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September 2003 Meet Green! Newsletter
Meet Green! September 2003 Newsletter
Ocean's Blue Foundation's quarterly e-newsletter in support of BlueGreen Meetings
September 2003
Not a subscriber? Send an email to sails@oceansblue.org, and include "subscribe" in message Subject Header. To unsubscribe please reply to sails@oceansblue.org.
INDEX OF ARTICLES:
1. Green Meeting Strategies Earn Accolades
2. Eco-Meet Reduced Waste Conferencing Program Sets "Green Standard" For Meetings
3. Featured Tip: Closing the Loop on Recycling
4. Featured Online Resource: Ethical Seafood
Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch
Audubon Living Oceans Initiative
Marine Stewardship Council
Meet Green! is a quarterly e-newsletter related to the greening of the meetings and events industry. Meet Green! is compiled and distributed for the information of meeting planners, hosts and suppliers who are interested in contributing to a more environmentally and socially responsible meetings and events industry. For further information on Oceans Blue Foundation's BlueGreen Meetings Initiative please visit: www.bluegreenmeetings.org. For content submissions please contact sails@oceansblue.org.
Meet Green! is supported by the Bullit Foundation, Canadian Association of Convention and Visitor Bureaux, Canadian Pacific Charitable Foundation, Canadian Tourism Commission, William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, International Association of Convention and Visitor Bureaus, IMEX, Tourism British Columbia, Tourism Vancouver, United States Environmental Protection Agency and The Vancouver Foundation.
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ARTICLES:
1. Green Meeting Strategies Earn Accolades
Nancy J. Wilson, CMP has been a leader, innovator, and entrepreneur in the meeting planning industry since 1978. Ms. Wilson is a principal with Meeting Strategies Worldwide, a Portland, Oregon-based full service conference management, training and consulting company, which she founded ten years ago. Along with business partner Amy Spatrisano, CMP, at the helm, Meeting Strategies Worldwide is earning national and international recognition as a leader in environmentally responsible meetings.
"Our commitment to environmental stewardship is at the core of our mission," notes Wilson. "We recognize the long-term success of any business requires a healthy, sustainable environment. So does our quality of life. Each of us, personally and collectively, impacts our environment by the choices we make. We are gratified that our skills and experience are helping other individuals and organizations to choose policies and procedures that make a positive difference."
Nancy Wilson was most recently named by Meeting News as one of "The Most Influential People in the Meetings Industry", demonstrating the increasing interest that the meetings industry is showing toward environmental responsibility.
Meeting Strategies Worldwide consult and train clients about the importance of being environmentally responsible and have taken steps towards getting the meeting industry to see the benefits of environmental consciousness.
In addition to Nancy's recent honor, in April 2003 Meeting Strategies Worldwide was selected as the first winner of the Environmentally Responsible Meetings Award given by the International Hotels Environment Initiative and Oceans Blue Foundation. The award acknowledges environmental excellence and innovation and represents the highest accolades for environmental responsibility among meeting planners and hosts. Presented at the IMEX Worldwide Exposition at the Intercontinental Hotel in Frankfurt, Germany the Award recognizes organizations that are leading the way in this dynamic industry, earning distinction as the best in their field.
The Environmentally Responsible Meetings Award was presented to Meeting Strategies Worldwide for the 2002 Forest Leadership Forum held in April 2002 in Atlanta, Georgia. Sponsored by the Certified Forest Product Council and the World Wildlife Fund, the conference was one of the greenest ever achieved for its size in the United States at that time. In addition, it raised awareness, changed business practices, educated venues, vendors and attendees, and spawned entrepreneurial partnerships. Most importantly, it helped to prove that environmental stewardship and economic responsibility can be mutually beneficial.
