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2002/06/12 - Blue & Green Meetings - Web Site to Reduce Environmental Impacts of Convention Industry
MEDIA RELEASE
For immediate release: July 12, 2002
Blue & Green Meetings: Web Site to Reduce Environmental Impacts of Convention Industry
Vancouver - Oceans Blue Foundation is launching www.bluegreenmeetings.org, a free, interactive Web site to help meeting planners, suppliers and host hotels and destinations make meetings and events environmentally responsible. Meetings and conventions are big business, coveted by host-city governments and convention and visitor bureaus for their revenue-generating potential. However, meetings extract an environmental cost.
The Web site will provide resources for hosts, suppliers and those who plan meetings and events with tips on choosing environment-friendly cities, selecting accommodations and facilities, communication and general office procedures, transportation, and food and beverage. It will feature tools such as a planning guide, sample environmental policies, case studies, a Green Meeting quiz, and questionnaires to send destination cities and hotels about how they reduce impacts from meetings. Check lists will be available to send suppliers to detail their environmental performance so planners can give preference to those that score well.
"Hotels in the U.S. alone can generate up to 220 pounds of solid waste per room per month," said Coralie Breen, President, CEO of Oceans Blue Foundation. "Industry professionals need to make the appropriate decisions to reduce energy and water usage, waste production and chemical emissions. This Web tool will provide them with easy, accessible guidelines to do just that. "
The web site will be featured at the 88th Annual Convention of the International Association of Convention and Visitor Bureaus (IACVB), held at the Sheraton Vancouver Wall Centre Hotel, July 13 - 16, 2002. The IACVB and the Sheraton Hotel is committed to minimizing the environmental impact of the IACVB's upcoming convention, putting into action the tips outlined on www.bluegreenmeetings.org to minimize solid waste, conserve water and air quality and maximize energy efficiency. "Internationally, almost 80 million people attend a meeting, conference or convention. The enormous scale of this industry brings public scrutiny and demands for adopting environmentally responsible practices," said Kitty Ratcliffe, President of Jacksonville and the Beaches Convention & Visitors Bureau and an IACVB Board member.
The Web site was developed with support from The Bullitt Foundation, Canadian Association of Convention and Visitor Bureaux, Canadian Pacific Charitable Foundation, Canadian Tourism Commission, International Association of Convention and Visitor Bureaus, Tourism BC, Tourism Vancouver, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. Oceans Blue Foundation is an environmental charitable organization created in 1996 to help conserve coastal environments through environmentally responsible tourism. With offices in Vancouver, Canada and Seattle, USA, it is the first in North America to focus on developing environmental best standards for all sectors of the tourism industry.
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For more information:
Shawna McKinley, Blue & Green Meetings Spokesperson, Tel: 604.684.2583 ext. 4
E-mail: bluegreenmeetings@oceansblue.org
Oceans Blue Foundation
405 - 134 Abbott Street
Vancouver, British Columbia
Canada V6B 2K4
T: 604.684.2583 (BLUE)
F: 604.684.6942
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