Spotlight on Sustainability Archives

The Pursuit of Sustainability in Event Management - "Game On!"

In February, I attended the 2011 Green Meeting Industry Council (GMIC) Annual Conference in Portland, OR. This year’s theme, “Game On,” was being billed as something completely new and revolutionary in every media piece I scanned. “Game On,” was to be an interactive conference, blending organizers and suppliers into competing teams with the same objective; produce on paper the most sustainable and socially responsible event possible (with others you may have never met) after just two days.

Elizabeth Henderson of Meeting Change, Paul Salinger of Oracle and Mitchell Beer of The Conference Publishers, Inc., chief architects of “Game On,” are all well-known for their vast experience and having a penchant toward sustainable event management.

Elizabeth, as well as having her own event management company, is former Corporate Social Responsibility Officer for Meeting ProfessionaIs International (MPI). Paul is both marketing guru for a small computer concern you may recognize (Oracle), and President-Elect of GMIC. Mitchell Beer, the driving force and tireless producer of conference summary reports, newsletters, and online conference content portals, serves in his spare time as a member of GMIC’s Board of Directors and was most recently named Chairman of the newly-formed GMIC Foundation.

The day before I planned to attend this incredible and thrilling new concept, I received an email from Elizabeth asking if I would step in to fill a needed role as one of the “Game On” Team Captains. These three seasoned veterans were pinning their hopes for a successful Conference outcome on ‘quarterbacks’ like me in this potentially high-risk, ‘first-of-its-kind’ educational ‘gaming’ format.

As a supplier to our industry for over 25 years (we make name badges), it’s fair to say our contribution has been close to every attendee’s heart, but I didn’t feel this alone qualified me to be of service to ANY group, let alone a group of sustainability-minded event professionals. However, having great difficulty saying “no” to anyone’s request for help, I accepted the position.

So, less than twelve hours before the Conference kick-off, while sitting in our Team Captain’s orientation meeting , I began to feel a sickening kinship with the National Football League’s St. Louis Rams, who in 2001, after a previous losing season, saw any hope of redemption in the upcoming one dashed by a disabling injury to their star quarterback. I was overwhelmed with the same desperate feelings they must have had.

So, here I was - the lowly event credential manufacturer who foolishly accepted Elizabeth’s request to ‘suit-up’ and quarterback a Team (designated “Team Hickory”) of seasoned event industry professionals. Having never produced a single event, I broke out into a cold sweat as I sat amongst all the other assembled Team Captains that first night. Less than 12 hours separated me and the arrival of my yet unknown players (who all probably deserved my Captain’s job as much or more), and I was terrified.

Our instructions during ‘Captain’ orientation were for each of us to take our assigned fictional large corporate event, assemble our team, share the mission and deliver a game-winning solution to the unique sustainability issues facing each team’s fictitious corporate event within (2) days. And oh, by the way, here’s an iPad! Use it as your primary tool to:

Enter each team member’s contact information and distance traveled to the Conference
Track your Team’s progress through each competitive event,
Keep track of every other team’s progress
Familiarize yourself with every aspects of the Conference applying to the game

… and you best learn how to effectively use your iPad before 7am tomorrow.

For the technically uninitiated like me who had never actually seen an iPad, overwhelming fear would be a kind way to describe the look on the faces of the “over 40” Captains as we came to grips with the reality of our obvious technological ignorance and resulting hurdles.

Sitting directly between us and being able to even discuss our Team’s sustainability obstacles was our first game-changing decision; choose between sleep or resort to ‘cramming’ all night to learn what younger tech-savy Captains already knew and were exploiting before we’d even left our orientation session. Every move each team made was instantly uploaded to the “Leaderboard,” showing whose team has the most points RIGHT NOW. It was evident the youngsters were putting their understanding of the iPad to immediate use quickly distancing themselves from us old fogies even BEFORE the gun sounded on opening day.

But I’ve always felt if you can’t be good, be lucky. And, luckily, the iPad proved to be easy to master and invaluable to our success. Soon, Captains old and young alike were keeping track of every facet of this conference. The use of the tool was brilliant. Internet connectivity allowed us ‘real-time’ uploads of our Team’s work-product keeping the ‘Leaderboard’ current with our position in the race. In just two days it helped us take teams of people who, in most cases had never had any prior contact with each other, communicate and collaborative in ways we’d never suspected.

