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A conference positively enhances personal, academic, association and corporate interaction, but naturally there are elements of conferencing that can produce excessive waste and that require unsustainable activities: large groups of people must travel by road and air, hotel accommodation must be taken up, meals must be served to large groups, conference-specific materials must be printed or manufactured, and large amounts of paper may be used in communications or proceedings.
However, the desire for face-to-face contact, sharing ideas and networking with members of one’s industry, and having the opportunity for analytic debate is part of human nature. As conference organisers, we need to implement strategies that are environmentally sustainable or even beneficial to the environment, and that are also beneficial to the overall conference experience.
In order to “meet green” the conference organiser needs to implement greening strategies within each category of conference management. The categories discussed here are based on the Convention Industry Council’s Green Meeting Report guidelines.
(1) Destination(2) Accommodation(3) Transport(4) Food and beverage(5) Exhibition(6) Communication and marketing(7) On-site procedures
(1) Destination
Destination and venue selection are the result of many factors and it is overly idealistic to believe that a conference organiser could recommend or choose a venue using environmental sustainability as the only criterion. However, with cities, companies and individuals becoming more environmentally conscientious, a larger range of conference venues that conform to the Green Building Council of South Africa’s standards are now available, giving environmentally aware clients more of a choice in destination and venue selection.
(2) Accommodation
Ensure that your selected accommodation is within walking distance of the conference venue and assess whether it offers environmentally friendly facilities (think energy-efficient light bulbs, water use-minimising plumbing and procedures, refillable toiletry containers, biodegradable and non-toxic cleaning products, etc). If the hotel does not have a green policy in place, insist that they implement some of the most important elements of a green policy for the duration of your conference: only changing towels and linen on request, recycling and using paper-less registration for your delegates.
(3) Transport
Even though reliable public transport remains an issue in South Africa, conference organisers can take steps to minimise delegates’ carbon footprint by offering transfer services and walking maps of the city, arranging car sharing amongst delegates and providing the option to purchase carbon offsets for their travel.
(4) Food and beverage
This is a category where your greening strategies can really make a difference. Insist that your caterers use only local and seasonal ingredients, arrange for all leftover food to be collected by a food redistribution programme, opt for jugs of water on the tables instead of individual plastic bottles, and ensure that all condiments are served in bulk rather than individually wrapped. For a larger event where disposable cutlery is unavoidable, choose biodegradable containers that can be collected for composting.
(5) Exhibition
Special attention needs to be paid to the set-up/breakdown procedures of the exhibition, as disorganisation and unnecessary packaging can waste electricity and resources. Place environmental restrictions on the exhibitors, e.g. preferential use of recycled paper and soy-based ink on handouts, energy efficient bulbs, recycled or eco-friendly giveaways such as pencils made from reclaimed wood, and minimal use of cardboard boxes, plastic and shipping materials. Place recycling bins in the exhibition halls and organise for all leftover signage to be recycled and unwanted stationery to be donated to a school.
(6) Communication and Marketing
While most delegate communication and marketing is already done electronically, there are other communication methods that can be improved. Use the conference website as your main port of communication and provide everything on a memory stick instead of printing presentations, abstracts and delegate lists. Discourage sponsors from distributing handouts, and where printing is essential ensure that recycled paper with soy-based ink is used.
(7) On-site procedures
Ensure that you set up recycling centres where delegates can separate their waste, as well as return their unwanted name tags, lanyards and conference bags for re-use, recycling or donation. If a conference bag is absolutely essential, ensure that it is reusable and is locally reduced. Choose seasonal living plants instead of cut flowers for decor and indigenous flowers instead of imports. Give corporate gifts made from sustainable materials, use minimal packaging and are produced locally (e.g. beadwork, wire crafts, etc).
In addition to promoting environmental sustainability, the benefits of greening your conferences include a positive impact on your company’s brand and image, a contribution to lower operating costs, a newsworthy marketing point to increase attendance, delegate satisfaction and the knowledge that your organisation is undertaking social responsibility.
Remember that it is important to incorporate these greening strategies from the very beginning of your planning because conference greening is not only an on-site procedure; it is a change in mindset from your usual policies. It’s equally important to follow a green policy in your own office so that you “practice what you preach”!
Greening your next conference is as simple as developing a green policy and implementing as many of its elements as possible. So for your next conference, remember to Meet Green!
Sourced:
By Claire Davidson
African Agenda Conference Design and Management
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Hospitality 
