Midwest Meetings | CSR/Sustainability News & Views

CSR/Sustainability News & Views...

Still printing that phone book for your conference?

Is it just me or are the phone books dropped on our doorsteps multiplying? Many moons ago, phone book deliveries were a once-a-year occurrence. Some people got pretty excited about it.

I can't help but wonder who's still advertising in that thing? Even more intriguing, who has that sales gig and what's their pitch? Which brings us to today's topic... Read more from Donna Kastner

Sustainability advice poster launched

Eco Events and drp group have launched SAVE – Sustainable Action for Venues and Events – a tool that will help companies looking to attain sustainability certification.
Revealed yesterday, at Eventia’s summer conference, SAVE is a “sustainability version” of the HSE poster that is visible in all workplaces. The poster offers practical advice in bullet form to act as a resource and reminder to employees. Read More

Managing your army of conference volunteers

"My name is Donna and I'm a serial volunteer... in recovery."

Be it school, church, professional associations or charities -- for years, when asked to pitch in and help, I had a hard time declining. Still do, but I'm becoming a little more careful in what I commit to do. Read more from Donna Kastner @ Cvent

New Eco-Focused Display Showcases Sustainability Successes in Minneapolis

Minneapolis is one of America’s most eco-focused cities, and now visitors to the Minneapolis Convention Center can learn first-hand about some major projects that make the city a sustainability standout. An interactive eco-focused display unveiled today at the convention center illustrates multiple ongoing initiatives that are improving the environment, the economy and the overall quality of life in Minneapolis.
The two-sided display features a large-scale city street design of Minneapolis layered with translucent acrylic domes to call out various buildings or initiatives that represent Minneapolis’ eco-focus. Visitors can use interactive touch screens to read informational graphics about the city’s sustainability successes, ranging from energy innovation to alternative transportation to riverfront restoration.

Green Convention Centers: evolveEA’s Benchmarking Report

As sustainability has become a marketing point for event destinations and convention centers across the country, green buildings have become a mainstay for these institutions, serving as tactile representations of each destination’s commitment to sustainability. Full story...

Is There Such a Thing As a "Green" Event?

I read an interesting blog on the issue recently which argued the point that there is no such thing as a "green event." Cutting through the detail of the article and in summary, they argued that events will never be "green" because events always demand impact and there are too many layers to any event (logistics, construction, etc.) for someone to self-certify it as "green." Full story...

Top 10 Green U.S. Cities

Although the EPA has not established official criteria for ranking the greenness of a city, there are several key areas to measure for effectiveness in carbon footprint reduction. These include air and water quality, efficient recycling and management of waste, percentage of LEED-certified buildings, acres of land devoted to greenspace, use of renewable energy sources, and easy access to products and services that make green lifestyle choices easy. Full story...

Sustainable Meetings: The Medium is the Message

Not long ago I tuned into the Climate Reality Project, a 24-hour, virtual global event to share the truth about climate change. I lurked for the content primarily, but also curious about how the event was designed, wondering if it would reflect the content of the message. Full story...

Coming Up: Greener Meetings & Events Book Launch Party

Walk. Bike. Take public transit. But just be there! ISES New York Metro invites you to celebrate the US launch of the new book, The Complete Guide to Greener Meetings and Events. Full story...

Help the SEARCH Foundation Win a Grant With Your Vote

The SEARCH Foundation has been selected to move on to the voting phase in The Give, sponsored by Cultivate Wines. Now SEARCH needs your help and your vote. The winner with the most votes will receive a $10,000 grant, and the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd runners-up will each receive a $5,000 grant. Simply click the below link and log in using your Facebook account to cast your vote for SEARCH. Once you vote, spread the word to all your friends. Help SEARCH win one of these grants in order to continue to assist event professionals in need. Click here to vote...

