Upping the Green Ante – 70% Delegates Create Green Line
“If it is not evident that we are seeing more green in the meetings industry it is apparent that environmental meeting practice is moving to a deeper shade of green†Say Green Meetings Council. This was evident at the Green Meeting Industry Council’s annual conference, held Feb. 20 – 21 in Vancouver, Canada. Hosting 200 meeting professionals from 9 countries, the conference is the only gathering of the industry focused exclusively on furthering sustainability.
Seventy percent of professionals at the conference indicated they had developed a sustainability plan. Many participants had a solid understanding of green practices and were most challenged by how to measure the impact of their green efforts (37% of attendees).
“We realized at the conference this year the elevated level of knowledge planners and suppliers now have about green meetings. Meeting professionals now want information about how to evaluate and measure their green practices. This is a big shift in the past year and it’s great to see the bar being raised,†confirmed Amy Spatrisano, CMP, President of the GMIC.
Those suppliers who are able to provide mechanisms that make it easier for planners to be green and track their success are gaining market advantage. According to Vince Quattrociocchi, Vice President, Operations at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, “As a convention and conference centre operator I was truly impressed with such a strong attendance and interest in this year’s GMIC conference and the industry’s commitment towards ensuring more green meetings occur. I am also delighted to say at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, we are definitely witnessing an increase from our clients requesting their events be a Zero Waste Event.â€
One issue highlighted at the conference is that the industry still suffers from lack of clarity about ‘what is green’ given the absence of accepted standards for environmental practice. To help address this issue the GMIC hosted a special all-day meeting to discuss and plan for development of a new green meeting standard, in partnership with the USEPA and APEX. Both organizations are cooperating to develop a single accepted standard for a green meeting.
The GMIC helps members and the MICE industry to become more sustainable by increasing the environmental performance, social value and business impact of their events and meetings. It provides education, community, recognition, control, research and policy to green meeting professionals. The GMIC is the definitive source of knowledge and expertise about sustainability in the MICE industry.
Those interested in participating in development of the standard can contact the GMIC at [email protected].
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