Team collaboration proved once and for all that in the arena of event management, one has limitless capacity to plan, work and reward every stakeholder in pursuit of sustainability in a most remarkable new way. “Game On” weaves an engaging thread through the 'usual suspects' found at conferences such as exhibit booths, continuing education sessions, conference-generated media and community service projects. All become interactive and mutually beneficial in the "Game On" format.

Socialization is an inherent and understandable side effect of establishing teams, relieving the awkwardness of first-time conference participants when making new contacts. Instantly, one belongs to a group and 'knows' several others at the event.

The level of conference participation by each team member is an inter-related collaborative venture, connecting each person and cloaking the interaction in a ‘game' atmosphere. The result is an educational tapestry sewn together with great zeal as each member must help for the common good of the team.

The collateral advantage is both educational and contagious excitement, which virtually eliminates the possibility of experiencing another ‘boring’ conference as we’ve all come to know and abhor. When done properly, all, from exhibitor to attendee, will be swept up in the heat of constructive competition. You’ll never look at the issue of sustainability in event management in the same way!

So, how did Team Hickory fare? Did we come in dead last (as I was sure we would that first evening during orientation)? Did we wind up as hapless as those St. Louis Rams seemed destined to be so early in their season?

In more ways than certainly anyone knew going into this never-before-tried “Game On,” our fate was to resemble that magical season for the Rams of 2001. You may recall, the Rams, with the help of a grocery store bag boy-turned-NFL quarterback named Kurt Warner went from “Worst to First,” the proverbial Cinderella story, if there ever was one; and so in some ways did Team Hickory and its Captain.

When the points were totaled across all aspects of the competition, our Team’s points were clearly the highest. And it’s only fitting, fair and factual to give all the credit for both a brilliant concept and an exhilarating event experience to Elizabeth, Paul, Mitchell and as well as the player/members of Team Hickory (for unlike the Rams, I’ll never be compared to Kurt Warner).

Listen to me now and believe me later: The pursuit of Sustainability in Event Management CAN and WILL be a fun and exciting adventure for everyone. I look forward to the next Conference organizer who tries their hand at a version of “Game On.”

I’m certain they, too, will find “Game On” Rules!

4Rs of Sustainability – Repurpose

The Epitome of Sustainability – Designing for a Second Life

The last of the 4 Rs of sustainability is (in my opinion), the most brilliant. Reduce, Reuse and Recycle are great, but the creativity and resourcefulness of manufacturers that are able to Repurpose material put them way ahead of the curve.

Our industry’s ‘best use standards’ for raw materials is to plan ahead so they can be used at least twice. Instead of expending the energy to have them recycled back into the same raw material from which they came, we’re encouraged to use portions of the product after its ‘death’ as either transplantable ‘stock’ materials, or to create an entirely new product.

Think of ‘Repurposing’ as ‘Reuse’ on steroids, it’s the antithesis of products designed for our ‘throwaway’ society. It’s more like creating a butterfly from a caterpillar as materials extend their useful life by taking on a completely new form

Bolder Path, a Colorado manufacturer, provides an excellent example of this. They create entirely new lines of products by repurposing raw materials that have already fulfilled their original, intended purpose. By ‘dumpster diving’ at local companies and venues, they’re able to use material from banners, billboards and other products to manufacture totes, holders, backpacks and carrying cases. Old inner tubes are reincarnated into messenger bags. Other products include neoprene sunglass cases, wallets, luggage tags, notepads, portfolios, laptop cases, and more.

This is just the beginning. These new ideas aren’t just feasible; they’re commercially viable.

Formerly unusable waste is now being recovered and diverted from the landfill into finished goods without expending the additional energy required to melt it down, grind it up, and turn it into raw material. We’re witnessing the birth of an entirely new industry, limited only by imagination and the public’s desire.

Clearly, new doors are being opened as opportunities are created for entrepreneurs who have a passion to be a part of the journey towards sustainability in areas few ever imagined possible. Repurposing is one of the 4Rs giving a long and bright future to anyone who’s ever wished ‘if only I had another opportunity.'

It appears we have many!

How I Renewed My Faith in Recycling

For event organizers and suppliers, recycling is probably the easiest of the ‘4Rs of Sustainability’ (reduce, reuse, recycle and repurpose) to put into action. It’s easy to measure, and the ‘feel-good’ effect is instantaneous – you can literally see the difference you’re making by diverting material from the landfill. As recycling efforts become more mainstream, meeting attendees don’t need to be educated on its benefits. In fact, many may start demanding it.

But I have to admit, while I’ve always championed sustainable events, I lacked the faith that recycling truly worked. I was skeptical of the true impact it could have on our industry.

