Successful Meetings - Passport Supplement - March 2010 - (Page P16)

KINDER, GENTLER WORLD Overseas meetings are rapidly becoming “green meetings,” and the planning and execution are easier than you think. —By Melissa Burdick Harmon Attend an international meeting, virtually anywhere, and odds are you won’t nd a plastic bottle of Perrier or Evian next to the notepad on your conference table. at’s because overseas meetings are rapidly becoming “green meetings.” Take, for example, the 2009 IMEX, the worldwide exhibition for incentive travel, meetings, and events, which was as green as a leprechaun—thanks, in part, to the partnering support of the Green Meetings Industry Council. Innovations included letting exhibitors opt for hydro-electric power to brighten their booths; reducing waste by 34 tons; and providing biodegradable name tags, which saved the equivalent weight in plastic of nearly ve men. IMEX also continued its tradition of honoring excellence through its annual “green” awards. e 2010 IMEX event will take the green initiative one step further, in response to a steadily growing demand for environmental education. For the rst time, the IMEX Corporate Responsibility Center will be “Powered by GMIC” (the Green Meetings Industry Council). In addition, there will be a series of short, drop-in “green” workshops throughout each day. ese will include “how to go green” power sessions, case studies from previous award winners, and information on more advanced green policies and practices. Going Green While a 2008 IMEX Survey revealed that the countries with the best reputations for green practices are Sweden, Denmark, Norway, and Canada, conference centers and hotels all over the world are nding that it’s easy being green. In Great Britain, Liverpool’s new ACC Arena has its own Green Dream Team, which constantly seeks ways to keep conventions eco-friendly. In early 2009, it established a target for waste sent to land ll at 25 percent. ey zoomed right past that. In December 2009, ACC Arena became one of only a few “Zero to Land ll” arenas and convention centers in the world. In London, the 02 (formerly known as the Millennium Dome) composts 100 percent of its food waste, sees that nearly three-quarters of its glass bottles have a second life as sand used in construction, and ensures that its cooking oil is reborn as biodiesel. Switzerland has long been as “green” as the Alps in Successful Meetings/Meeting News/Incentive / MARCH 2010

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Successful Meetings - Passport Supplement - March 2010

Successful Meetings - Passport Supplement - March 2010
Table of Contents
The Future of Foreign Affairs
Financial Management
Kinder, Gentler World
Going Global

Successful Meetings - Passport Supplement - March 2010