Get Someone Else to Pay for It
If it works for your event, sign up sponsors who want to look good. You can seek sponsors for anything you're doing that helps the event go green, says Cara Unterkofler, director of sustainable event programs for Greenview in Washington, D.C. "People want their names associated with 'feel good' events and positive networking activities," she notes. "You want to do a bag-stuffing program on-site or something for Stop Hunger Now, but don't know how to pay for it? Get it sponsored."
Most planners are fully in favor of greener meetings -- as long as they're not more expensive. In fact, 74 percent of the 161 respondents to an M&C poll on the topic said they rarely or never implement green meeting elements that require additional cost. (See full survey results at bit.ly/1pgRSo3.)
But there are plenty of ways to hold greener events on the cheap. "I tell our clients that going green is either cost-neutral or a cost savings," says Nancy J. Zavada, CMP, of the independent planning firm MeetGreen in Portland, Ore.
Since 2008, MeetGreen has saved its clients some $5.3 million in the course of going green, by implementing smart sustainability practices. "We saved money right from the start," Zavada says. "Our first strategy was to discontinue the use of individual water bottles, which saved $3 to $5 a bottle at most venues."
In the past 10 years or so as the movement has caught on, costs for sustainability have been steadily decreasing as venues have implemented robust waste-management programs, installed solar panels and more. Planners who choose LEED-certified hotels and facilities can go green without having to think about waste streams, recycling or extra costs, as earth-saving practices already are firmly in place.
"Selecting a hotel or center that takes sustainability seriously means your event benefits and hopefully saves money doing so," says Cara Unterkofler, director of sustainable event programs for the Greenview planning firm, based in Washington, D.C. "For example, at the Dallas Convention Center [as of spring 2014] landfill waste is charged to organizers, while recycling is handled at no charge. You are encouraged to save money thanks to your venue's smart practices."
Following are 20 specific ways to go green without any added cost.
1. Be water-wise. Many hotels and convention centers now won't even offer water bottles unless the meeting host demands them. But some planners are being charged for water pitchers and water coolers. "We have been successful in negotiating this out, especially if we use large water coolers in the meeting rooms," says Zavada. "But planners should definitely be aware that this new green 'revenue stream' is on the uptick. Make sure to address it during negotiations so there are no surprises." (This, of course, is good advice for all sustainable elements in your contract.)
2. Don't print the program. "Going all-the-way paperless with an online app is a great way to save," says Kate Hurst, director of Greenbuild conference and events for the U.S. Green Building Council, which administers the LEED program. The Greenbuild International Conference and Expo brought more than 23,000 attendees to Philadelphia last year and achieved a 66 percent waste diversion rate for the event. "There's even a number of free apps you can use" to offer online programs, Hurst adds. "For one of our smaller meetings we used one that everybody loved, called Yapp."
3. Count the paper lovers. At a recent meeting of the Specialty Foods Association, attendees were asked to scan their badges in order to receive the program, allowing the organization to track how many people needed the paper version. Organizers discovered they had printed twice as many as they needed, as attendees were using the conference app and didn't need the book.
4. Bag the conference bag. Many meetings have eliminated bags altogether with great success. If you're not sure your group is ready to give them up, conduct a similar experiment to that described in No. 3, above. Have attendees scan their badges when they receive a bag, for an accurate count of demand.
5. Go swag-free. When there's no registration bag, planners shouldn't feel the need to replace it with some other giveaway, says Zavada. "It's as if planners feel guilty for giving away any extra swag nowadays."
6. Go partly organic. Aiming for 100 percent organic ingredients will be expensive, but it doesn't need to be all or nothing. "We've been able to negotiate 30 percent organic into our contracts without raising costs," says Zavada.
7. Add more veggies. "Another way to save is to go heavier on vegetables, perhaps even to serve an all-vegetarian meal at lunch, such as beggars pockets with lentils," Zavada suggests. "Go meet with the chefs early; they will work with you, and it always saves money."
8. Source locally. Liz Neumark, chief executive officer of Great Performances, the exclusive caterer for several New York City venues, has been a proponent of sustainable food for years, even going so far as to buy a six-acre farm in upstate New York in 2006 to grow her own ingredients. Great Performances has partnered with hotel-management company Delaware North to create CPS Events at Manhattan's iconic Plaza Hotel, from which a concept for meals has grown, called the 100-Mile Menu, based on ingredients grown within that distance.