Here were my reasons:

Most of what goes into a landfill is paper, or paper-related products. In terms of a renewable resource, paper is hard to beat. Event organizers have been doing a great job reducing the amount of paper they use at a show by using electronic communications and signage. But whether it’s a registration form, show guidelines, or sales material, some things will always be printed. Recycling seemed to me to be only a coping strategy, not an end-all to paper consumption. Being a more sustainable event manager or supplier is the real goal.

Our use of plastic continues to grow. Think of the mountains of carpeting, drapery, table coverings, bottles, giveaways, and tableware you’ve seen used at events, meetings and shows. Most of these items are made from non-renewable petrochemicals. Only some of these plastics are accepted at recycling centers. By allowing attendees to co-mingle plastics, organizers increased the chances of having non-recyclable material mixed in the container, making the shipment ‘unfit for recovery’, only to be transported to the landfill.

After most events, the show floor is usually a mess. While I’m normally an optimist, I’ve been amazed at the amount of trash and waste left behind even after ‘green’ events. Even the people who are supposed to be leading the charge to sustainability are far from perfect.

But, as I mentioned earlier, all that has changed.

Recycling rates of both paper and plastic have hit an all-time high. Construction of infrastructure for diversion of post-consumer waste is not only well under way but yielding incredible results.

Recycling is becoming easier to do. Recent advancements from the American Society for Testing of Materials have made the recycling standards and labels for plastics clearer. This has made comingling of material less of a concern, and reduced the risk of ‘unfit’ loads going to a landfill.

In terms of finally marrying actions to all of our words, look no further than Las Vegas. They’ve begun to use metrics to create benchmark measurements which highlight their strengths as well as areas in need of improvement. In fact, of the 4,000 tons of waste collected last year, 2,620 tons were recoverable (recycled). Their measurements are so detailed they can break down recyclables by category (of the 223.3 tons of mixed plastic they recovered, 26.2 tons were plastic bottles).

What really puts all of what I’ve written into focus is when we realize the positive impact recycling can have on the local community. Recycling centers must receive enough material or they become unsustainable – and cease to exist. When our industry diverts 421 tons of cardboard in Las Vegas to the local recycling center instead of the landfills, we can be proud. Our efforts help make recycling ‘sustainable’ for local economies.

Now I know even faith is a recoverable resource.

The Second of the Four Rs of Sustainability - Reuse

Goodbye "Throwaway Society"

Of the four Rs that create the foundation for green meetings (reduce, reuse, recycle, and repurpose), our industry struggles the most with ‘reuse.' By their nature, our events are ‘temporary,' only lasting a few days. If cities, events, themes, and sponsors all change, how can printed materials be reused?

We’ve got answers; but first, let’s look at how we got in this mess in the first place. Our ‘throwaway’ society is based on the (incorrect) assumption that we’ve got limitless resources to use, and boundless areas to dump our waste. We all know that’s not the case, and oil isn’t the only resource people are concerned about. Clean water, clean air, and minerals are becoming areas of grave concern. All of this has been compounded by improvements in technology and the use of cheap labor, which drives down the price of goods, making them more-easily ‘disposable.'

Our planet is a closed system. We don’t have bottomless pits to discard our waste, and we don’t have the luxury of totally renewable resources. Recycling is great, but before we recycle something, it costs less, takes less energy, and is in everybody’s best interest to extend the useful life of a product before turning it back into raw material.

We’ve simply got to re-think the word ‘reuse.' Of course you’re not going to be able to reuse material that’s been printed with city names, event themes, etc. Instead, we need to do better planning prior to the event to change our behavior, so we can extend the life of the materials we use. The ‘same old way’ just isn’t sustainable.

Let’s start with something basic – show badges and credential holders. How can you make changes to the way you’re using these materials to extend their usable life?

•   Is there any benefit to having dates, sites, or sponsorship information printed on the holder or lanyard instead of on the paper insert?

•   If differentiating between attendees is important, then print distinct colors on the outside of holders (i.e., blue for attendees, green for exhibitors, etc).

•   If you need to print sponsor information on credentials, consider selling multi-year sponsorships too so you can reuse them, and give your sponsors increased exposure for an extended period of time. Unused credential holders could then be easily inventoried instead of being discarded.

Collection activities and containers can aid your efforts, and be a new source of sponsorship opportunity, too. The racks and containers placed near exits can be imprinted with sponsors’ names and reused endlessly. Holders and lanyards can be sorted at the end of each event to be repacked and reused. In fact, Microsoft has successfully done this with events with over 5,000 attendees. Imagine the cost savings, and the reduced impact on our environment.

