply price-neutral greener products across 12 categories in its $10-billion supply chain. Pens, paint, towels, and numerous other items will be more Earth-friendly. Also under consideration are compostable key cards, recyclable carpet, and more responsibly packaged soaps and shampoos. By the end of 2009, hotel design guidelines will be aligned with those of the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), and Marriott plans to receive LEED-Existing Building status for its headquarters. Lastly, Marriott plans to encourage employees and guests to take Earthfriendly actions every day. As part of that effort, the company will offer employees on business travel the Hertz Green Collection, which includes hybrid rental vehicles. —Rayna Katz Green Giant: Marriott Makes Big Environmental Promises supply chain; build greener hotels; and engage employees and guests to take action. “At Marriott, we believe the future of business is green,” says Arne Sorenson, chief financial officer and co-chair of the company’s Green Council. Marriott promised to cut down on fuel and water consumption by 25 percent per available room over the next 10 years, and install solar power at up to 40 hotels by 2017. Also, it will Bill Marriott and Amazonas officials at the Amazona expand existing “reduce, exhibit at the National Zoo, in Washington DC reuse, recycle” programs at addressing the plan’s first area: carbon 90 percent of hotels, to include guest offsets. and meeting rooms, starting at hotels It signed an agreement with the across all brands in Boston, Chicago, state of Amazonas, in Brazil, to help Denver, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, protect 1.4 million acres of endangered rain forest. The company pledged to contribute $2 million to the newly created Amazonas Sustainable Foundation and promised to announce later this month a mechanism for guests—including groups—to contribute to the fund in order to offset greenhouse gas emissions as well as a green meetings program. The other four portions of Marriott’s plan are to reduce its water, waste, and energy consumption; green its Marriott International has made a major, five-pronged commitment to the green movement. In April, the hotelier announced several steps aimed at JetBlue Helps Meetings Soar JetBlue Airways announced the expansion of CompanyBlue Meetings, a program for corporate meeting planners that helps to simplify the booking process for convention and association travel. The airline will now offer meeting-specific discount codes that allow attendees to receive a discount on JetBlue’s lowest available fares when they book through CompanyBlue Meetings online. The program, which launched in 2007, also provides planners with a complimentary travel certificate for every 40 customers booked to the same event destination. The certificate can be applied to the current group or used for site inspections or other future travel. I CHALLENGE YOU Governor Deval Patrick Massachusetts to put Boston to the test CON V CEN ENTIO N T THE ER OF YEA R 200 7 Arrange your special V.I.P. Challenge site visit. www.AdvantageBOSTON.com/challenge The Massachusetts Convention Center Authority owns and operates the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center and the Hynes Convention Center. http://www.AdvantageBOSTON.com/challenge http://www.AdvantageBOSTON.com/challenge

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Successful Meetings - June 2008

Successful Meetings - June 2008 Contents Editor's Note Industry Trends Events Suppliers Associations Planner Spotlight: Kelly Broz Technology Talk Food & Beverage Websites of the Month Pre-Event: Tech Pre-Event: Bartering Tools of the Trade Dialing for Dollars The All-in-One Resort Bottom-Line Speakers Places & Spaces Florida’s West Coast Mississippi Atlanta Wisconsin Chicago Gurus Enjoy California Hawaii Handbook Las Vegas Night & Day

Successful Meetings - June 2008

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