HOME > GREEN MEETINGS TOOLKIT > SELLING GREEN

Green Meetings Keep Budgets in the Black

Expecting the trend toward sustainable meetings to wane in tougher economic times? You might be surprised. Eco-minded businesses are discovering the opposite to be true: what makes the most business sense is often the environmentally and socially responsible answer as well.

In short, planners are seeing their green practices pay off — literally.

The Proof is in the Numbers

Meetings and Conventions recently published an article, "Affordable and Green" (October 2009), highlighting green planning savings in virtually every aspect of meeting production.

In the article, Microsoft was noted for saving nearly $500,000 since implementing water coolers instead of individual plastic water bottles at corporate events. The Unitarian Universalist Association held its annual conference in a compact city center conducive to walking and saved $80,000 in transportation costs.

The same issue reported research results that 59 percent of surveyed planners who had implemented green meeting initiatives had realized or were projecting cost savings.

Other specific economies have been outlined by MeetGreen*, including:

• Reusing banners - 40,000 attendee conference, five days: $89,250 savings
• Reducing daily shuttles - 40,000 attendee conference, five days: $60,000 savings
• Reducing handouts - 1,300 attendee conference, two days: $2,000 savings

The list goes on, including savings from local food sourcing, water and energy conservation, and streamlining transportation costs.

*"The Economy and the Environment: One Solution for Two Meeting and Event Industry Issues," MeetGreen

Savings and Buy-in

In an unsolicited testimonial provided to MeetGreen, a planner recently stated: "I developed and introduced our ‘Green Initiative’ at our annual convention … overall, the initiatives saved us money. The biodegradable cups were obviously less expensive than bottled water, and the grocery bags saved us about 65 percent compared with the cost for our typical tote bags. We also did a good job of promoting the Green Initiative in advance (through e-mails) and on-site in our Show Daily. Of those attendees who responded to our electronic convention evaluation, 72 percent were aware of our Green Initiative, and of those who had an opinion about it, 89 percent approved of our new program. These were small steps, but now that I have demonstrated cost savings and buy-in from attendees, I know that we can continue and expand upon our Green Initiative."

Recipe for Success

In his article, “Thinking Green in a Blue Economy” (October 2008) Joel Makower put it powerfully: “At the end of the day, most green business activity is — or should be — about making companies, and economies, more resilient and competitive. That seems to me to be a recipe for success during good times and bad. Green can make sense when times are tough — and even because times are tough.”

¹ "The Economy and the Environment: One Solution for Two Meeting and Event Industry Issues," MeetGreen December 2008

GET THE BOOK … FREE
Meeting planners, let us send you Simple Steps to Green Meetings and Events, the definitive planning guide that demystifies going green.

RUN THE NUMBERS
Check out the "Best Places to Meet Green" calculator, plus a scorecard that estimates carbon emissions from flights.

TALK TO AN EXPERT
Connect with nationally recognized green meeting consultants the Travel Portland and Oregon Convention Center green teams.