Additionally, Meeting Strategies Worldwide won the Successful Meetings Super Six Award of Excellence in the category of Best Association Meeting of 500 or more attendees for the same Forest Leadership Forum. "We viewed this award as a bridge between the convention industry and the environmental world. Implementing environmental practices in conference planning is an emerging trend in the meeting industry. Recognition from the convention industry for a conference that focused on environmentally responsible planning is a big step toward raising the awareness of the industry to the environmental impact of meetings," said Wilson. A case study of this conference and others are available on the Meeting Strategies Worldwide website.
Nancy Wilson started her career in meeting planning twenty-five years ago as a corporate planner for a health care management firm. Being actively involved in Meeting Professionals International serving on the Oregon Chapter Board and as Chapter President, gave her the desire to strike out on her own. She is still working with the first client she signed when opening her business. Wilson is very proud of this ten-year partnership, "The meeting business is about relationships and partnerships--building trust and looking at the long-term goals of our clients."
"It is an exciting time in meeting planning--full of challenges and opportunities. The time is right for the industry to take on environmentally responsible planning. It is a compelling opportunity to make a difference to the health of our planet while also positively affecting the economic bottom line for your organization," Wilson notes. Nancy Wilson hopes to serve as a model to her two teenage children that when your passion and your livelihood are one in the same, success is inevitable.
You can reach Nancy Wilson at nancy@meetingstrategiesworldwide.com.
2. Eco-Meet Reduced Waste Conferencing Program Sets "Green Standard" For Meetings
Fairmont Hotels & Resorts is gaining industry recognition for pioneering an environmentally friendly conferencing program, Eco-Meet. Originally developed at The Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise, a landmark Canadian icon set amidst a protected UNESCO World Heritage Site, the program was developed to assist meeting organizers in executing reduced-waste conferences.
"Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, like many corporations, have adopted a mandate of environmental responsibility as a strategic focus of our business. Our 'Eco-Meet' programs not only benefit the earth, but present a competitive advantage for a number of our properties, empower staff and provide a value-added service to the meeting planner," comments Lyle Thompson, Manager of Environmental Affairs.
Fairmont's unique program consists of four key components:
- "Eco-service": includes the provision of "disposable-free" food and beverage services, recycling stations in meeting rooms, recycled paper note pads and biodegradable corn pens. It also may include providing separation and composting of food waste, optional white-boards and/or 100% recycled content flip chart paper, and bulletin boards for delegate announcements at some properties.
- "Eco-accommodation": offers in-room information on environmental initiatives, recycling bins, optional sheet and towel replacement, energy-efficient lighting, non-animal tested and biodegradable soap & shampoo, and water conserving shower head, toilets and tap aerators.
- "Eco-cuisine": avails menus that incorporate local, seasonal, and organically grown foods wherever possible. Special menus for Eco-Meet can also include a 50% reduction in animal proteins, supplemented by vegetable proteins at meal functions.
- "Eco-programming": provides activities and guest-speakers to complement the eco-meet experience. This may include assistance in coordinating sustainable transportation options, identifying self-propelled recreational activities, off-site tours with environmentally conscious operators or programs that create partnerships with local community organizations.
Eco-Meet is part of Fairmont's Green Partnership Program that was originally launched in 1991. "The initiative was established in Canada with the full support of employees, with 90% of staff approving integration of greening components into our activities", Thompson states. "It is largely due to our employee's commitment to environmental stewardship that the program has been made so successful".
Since the inception of the program Fairmont Hotels & Resorts have been recognized with the 2002 Canadian Business for Social Responsibility "Ethics in Action Award", 2002 Natural Resources Canada Office of Energy Efficiency "Energy Innovators Awards", and identified as the "Most Comprehensive Environmental Program in the North American Hotel Industry" by National Geographic Traveler.
Eco-Meet is currently available at eight Fairmont Properties and is being rolled-out on a property-by-property basis throughout the company. Currently, Eco-Meet is available at The Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise, The Fairmont Palliser, The Fairmont Algonquin, The Fairmont Banff Springs, The Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge, The Fairmont Winnipeg, The Fairmont Hotel Vancouver and The Fairmont Chateau Whistler.