9. Highlight a meal. If organic and/or local food items prove to be cost-prohibitive, Neumark suggests picking a special meal or a dish to raise awareness, such as organic hors d'oeuvres, a specialty salad or a sustainable entrée choice.
"Take away barriers; it doesn't have to be all or nothing," Neumark says. "With every item that has a sustainable pedigree, we put something in front of people that will resonate. We are planting seeds."
10. Allow for changes. "Being flexible with your menu can help with the cost," notes Greenbuild's Kate Hurst. "Maybe something happened with a vegetable that you had planned to use, but the venue has something else that's local and available. That's the kind of conversation we have all the time."
Don't Throw That Away!
This past July, an awards dinner was held at the 392-room Mandarin Oriental, Las Vegas, as part of an incentive trip for a fashion company. The theme was country chic, and the prominent design element was garbage, used to wonderful effect.
Under the guidance of the hotel's floral director, Fernando Guzman, a long table for 50 was set up in the prefunction space outside the ballroom, where floor-to-ceiling windows helped light the event. The runner on the table was made of packing materials - netting and wrapping - that had held the wildflowers that made up the centerpieces; those flowers were arranged in emptied glass bottles and jars from the kitchen. Reclaimed pallets and crates were used to make up a backdrop where the winners would have their pictures taken. All reused items were thoroughly cleaned before being put out for the event.
"It wasn't initially a directive for the event to be green," says a spokesperson for the hotel, which is certified LEED Gold and offers sustainable initiatives to planners such as an extensive recycling program that includes paper-shredding. "But as we were talking with the meeting planners about why we put water pitchers in meeting rooms and more, they asked what they could do to make the awards dinner a little different and more memorable. At first they weren't sure about our idea, but in the end they were ecstatic." -- S.B.
11. Seek out local speakers. Hiring speakers and entertainers who live near your destination saves dollars and minimizes the event's carbon footprint. "Because we move Greenbuild every year, we always look to highlight local stories," says Hurst. "Those speakers are not flying in."
12. Avoid buses. Greenbuild uses only hotels within walking distance of its exhibit hall to save on shuttle costs and the use of buses. Hurst also looks for off-site venues that are a short stroll away so a majority of attendees can arrive on foot.
13. Order from local suppliers. Logoed items can be ordered from companies in or near the meeting location, saving on shipping. When Greenbuild was held in Philadelphia last year, its on-site store sold coffee cups made just over the Pennsylvania state border in New Jersey.
14. Borrow locally. Recalls Zavada, "We needed folding easels for one event. Instead of buying and shipping them, we looked for an art school and used some of theirs. We bought extras and gave them to the school; when the meeting returns next year, we'll borrow them all over again."
15. Donate extras. Once an event is done, leftover items, office supplies and more can be donated to local schools and shelters to save shipping them back to the home office. Bonus: The donation doubles as a tax write-off.
16. Minimize your entourage. Zavada also develops helpful relationships with people in the meeting destination. "If you travel with an A/V company, bring the lead technician and have them hire a local team to save on airfares and hotels."
17. Raid the closet. Many hotels have a storage room somewhere full of leftover items that have been used to decorate meeting rooms through the years. Take time in the early planning stages to discover ready-made themes or colorful accent pieces just aching to be reused (see "Don't Throw That Away!," left).
18. Rethink the centerpiece. "I ask what type of decorations hotels have both for centerpieces and buffet displays," says Zavada. "They traditionally have both that they reuse, saving the environment and money. My favorite centerpiece is a simple bowl of fruit, with the bowl supplied by the hotel or caterer. The fruit can be eaten by attendees, although it rarely is, and the remainder is donated to local shelters. I heard a chef once passionately talking about his life as a child living in shelters and about how rare it was to get a fresh piece of fruit. It made a big impact on me."
19. Use evergreen signage. Keep themed or dated materials to a minimum. At Greenbuild 2013, one-time use signs -- those specific to the 2013 show and its venue -- were themed to the max. But any sign that could be brought to next year's event had only the USGBC logo on it. The more of those you have, the more money is saved on producing, shipping and disposing of signs.
20. Order fewer, smarter signs. It also pays to evaluate how many you are using. Do you really require five signs saying "this way to keynote?" Also, request that your printer use a cardboard-based, recyclable substrate instead of foam core. According to Cara Unterkofler of Greenview, this change can be cost-neutral in some cities.