Green Meetings: the Business Case and Best Practices

Green meetings is one of the hottest trends in the meetings industry today. Planners are asking for eco-friendly options. Suppliers want to reduce their environmental footprint without blowing their budget. What are the driving business trends that are creating the demand for green meetings? What is the scoop on green in the Wisconsin meetings industry? What are the best practices, and what do they cost? Are green meetings here to stay, or are they a fad?

Join Marge, Amy and Sherry for a spirited exploration of the business and policy drivers behind the green meetings trend, and share some best practices in office operations, communications, destination and site selection, and hotel and convention center environmental opportunities. This session will include lots of great resources so that you can explore your own green path.

Agenda

Education

Business Case, State of Green in Wisconsin

About the Presenters

Marge Anderson, Associate Director, Energy Center of Wisconsin
      As a member of the Energy Center’s Management Team, Marge’s responsibilities include strategic planning, financial management, Board of Directors relations, new initiative creation, curriculum development, and supervision of 10 education and technical professionals.
      Marge directs the Energy Center’s Building Performance practice and is responsible for over $2M in annual budgets for programs that improve the energy, environmental and human performance of commercial and residential buildings.  This includes directing a balanced portfolio of research, education, outreach, program design and implementation, and product development.  Marge serves on the Professional Development Committee for the U.S. Green Buildings Council.
      Marge serves on the International Board of Directors for Meeting Professionals International (MPI), the largest trade association for the global meetings industry, with 22,000 hospitality, corporate and association members and 68 chapters worldwide.   Marge has a long history of volunteer leadership involvement with MPI, including serving as Wisconsin Chapter President in 2002-2003. Marge is MPI’s Corporate Social Responsibility Task Force Chair and speaks throughout the meetings industry on environmental topics, CSR, return on investment, program design, and volunteer leadership.  The Energy Center’s case study on meeting return on investment was published in Proving the Value of Meetings in 2006.  The Energy Center’s Better Buildings, Better Business Conference was the MPI 2007 Global Paragon Award winner, in part because of its successful green meetings strategy.

Sherry Benzmiller, CMP Project Administrator, Meeting Planner. Energy Center of Wisconsin
      When Sherry joined the Center in 1998 she brought more than five years of experience in office administration. Sherry provides administrative support to the senior management team at the Energy Center and primary administrative support to the Executive Director. Sherry provides administrative support for the Center’s Board of Directors and committees of the Board. Additionally, Sherry is the administrator to the Association of State Energy and Research Technology Institutions, Inc. (ASERTTI), including coordination of two national conferences per year.
      Sherry provides all meeting planning activities for the Energy Center. The Energy Center holds over 75 trainings per year across the Midwest and trains over 1500 residential and commercial and industrial customers per year. Sherry serves on the Board and is an active member of the Meeting Professionals International.

Meeting Strategies Worldwide, Practical Guidance Around Green Meetings

Learn to establish what green practices work best for your organization, how to negotiate with suppliers to implement such practices, what to include in the contracts, how to maintain the effectiveness, and meet the objectives and expectations of the meeting. This session includes interactive discussions, sample contract language and case studies on implementing green meeting practices.

The Convention Industry Council launched “Recommended Green Meeting Guidelines” in 2004 that are being adopted nationwide. This presentation also describes how to implement those guidelines in your meetings/events benefiting both economic and environmental bottom lines. If you're an innovative, blaze-the-trail planner or supplier, this is essential information for you to continue to be an industry leader.

After attending this session, you will be able to:

• Establish green policies for your meetings
• Develop minimum guidelines for implementing green meetings
• Communicate green objectives to your vendors
• State what constitutes a green meeting
• Discuss the business case for green meetings
• Describe how to get started in greening your meeting

About the Presenter

Amy Spatrisano, CMP, Platinum Series Speaker
      Amy Spatrisano, CMP is recognized as a leader in pioneering sustainable conference and event practices. Along with her business partner, Nancy Wilson, CMP, Amy co-wrote the definitive work on green meeting strategies, “Simple Steps to Green Meetings and Events: The Professional’s Guide to Saving Money and the Earth.”
      Amy is a principal of Meeting Strategies Worldwide, an award winning environmental consulting firm specializing in the meetings industry. Through her work with clients such as the Live Earth, U. S. Green Building Council and American Express, she and her company continue to raise the bar of what defines green meeting practice worldwide.
      Amy chaired the Convention Industry Council’s Green Meeting Task Force and participated in the Green Hotel Initiative. She is currently the President and co-Founder of the Green Meeting Industry Council. In addition Amy has spoken both nationally and internationally on the subject of green meetings.

Location, Map, and Lodging