Successful Meetings - November 2008 - (Page 39) > When Red and Blue Make Green Political Meetings laudable and show what other groups can do if they are so terephthalate (PET) plastic bottles and aluminum cans shipped inclined. to the Coca-Cola bottling plant in Eagan, MN, for processing “Because there are levels [of commitment and cost], people into new beverage containers. All recycling bins in convention can get on board. It’s not saying, ‘Okay, you have to wear hemp areas were single stream, meaning that all recyclables could be clothing and recycle everything,’” explains Denver’s Benedick. placed in the same bin for sorting later. Waste Management, “To say that tomorrow we’re going to be a zero-waste industry which handled all of the paper and cardboard recycling, is the probably isn’t realistic, but to show the steps we’re taking is largest recycler in United States, recycling nearly eight million important.” tons of materials annually. But did they beat the Republicans at the green game? “We’ve done an awful lot as a hotel prior to the Republican Benedick was diplomatNational Convention to minic, noting that Hurricane imize our impact on the Gustav threw a curveball environment,” says Thompat the RNC. “I have to be son, citing the property’s kind to them because HEAT Team (Hyatt Environthey definitely didn’t mental Advocacy Team), its have Mother Nature on version of the Hyatt corpotheir side during their rate Green Team. The team, convention,” she says. which was founded a couple When Hurricane of years ago, comprises a Gustav created a plancross section of hotel ner’s nightmare and employees from all levels forced the Republican and departments who meet Recycled carpeting was installed at the Party to halt events once a month and organize Minneapolis convention site, sitting on scheduled for Monday informational initiatives for padding of 100 percent recycled material. The night, some visitors went employees. The group convention used recycled ink cartridges, banner to the Guthrie Theater, explores ways to lessen materials with water-based components, digital the Minneapolis Sculptheir environmental impact, welcome kits, flex-fuel vehicles, and developed ture Garden, and other both within the hotel and in an extensive on-site recycling program. area sites. “It was not a their personal lives. nightmare, but a scramPrograms at the Hyatt ble, a lot of shifting on the fly,” Michael Kofsky, Hyatt director of Regency include an extensive recycling program, ensuring that sales and marketing, told the Minneapolis Star Tribune during kitchen equipment is not left on when not in use, and collecting the convention; guests were assisted with last-minute dinner food scraps to be reprocessed and used as feed for livestock at reservations and nightlife options during the time they had nearby Second Harvest Farms. Thompson notes that it’s imporplanned on hearing President Bush speak. tant for the hotel to balance the needs of its clientele with the In the end, both cities were successful hosts by both tradidesire to go green. “We’re still in the service business, so we tional and green standards. “I think that we all continue to strughave to deliver [based on] the expectations of our customers. gle with how we can be more environmentally friendly yet conSome ideas are wonderful, but don’t fit with our ability to servtinue to deliver good quality of service in the hotel. I think ice our customers,” he says. sometimes we overlook small things that can make a huge SWAYING THE UNDECIDED impact going forward,” says Thompson. “And I don’t know that Of course, there were also critics of the green projects—some we do a great job promoting some of those things we do interquestioned the lack of recycling bins around congested areas nally—sometimes it sounds a little self-serving. such as the Pepsi Center and convention center in Denver as “It shouldn’t take a group like the RNC coming to the hotel well as the effectiveness of the carbon offset program; carbon to get you to do these things,” he says. “Certainly some groups offsets are controversial, as their impact can be difficult to are more focused on the environment [than others], but most quantify. And in Minneapolis, the hype surrounding basic green don’t want you to be wasteful. We have to deliver the expectaprograms such as bottle recycling was brought into question. tion of the customer, and if they are highly motivated by the Even so, most agreed that the steps each convention took were environment, we should be able to stand up and help them.” SUCCESSFUL MEETINGS NOVEMBER 2008 successfulmeetings.com 39 http://www.successfulmeetings.com
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