Green Meetings Are Easier to Plan than You Think


Unless you’re one that still believes our earth is flat, most people realize that we all need to do our part to help our precious planet. This post isn’t intended to create a debate about global warming. Here we are assuming that our readers have done their own research and understand the importance of green meetings. My only advice for those that may be still caught up in the debate is to please stop listening to the politicians. Plain and simple they are not scientists and their comments are often made with a hidden agenda in mind. Okay, now that I’ve got that off my chest, let’s take a look at how easy it is to make your meeting a little greener.

Posting a Green Meeting Doesn’t Necessarily Mean Increased Responsibilities

Many people, including myself until recently, are under the impression that having a green meeting means additional tasks and increased responsibilities. Well, today that’s not the case. Especially with social media becoming more and more prominent in our lives. Technology is making it very easy to go paperless today. And many meetings are now conducted virtually with the use of video conference calls.

Many meeting planners are also telling me that a lot of their delegates are supporting green meetings. Many are actually inquiring with planners on how they can help make any meetings they are attending become as green as possible. Also many association meetings are leaving a positive impact in the cities where they are hosting their semi-annual or annual meetings. Often associations will have an activity that attendees can participate in that leave the city little cleaner or little greener.

Green Meeting Tips That You Easily Implement

Here are just a few green meeting tips that you can easily implement for your next meeting:

  • for smaller meetings consider video conference linking
  • make registration forms electronic and distribute information via social media
  • set up a twitter account for your meeting and ask attendees to start following it. Then communicate with your attendees via the twitter account with regards to updates, news during the conference etc.
  • work with your travel company to promote paperless boarding passes
  • if flying is a must, consider purchasing carbon offsets
  • for those that are concerned about supplier interaction, consider a virtual tradeshow
  • work with your hotel on energy-saving solutions. Make sure your meeting room has energy-efficient light bulbs and that they are turned off while you are not meeting.
  • Serve your water the good old-fashioned way. Make sure to ask that there is no bottled water in your meeting room

Hosting a green meeting isn’t as hard as you might think it is. Most companies that you deal with today will have policies in place that allow them to assist you in making green choices. For more information on green meetings, visit the EPA’s Green meeting page. Implementing just a few of the green meeting tips will help put you and your organization on a positive sustainability path.

Recent Posts