Green Meetings Good for Business

Companies report that good environment choices often make the best financial sense. Organizations committed to sustainability say that their bottom line is better, employee retention is increased, and consumers want to do business with them, according to Meeting Strategies Worldwide, which specializes in the meetings and hospitality industries. The environmental consulting firm produces the Best Places to Meet Green Scorecard and released a white paper on the economy in December 2008, “The Economy and the Environment: One Solution for Two Meeting and Event Industry Issues.” The paper outlines the benefits of sustainable practices for the meetings industry.

“In today’s tougher economy there is no better time to look for ways to improve efficiencies, maximize investment, reduce cost, and innovate,” says Nancy J. Wilson, CMP of Meeting Strategies Worldwide. “The solution to overcoming economic challenges can be found in the environmental and social opportunities that are calling on meeting professionals to create the most sustainable and value-added approach to their activities.”

According to the white paper, companies are reporting that what makes the best financial sense is many times the environmental choice as well.Organizations committed to sustainability are finding their bottom line is better, employee retention is increased, and consumers want to do business with them.  The two explanations given in support of these findings are: Companies committed to sustainable practices tend to operate more leanly, saving on energy costs and overall input costs; Consumers have begun placing a premium on goods produced in a sustainable manner.

“Most CFOs believe sustainability can lead to cost savings, increased revenues, greater customer retention, and a competitive advantage, so clearly this is an opportunity that cannot be ignored,” says Lauralee Martin of Jones Land LaSalle concerning the role of finance in environmental stability efforts.

In 2008, a Meeting Market Trend Survey found that 43 percent of association meeting planners were planning green meetings. This was up from just seven percent two years ago.

The white paper details five reasons the meeting industry should incorporate green initiatives: They offer cost savings, competitive advantage and promotional benefits, increase delegate satisfaction, boost employee retention, and mitigate risks.

Meeting Strategies Worldwide recently honored Montreal, Quebec, Canada as the newest city to join the Best Places to MeetGreen Scorecard. Montreal joins the exclusive ranks of Portland, Oregon; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Orlando, Florida; Seattle, Washington; and San Francisco, California.

The MeetGreen Scorecard is designed to help meeting and event planners select the best green destination for their group. Like the nonprofit organization Climate Counts, the scorecard rates companies on their efforts to reduce their impact on global climate changes. The select few are ranked according to the green programs implemented by the destination’s conventions and visitor’s bureau, convention center and hotels in the city’s conference package.

Climate Counts recently began ranking airlines and hotel companies in the United States. Among the airlines, Northwest scored the highest in attempts to assess carbon footprints, reduce pollution, support climate legislation, and communicate their efforts to the public. Marriott topped the list of hotel companies in terms of green initiatives.