BtoB Media Business - March 2010 - (Page 20)

Events Honest-to-goodness green EVENTS New standards to offer an objective definition of sustainable event practices The standards will allow events organizvents organizers that integrate sus- ers to request a third-party evaluation of tainability practices into their pro- their event—and also will provide a duction may soon be legitiroadmap for organizers interested in Q&A mately able to call their events implementing green initiatives. “green,” said Nancy Spatrisano, Spatrisano spoke to Media Busifounder and chairwoman of the ness about the system in developGreen Meeting Industry Council. ment and the value of going green. Media Business: The rating sysSpatrisano chairs the Convention Industry Council group working tem has several tiers. Why did the with stakeholders and standards- NANCY group decide to go with this model? development body ASTM Interna- SPATRISANO Spatrisano: We wanted an area tional to develop voluntary green chairworman, where people could get on the standards for the industry. The stan- Green Meet- board and play, an entry level; but ing Industry dards, due to be released later this Council we also wanted to provide stanyear, will provide the first formal dards for some of the suppliers and criteria for the evaluation of sustainability planners who are already at a higher level of initiatives at events. participation. So we have levels. BY CHARLOTTE WOOLARD Digital Future: Mobile Publishing Texterity puts your publication anywhere: online, on the iPhone, and now on the iPad Texterity’s non-Flash technology already runs on the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. What’s new is a magazine-branded iPhone/iPad app that turns digital editions into integrated, updatable one-stop destinations. To learn how to mobilize your digital power, call 800-455-5450 or 508-804-3000 or visit www.texterity.com/info-request. www.texterity.com There are four levels [of sustainability] within each of nine sectors [of event production]. The planner and supplier have criteria they must meet to reach Level One. It really takes the planner’s decision making and the supplier’s delivery to make something more sustainable. You can’t have one party solely responsible because they influence what’s available, and what’s practical and feasible from both sides. So you need to have both sides held accountable. There is an additional set of criteria for Levels Two, Three and Four. This allows for entry level and for people to show improvement. MB: How do you expect large events, particularly trade shows, to fare in this system? Spatrisano: Some of the larger shows are doing good stuff. With what we put in this process, trade shows should be able to accomplish Level One. But it’s an ongoing process and journey. So many products, services and processes keep evolving and changing on a regular basis that your ability to improve and eliminate your negative impact is also increasing on a regular basis. This is a way to continue to upgrade how you do what you do. MB: Where should show organizers look first to begin the greening of their show? Where are the low-hanging fruit? Spatrisano: General service contractors, exhibitors and show management need to work together to be successful. It requires a partnership. The first step is to sit down and say, “How do we want to do this.” The lowhanging fruit is looking at the waste and saying, “How do we eliminate this.” MB: How is the economy affecting the momentum behind green initiatives? Spatrisano: Those that practice smart business recognize the opportunity to maximize the bottom line by incorporating green practices. When you really break it down and look at the numbers, there are so many opportunities for savings. Does that mean that nothing costs more money? I’m not saying that. There are elements that cost more money, but you balance that like any budget. Organic food costs more money but, if you save money because you didn’t use bottled water—and you saved thousands of dollars—then you can put that money toward organic or a percentage of organic food. Ultimately you can still save money. Businesses interested in reinventing themselves are looking at this as an opportunity to retool, and redesign and save money. 20 | Media Business | March 2010 | mediabusinessonline.com http://www.texterity.com/info-request http://www.texterity.com http://www.texterity.com http://www.mediabusinessonline.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of BtoB Media Business - March 2010

BtoB Media Business - March 2010
Contents
Signs Point to a Rebound in M&A Activity
Data Products Increasingly Driving Revenue
Audience Developers Adapt to Digital
Sales & Marketing
M&A
Events
People
Benchmarks
Social Media Experimentation a Must
Endnote

BtoB Media Business - March 2010