Environmentally Friendly Conferences and Meetings on the Rise

The accepted practices exchange (APEX) is in the process of finalizing standards for green meetings and events. The immediate goal of outlining these standards and practices is to come up with environmental best practices to be applied to meetings, conferences and tradeshows nationally. The long term goal is for all of these events to evolve into environmentally friendly conferences and events. So how do you begin the transformation?

Think Globally, Act Locally. It's an old "green" cliché, but it rings true. The more items you can source for your event locally, the better. From eco promotional products to local labor, you should explore the availability of resources in the immediate area before looking beyond. The amount of time, effort and energy you will save per event can make a difference. And if every event going forward is an environmentally friendly conference or event, the effect can be staggering.

Conserve Resources. Think outside the box when planning your environmentally friendly conference to help conserve. Do you need to provide a paper copy of the presentation, or would it be possible to have it available electronically on a USB drive or for download post-event? Do the house lights need to be on during the entire event, or can they be dimmed or shut off during featured speakers? These little changes can help make your event a lot "greener."

Consider Sustainability. This goes beyond just what you put into making your event an environmentally friendly one and extends out to your vendors and suppliers. Are the products and services that are being provided being delivered in an eco friendly way? Do these event partners have plans in place for sustainability in their designated industries? If you don't know, it makes sense to find out. And if they don't, it's probably worth finding an alternative event partner who does.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. The "reduce" part of this mantra falls mostly under conserving resources, above. But the other two "r's" are equally, if not more, important because very little thought goes into what happens to event materials after the event. Almost all the components of an environmentally friendly conference or event can be reused or recycled. Otherwise, the amount of waste that one event produces is just that - wasteful and unnecessary.

While APEX is finalizing specific criteria for green meetings and events that use percentages and levels of environmentally friendliness, the above tips can get you on track for hosting an environmentally friendly conference or event in the interim.

How the promotional products industry will be impacted by the new green meeting APEX/ASTM Standards