Convene Green Alliance Focus Forum to Explore Ways to Reduce Carbon Footprint of Association Meetings

What, exactly, is a “carbon footprint?” The ASAE Convene Green Alliance (CGA) Focus Forum, “Carbon Footprinting Made Easy,” to be held November 8, 2011 at the ASAE Headquarters Conference Center in Washington, DC, will provide a complete answer to this question, and then some. The event is complimentary to association professionals. Full story...

10 Steps to reduce your meeting carbon footprint

Around the world, scientists are telling everyone, “Lower your carbon footprint.” But, what is it?
Corporations, manufacturers, and even individuals all have their own carbon footprint. Our daily activities produce greenhouse gases by burning fossil fuels for electricity, heating and transportation, etc.
Carbon footprint is a measure of the impact our activities have on the environment. A carbon footprint is measured by how many tons of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases your choices create each year. Read More:

Decoding Corporate Social Responsibility for Meetings

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is one of the biggest corporate buzz words of the past few years. But it’s one of those things that needs decoding to be effective. We hear about carbon footprints, LEED certification, and Energy Star standards, and while they are all important programs that keep corporations on their toes, what does it all mean? When you’re planning a meeting are you being socially responsible? Are you CSR meeting savvy? Full story...

ASAE Reports on “Green IT” Initiatives That Save Money and Reduce its Carbon Footprint

Are the days of meeting planners hauling around huge binders full of every detail about a meeting going the way of the dinosaur? Yes, according to Larry Covert, the ASAE Director of Information Technology, who led a session on “Green IT” at the ASAE Technology Conference in early December. The session was sponsored by the ASAE Convene Green Alliance. Full story...

CIC Announces Sustainability Standards

The Convention Industry Council (CIC) has announced that eight of the nine APEX/ASTM Environmentally Sustainable Meeting standards are complete. "This is a major accomplishment for the collective conventions, meetings, events and exhibitions industry," stated Karen Kotowski, CAE, CMP, CEO of the Convention Industry Council. "Sustainability is a strategic concern for planners, suppliers and the organizations they represent. These standards are much anticipated, so this is a great moment for the volunteers who put such effort to this project.” Full story...

Identifying Essential CSR Practices for Meetings

Meetings Professional Internation (MPI) released the initial findings of Phase 1 of a three-year study on industry corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices that will provide guidance to meeting professionals on benchmarks and effective practices to consider in event design. Leeds Metropolitan University researcher James Musgrave discussed the report in his recent presentation at IMEX America in Las Vegas. Full story...

Small Changes Add Up to a Big Contribution for Sustainability at Live Events

The event and exhibition industry has traditionally been a wasteful and environmentally unfriendly sector. For example, an exhibitor will very often use the materials on an exhibition stand once before throwing them away. Also, the industry operates on a global scale, which means carbon emissions from transportation, such as planes, road vehicles and trains. In addition, all events have tons of printed brochures and literature, which means cutting down trees for the paper and energy usages from the production process. But it’s not all doom and gloom. Full story...

Bring Travel and Associated Emissions Out of the Closet

Delve deeply into most companies' environmental and carbon targets and the chances are that, if the company is growing, costs and emissions from travel will be increasing. Most companies will happily talk about behavior change initiatives to cut waste or office energy use, but if the conversation moves towards travel, it all goes quiet. When you talk to people about the reluctance to address carbon emissions from travel, you get a variety of stock answers. Full story...

8 Ways To Stop Trashing Food At Events

Last week the UN Food & Agriculture Organization released a report stating one-third of food goes to waste. The equivalent of 1.3 billion tons, or the weight of 3,400 Golden Gate Bridges. In the US this amounts to 253 lbs of food wasted per person every year, according to Valerie Jaffee of the NRDC. Man. Depressing. Full story...

Hotel Industry Unites on Carbon Impact

The International Tourism Partnership (ITP) and the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) are collaborating on a groundbreaking initiative to unite hotel industry efforts to calculate and communicate carbon impact by agreeing on a standardized methodology and metrics informed by the GHG Protocol standards. Leaders within the hotel industry are collaborating to reach a consensus on a single methodology for calculating carbon footprints and consistent metrics for communicating emissions. Full story...