Green Events Source/blog

Question of the Month - July 2008

Question:  What's so bad about plastic bags? I thought it was OK as long as I recycled them. According to the EPA, between 500 billion and a trillion plastic bags are consumed each year worldwide, and only 1% of them gets recycled.  Aside from the fact that they are created from an expensive, nonrenewable resource (petroleum), it actually costs more to recycle a plastic bag than to make a new one. Billions of them end up in the oceans and blowing around other parts of the environment, endangering wildlife. Those that end up in landfills break down into toxic polymers that contaminate the land, water and food chain. Using reusable cloth bags and reducing demand for plastic are still the best options -- That's why a number of countries around the world have banned plastic bags.  San Francisco banned them in 2007 and other cities are following suit. Still not convinced? Download Plastic_Bags.pdf  (a persuasive presentation on this issue), and see for yourself. Feel free to pass them message on!

Partner Profile: Mary Beth Nowak, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

Mary Beth Nowak has been greening her meetings for more than 17 years. "When I first started they didn't refer to it as “greening.” We were thinking more in terms of 'stewardship' of resources,” she said.

As executive for Assembly Logistics, Meeting Management and Travel, over the years she has learned to implement cost-effective, eco-friendly strategies through a mixture of common sense, trial and error and resourcefulness. But even with her vast experience base, she doesn’t think of herself as a green paragon. “We’ve done some things well, but there are so many other things we can improve upon. We’re like everyone else in that our environmental efforts are a work in progress.”

Nonetheless, Mary Beth has many stories and tips from the trenches to share. Here are a couple of creative ideas that she implemented for a recent convention at Navy Pier in Chicago:

• To cut down on the amount of paper, virtually all registration and confirmations are handled online. Church volunteers are engaged to help those unable to use the internet complete their registrations over the phone. This strategy saved 66,000 sheets of paper in one meeting.
• To cut down on the number of busses needed to shuttle delegates back and forth between the hotel and the meeting site, Mary Beth worked out a 1- to 2-mile walking route and encouraged everyone to hike through downtown Chicago as part of a wellness program.
• To make it even easier to walk, instead of traditional conference bags, Mary Beth handed out eco-friendly backpacks.  She was careful to make them generic – that is, imprinted with the organization logo but no year so they could be used again and again; and she reduced the amount of packing materials by requesting that they be shipped in boxes without individual poly-bagging.
• To discourage the use of disposable coffee cups, she issued everyone a refillable mug, underwritten by a sponsor who appreciated getting visibility throughout the conference week. To help make sure attendees remember to use the mugs, she plans to charge them for coffee in disposable containers at future events.
• To avoid using heavy packaging for carry out meals, she worked with the caterer to pack lunches in reusable lunch bags rather than disposable boxes.

Mary Beth sees communication as one of the keys to success. She advises, “Talk to everyone involved in your meeting regarding your efforts to go green.  They will come up with simple, easy ideas to help you.”  She also encourages planners to reach out to their vendors and suppliers to see what they can offer in the way of ideas and support.

Do you have a question for Mary Beth? Comment below and we’ll post her answers.

Chicago to Launch Chapter of Green Meeting Industry Council

A group of more than 20 meeting industry leaders met last week to discuss establishing a Chicago chapter of the Green Meeting Industry Council. The new Chicago Chapter will be the first local chapter in GMIC's history.

“The idea of forming a chapter emerged from GMIC’s national conference in Vancouver last February,” said Deb Popely, president of Green Events Source, a Des Plaines-based green event consulting and planning firm. “Several Chicago GMIC members got together there and began discussing how we could advance the cause of green meetings and events in Chicago. Starting a local chapter seemed like a natural outgrowth of that discussion.”

In addition to Popely, founding team members include Julie Larson of McDonald’s, Rhonda Chesney of The Four Seasons and Beth Bracco of Blue Plate Catering.  The team recruited a cross-section of Chicago hospitality, trade show and tourism leaders, along with representatives from relevant city, state and federal agencies and trade and professional associations to participate in Chapter formation.

New GMIC Executive Director Tamara Kennedy-Hill also attended the meeting to support the effort and provide an overview of GMIC’s capabilities and goals. “We want to support grassroots efforts to promote green meetings and events and hope to see more chapters springing up nationally and internationally in the near future,” she said.

The Chicago chapter’s first project will involve putting together a stakeholder conference designed to assess the state of green meetings and events in Chicago, share best practices among the various sectors and identify and fill gaps. To find out more about Chapter membership and/or assisting with conference planning contact Deb Popely at (847) 827-8456 or email deb@greeneventsource.com.

Clearing the Air On The Beijing Olympics

This week, the Chinese unveiled Beijing’s new Olympic Green Convention Center, touting its energy efficiency and eco-friendly design. Yet the city continues to struggle with the city's air quality amid concerns about the health of  the 10,500 athletes and hundreds of thousands of visitors who will descend on the city August 8.

The Convention Center is part of the larger Olympic Green complex, which includes 13 venues, including the Olympic Stadium and National Swim Center.  During the Olympics, the Convention Center will be the site for fencing and shooting competitions, as well as the main press center and international broadcasting center. After the Olympics, the building will undergo some renovation and reopen as the China National Convention Center in July 2009. "Green elements" include a central vacuum system, Beijing's first central refuse collection system, an energy efficient ice-cooled air-conditioning system and a uniquely designed roof to collect rainfall.

Despite these strides in green construction, it has been an ongoing battle to clean up the city’s air quality before the games begin. According to the Chicago Tribune, this week’s heavy haze was among the worst seen in Beijing in the past month, despite drastic pollution controls initiated on July 20 that included pulling half the city's 3.3 million vehicles off the roads. Other pollution control measures include halting most construction and closing some factories in the capital and surrounding provinces. The Beijing “EPA” is hoping that wind and rain will help pollutants to dissipate so that they don’t have to institute emergency measures during the games, which involve pulling more cars off the road and closing more factories. Read more

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LEARN HOW TO GO GREEN ELEGANTLY AT FREE EVENT

Green Events Source is partnering with several Chicago-based sustainable businesses to launch the first annual "Greener Events Chicago." The free education and networking event for corporate event planners will take place on Wednesday August 13 from 5:30 - 8:30 p.m. at The Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum (www.naturemuseum.org), 2430 N. Cannon Drive, Chicago.  

“We chose the Nature Museum as our site because it is a beautiful and truly green facility with a great environmental story to tell,” said Deborah Popely, founder and president of Green Events Source. “We hope that our guests will learn that you can have an elegant, fun party and do it in a way that’s better for the environment. We expect them to walk away with the information and tools they need to green their own events with style.”

Greg Christian (www.gregchristian.com) , a sustainable food leader who has been called “The Greenest Caterer in America,” will cater the cocktail reception, featuring his own unique brand of organic and local cuisine. Christian will also join Green Event Source Founder Deb Popely and other speakers for a one-hour educational session on the fine points of greening corporate events. Other speakers include Julie Larson, Project Manager, Meetings & Events for McDonald’s Corporation, who will present an impressive green event case study; and a spokesperson from the Nature Museum, who will discuss how to choose and work with eco-friendly meeting sites.

Also hosting the event are prominent suburban caterer True Cuisine, which will be providing the dessert table; professional entertainment resource Ally Entertainment; and Chicago-based event planners, The Event Gallery.

Attendees will also receive an eco-friendly tote bag courtesy of Proforma Quality Business Services, containing vendor information and a copy of The Green Events Source Book, a multimedia resource guide for greener meetings and events.   For more information or to register, visit www.greenereventschicago.com or email deb@greeneventsource.com.