Before your next event, please take a step back before getting caught up in the ‘we’ve always done it this way’ mindset, and re-think reuse.

The First of the Four Rs: REDUCE

Less really is more.

In the old days of planning for events, the rule of thumb was ‘never run short at a show.’ When planning for trade shows, most exhibit managers took the ‘belt-and-suspenders’ approach of preparation, bringing too much sales literature, too many samples, and extra supplies for anything that could possibly go wrong. Most of it ended up in the trash.

But that was when ‘green’ was simply a color, and money was just another resource in limitless supply. Times have certainly changed.

There is a better way. Trade shows and meetings are still among the best ways maintain relationships with current vendors and customers, and you’d be hard-pressed to find a better place to meet and interact with new prospects to inform them about your business. Thankfully, industry leaders are working to reduce the impact we have on our environment without sacrificing your marketing impact.

By spending a bit more time on up-front planning and taking a more-targeted approach to marketing, companies are reducing both their budget, and their carbon footprint. I’ve noticed this trend at an increasing number of shows recently.

Vendors intentionally don’t bring endless supplies of samples and literature, instead reserving them for qualified leads. For other prospects, exhibitors are taking the time to interact with them more-directly. Instead of simply shoving a brochure in their bag and sending attendees on their way, exhibitors are having conversations to find out more about them, and their specific need. Then, they follow up after the show with targeted messaging and detailed, purposeful communication.

One size doesn’t fit all, anymore.

The same seems true for trade show visitors. Gone are the days of the over-stuffed trade show bag, brimming with samples and literature that was probably never looked at again. Maybe it’s that attendees are pressed for time? Maybe their purpose for attending the show is more targeted? Or, perhaps airline restrictions are forcing them to be more selective and make snap decisions, so as not to bring too much back on the plane? Whatever the reason, the results are the same.

These changes didn’t happen overnight, but they’ve certainly reduced the waste for many exhibitors, without forcing them to sacrifice their marketing efforts. Before your next show, I’d suggest using past events to set benchmarks for the supplies you’ll really need. How many brochures ended up in the trash? How many of the samples you handed out resulted in customers?

What if...instead of quickly handing out marketing material, you took the time to connect with the prospect, and then followed up with a message that addressed their unique needs? As an added benefit - the less you bring, the more you’ll save on shipping (scaling down your carbon footprint even more).

Reducing is just one of the four steps toward trade show sustainability. In upcoming articles, I’ll address the other Rs: reusing, recycling and repurposing. Our industry is evolving right along with the rest of the business world. By incorporating best practices, we can make these events better on both the environment, and your bottom line.

SUSTAINABILITY: WE WON'T SEE IT, UNTIL WE BELIEVE IT!

Trash While you may have heard from time to time "I won't believe it until I see it," the wisest people I know suggest it truly should be expressed "We won't see it, unless we first believe it."

I may be getting a bit metaphysical but bear with me...The Universal Law of Divine Order holds that first there is the Mind, then Ideas flowing from the Mind and, finally, the expression of ideas manifesting itself in physical Form.

This picture was taken at a recent event where participants were actively attempting to be environmentally-conscientious and ‘green.’ Sure, you’ve probably seen much worse at the end of many events, but is this really the way we should leave an event (especially a 'green' one)? But this was what was in people’s ‘mind’s eye’ as the proper way to leave the show. They believed they were doing the right thing.

We've all read rules and specifications on how show floors should look on opening day, but we've never really seen the same emphasis placed on how it should look after an event. No picture is indelibly etched in our mind on the proper way to leave a show...but we can change that!

What if we had standards memorialized for each exhibitor that spelled out how our booth and the hall should look after a show? We’d make sure that waste baskets weren’t stuffed with paper, boxes, plastic, booth signage or collateral material.

But, for all of these years, at the end of the event we've never felt it's our personal responsibility to take care of our materials after they’ve served their initial purpose. Instead it's as if we imagined some 'Stuff of Meetings' mortician would take care of it.

I truly suspect we’d behave differently if, the first time we viewed the post-mortem of an event, we had experienced a completely spotless hall - with no trace of carpeting, pipe, paper or plastic. What if the exhibit hall looked so clean and devoid of any prior existence of human activity it literally made us question if there'd ever been anyone there at all. If that were the case, we would certainly come to expect (and even demand) that level of social responsibility all the time. We'd have a mental picture of the right way to leave a show floor. Unfortunately, based on today’s standards, what you see in the attached picture could probably be labeled 'pretty good' or 'not so bad.’

