How Green Are You?

Settling into a hotel room, we are conditioned to expect clean sheets and towels every day. But more and more travelers are reusing linens and following other environmentally friendly practices on the road. Are meeting planners going green at home and away? Of the 200 planners surveyed online in August, 64 percent said their conservation habits are better at home than on the road, while 3 percent are more conscientious while traveling and 33 percent said their habits are the same all the time.

At home, 71 percent of the sample always recycle all that their towns allow, 20 percent do so sometimes and 9 percent never do. Twenty-one percent of the sample said they also compost, 50 percent use low-flow showerheads and other water-saving fixtures, and 80 percent use energy-saving devices, while 12 percent are not incorporating any of those habits at their homes. On the road, an impressive 67 percent try to recycle their paper and bottles, and half of those surveyed make an effort to avoid harmful materials, such as Styrofoam and plastic food containers.

Planners don’t save much gas at home but are willing to do so on the road. While just 4 percent of the sample own a hybrid vehicle, 64 percent would rent one if it doesn’t cost more, and 9 percent would rent a hybrid regardless of the cost. Still, 27 percent would not choose to rent a hybrid vehicle.

Most planners surveyed are willing to forgo the daily changing of sheets in their hotel rooms, while they are more likely to ask for the towels to be changed. Just 17 percent of the respondents want their sheets changed every day, while 40 percent want fresh towels daily and 2 percent like to have new towels twice a day.