Comment: Chris Knop on promoting green meeting packages
19 January 2011
It’s common place nowadays. When organizing an event you can choose from “normal” packages or choose a “green meeting” or “eco-friendly” meeting package.
These packages attempt to differentiate themselves with various inclusions that are not commonly offered. In a blatant example of green washing, I recently saw a press release of a five-star hotel in Shenzhen regarding its green meeting package. It mentions how they serve water in glasses rather than bottles, yet the accompanying photos shows a perfectly staged meeting room with plastic bottles at each setting!
While the concept is somewhat opportunistic, these packages do provide sustainable alternatives. The question is though, why aren’t ALL packages green?
In general, green package inclusions are not only great for the environment, they save hotels, event and MICE organizers crucial costs, adding to the bottom line. Rather than promote these packages separately, making their inclusions the norm will reap the mentioned benefits and show that these service providers are committed to sustainable business at the same time.
Turn to the next page to see Chris's top tips for taking the green out of meetings and making it the norm.
I do not agree. Note taking adds solid value to a conference. Carrying your own notebook or using a pad provided by the venue - what's the difference?
Let's not waste our energy (personal energy, not air conditioning energy) on petty little environmental impacts. Instead, we should focus on the big questions - should I travel to this conference, and if I do, what transport method should I use. That's 90 percent of my ecological footprint from attending an out-of-town event. Picking a hotel with a low carbon emissions factor (less that 25 kilograms of CO2 per room night) might be next.