Our Mind rarely (if ever) has been asked to aspire to a higher expectation for the environment, and the way we leave our shows.

This gets us back to what those wise people who say 'Believing' leads to how it's 'seen.’ We need to believe in a better way of running our business.

The good news is that people have already ‘believed’ in this future for us. This 'form' it takes is called the APEX/CIC/EPA/GMIC Green Meeting and Event Practice Standards. In addition, these Standards will be certified by the oldest international certifying body, ASTM. It is being adjudicated by both its main Sustainability Committee and Hospitality Subcommittee. They have created nine categories of standards which will be guidelines covering all aspects of our industry:
•Accommodations
•Audio Visual
•Communications & Marketing
•Destinations
•Exhibits
•Food & Beverage
•Onsite Office
•Venue
•Transportation

Each category will have eight consistent focus areas, and areas will have four levels of accomplishment - giving it the feel of a LEEDS program. The beginning levels are the ones where we can exercise significant progress and have great impact towards sustainability while expending comparatively the least amount of time and money.

Advancing technologies are converging from every direction with the single goal of being a better, more sustainable option than its predecessor. These emerging technologies will impact all of us on balance in highly positive ways.

While I don’t profess to know everything, I’m certain that we don’t need to wait for the benefits of these new technologies to make a significant impact on our events. We may choose to employ the services of suppliers who are the early adopters of some of these technologies, but we can start much simpler than that - ourselves.

We’ve seen and heard the words so often we sometimes forget to listen:
reduce reuse recycle

I'd advocate adding how 'repurposing' should be included among the basic tenets of any sustainability program.

In upcoming articles, it is my goal to provide examples of each of these four Rs at work in current shows, from the perspective of both the organizer and the supplier. If I do my job effectively, we will be able to see that the challenge is not how to start, or to question whether it will be effective. Rather, we will share an epiphany and wonder how much more we would have benefited if we’d started being sustainable earlier.

It is my belief we'll see that we're well on our way to completing many aspects of those first levels of the standards before they're even published. Believe it and you'll see.

"Worrying is the misuse of imagination"

The above quote seems particularly true for many people in our industry as it relates to the upcoming Sustainability Standards for the Event and Meeting Industry. Words like ‘enforceable’ and ‘measurable’ strike fear in hearts industry-wide when it comes to all things ‘green.' Some of this notoriety is warranted; after all, we are on the EPA’s Top 10 Most Wanted list. The event industry has been filling hearts, minds and landfills as long as I’ve been in the industry.

Following on the heels of the advancement of environmental causes at the Copenhagen Accord (COP15), ISO announced green new standards at the urging of 30 other countries. Their goal is to ensure event sustainability standards are in place prior to London's Olympics in 2012.

There are many that fear these new rules and regulations will have a crippling effect on shows and conferences here at home. Don’t let panic set in; simply prepare yourself for the future.

Organizations like APEX/CIC/GMIC* and the EPA have been working on similar standards for our industry here in North America for the past two years, and we have true pioneers as members of our Exhibition Community who've 'been there and done that'. Take this opportunity to learn what’s been working, and educate yourself on the new science and tools at your disposal.

For the past several years, event organizers have created their own, self-imposed sustainability standards. Despite the economic downturn, many of the vendors and suppliers to these events didn’t just survive…they thrived. There are new products and technologies evolving daily to meet this pending need; it’s up to you to become an expert on these tools. How hard can it be? Weren’t you an expert with the old ones?

We already know how this story ends (green). We have a wealth of experts on the APEX/CIC Green Meeting Panel that are willing to share their experiences. Take the opportunity to learn from our mistakes and missteps. The journey towards sustainability is not a minefield. Rather it is a goldmine.

The future is here. The result of the COP15 ultimately wound up being certified as compliant with the ‘gold standard,' the British Standard for Sustainability in Event Management (BS8901). Despite input from countries all over the world, each with their own issues (economic and environmental), there is a clear roadmap for our industry. These standards will certainly be the prototype for creating the ISO 20121 Sustainability Standard. We have a valid, publicly available model to scrutinize and apply to our own situation, if we just stop worrying and imagine the possibilities.

Use your imagination…but dream big for the faster we get to it…the faster we get through it!

*APEX=Accepted Practices Exchange; CIC = Convention Industry Council; GMIC = Green Meeting Industry Council

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