"With the expansion of our Green Partnership Program into the existing Fairmont properties in the US in 2003, we look forward to maintaining our reputation as the industry leaders in environmental stewardship. The Program continues to gain momentum and support across the chain with employees constantly seeking new and innovative ways to preserve the environment", Thompson adds.
Many Fairmont properties have achieved real environmental and business benefits as a result of initiating Green Partnership programs and Eco-Meet services:
- By switching to electronic Conference Planning Guides The Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge has reduced paper consumption by 2500 sheets per year, and realized savings of approximately $5,200 CAN.
- The Fairmont San Jose has launched a new recycling program that captures newspaper, office paper, organic food wastes and glass that has resulted in over 62 tonnes of paper, 746 tonnes of food waste and 140 tonnes of glass being diverted from landfills in 2002. This has saved the Hotel over $65,000US per year on disposal costs.
- An "Energy Busters" Campaign for Housekeeping at the Fairmont Winnipeg has not only rewarded housekeeping staff for implementing energy efficiency procedures in guest rooms, but also has resulted in energy savings of approximately $9,200 CAN per month.
For more information on Fairmont Hotels & Resorts please visit http://www.fairmont.com/, or contact Lyle Thompson at lyle.thompson@fairmont.com.
3. Featured Tip: Closing the Loop on Recycling
Reduce, reuse, recycle. You do it at home, so why not at meetings?
Reducing the amount of material produced by and consumed at your meetings and reusing supplies from one meeting to the next are two of the best ways to green your meetings. Recycling is also an important means for you to go greener with your next conference, and is the feature of this month's Meet Green! Tips column.
Meeting professionals have two opportunities to support recycling - by purchasing recycled and recyclable products, and by ensuring materials associated with their meetings are re-used or recycled.
Why Should I Recycle?
By recycling meeting professionals perform a huge service to the environment and promote opportunities for economic development. Recycling:
- Conserves resources for our children's future.
- Prevents emissions of many greenhouse gases and water pollutants.
- Saves energy.
- Supplies valuable raw materials to industry.
- Creates jobs.
- Stimulates the development of greener technologies.
- Reduces the need for new landfills and incinerators.
- Enables you to meet waste management regulatory requirements.
- May help to reduce costs.
What is Recycling and What Should I Know When Buying Recycled & Recyclable Products?
Product labels can be confusing to meeting professionals interested in buying recycled because of the different terminology used. The following definitions may be helpful in clarifying the meaning of commonly used recycling terms:
- Recycled-content products are made from materials that would otherwise have been discarded. These items are made totally or partially from material destined for disposal or recovered from industrial activities - like newspaper. Recycled-content products also can be items that are rebuilt or remanufactured from used products, such as toner cartridges. Recycled-content does not necessarily mean that a product contains consumed materials, such as reclaimed used office paper or materials you place out for recycling collection from your home.
- Post-consumer content refers to material from products that were used by consumers or businesses and would otherwise be discarded as waste. If a product is labeled "recycled content," the product material might have come from excess or damaged items generated during normal manufacturing processes - not necessarily collected through a local recycling or blue box program. For example, if your office paper is 100% recycled content, with 20% post-consumer, this means 80% of the paper's content has been acquired from non-consumer recycled sources, such as waste generated during the manufacturing of the paper.
- Recyclable products can be collected and remanufactured into new products after they've been used. These products do not necessarily contain recycled materials and only benefit the environment if people recycle them after use. Check with your local recycling program to determine which items are recyclable in your host community
For detailed information, view the Federal Trade Commission's Official Guidance for the use of environmental marketing claims.
Where Can I Find Recycled/Recyclable Products?
There are more than 4,500 recycled-content products available in North America, and this number continues to grow. In fact, many of the products meeting professionals regularly purchase contain recycled-content, including office paper, glass containers, laundry detergent bottles, paper towels, carpeting, aluminum cans and anything made from steel.
The following product directories and databases provide a more comprehensive list of products and manufacturers.
Visit the US Environmental Protection Agency's Comprehensive Procurement Guidelines for more information on buying recycled.
So We've Collected It, Now What Do We Do With It? Tips on Recycling Products
To close the loop on recycling, it is imperative to ensure materials associated with your meeting are actually recycled. This will involve working with suppliers and government agencies to ensure the municipal infrastructure within your host communities supports recycling and that the materials collected are sent on their way to becoming 'post consumer content' for future recycled products.
Most communities employ recycling coordinators - government officials who have information on local recycling resources - who can answer specific questions about recycling and waste management in a given destination. Look in your phone book under "Recycling Coordinators," or contact the relevant city or county government office (often called Department of Sanitation or Department of Public Works). The provincial or state Department of Environmental Protection or Department of Natural Resources also may have helpful resources. EPA's Web site has links to state offices within the US.
Earth's 911 is another helpful resource that allows you to type in your ZIP code or find your state on a map to locate recycling centers in your community for all types of recyclables. You also can visit the National Recycling Coalition for a list of state recycling organizations.
Often destinations may be limited in the types of products they can recycle, particularly plastics. Products that are generally able to be recycled in major communities that are commonly used by meeting professionals include: cardboard, paper, glass containers, aluminum and certain plastics.
Successful recycling programs will also entail making delegates are aware of and encouraging them to participate in recycling efforts, by including information in delegate correspondence and making sure recycling bins are easily available and properly signed to avoid contamination.
Don't forget to track the materials you have recycled as part of your meetings. This is valuable information that can help you to track not only environmental benefits, but cost savings as well.
For further information on recycling please visit USEPA.
4. Featured Online Resource: Ethical Seafood
Farmed fish, by-catch, depleted fish stocks, mercury content, damage from gear - with all the controversy around fish and fishing is it appropriate to serve seafood at meetings these days? Check out these online resources to help you navigate the seas of ethical seafood.
Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch
Seafood WATCH - Choices for Healthy Oceans
Love your seafood? So do we
And we like to know that it's caught or farmed in ways that support a healthy environment. Sadly, some of our favorite fish are disappearing. But other great seafoods are doing fine. Your choice CAN make a difference! Our Seafood Card can help you choose seafood that's good for you and good for the oceans.
For further information please visit us online at: http://www.mbayaq.org/cr/seafoodwatch.asp
Audubon's Living Oceans Seafood Lover's Guide
Living Oceans' Seafood Lover's Initiative helps you become more familiar with the fish and shellfish you buy so that you can make choices toward better-managed selections. The buying power of consumers can create a market environment that encourages sustainable seafood and abundance in the seas.
For more information please visit Audubon online at: http://seafood.audubon.org/
Marine Stewardship Council
The MSC works to safeguard the world's seafood supply by promoting the best environmental choice. Throughout this site you can find out who we are, what we do and information, recipes and facts all about fish. You can also find out how you can play a part in helping look after the oceans.
Seafood is important for millions of people. The trouble is, our oceans are being seriously overfished. Unless action is taken some of our favourite fish may disappear from the seafood counter altogether. And it's not just our supper that's at stake: overfishing is damaging fishing industries and marine environments around the world.
The MSC is an independent, global, non-profit organisation which was set up to find a solution to the problem of overfishing. We reward environmentally responsible fisheries management and practices with our distinctive blue product label. If you are concerned about overfishing and its environmental and social consequences you will increasingly be able to choose seafood products which have been independently assessed against our environmental standard and labeled to prove it. Our label will assure you that the product comes from a well-managed fishery and has not contributed to the environmental problem of overfishing.
For further information please visit: http://eng.msc.org/
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Shawna McKinley
General Manager
Oceans Blue Foundation USA
1420 5th Avenue, Suite 2200
Seattle, WA 98101
USA
T: 206.583.8338
F: 206.292.4965
E: sails@oceansblue.org
W: http://www.oceansblue.org/
Meet green! Visit http://www.bluegreenmeetings.org/.
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