CIC Sets Green Guidelines for Meetings

By Staff -- Tradeshow Week, 5/3/2004

The Convention Industry Council has come up with suggestions for how tradeshow organizers can be more environmentally conscious.

A 12-page green meetings report was inspired by cities passing laws that require meetings to be environmentally conscious – without specifying exactly how the mandates should be achieved. "Back in 2003, we started receiving requests from people for best practices for green meetings because localities in the U.S. were passing environmental regulations," said Juli Jones, CIC vice president.

At the time, there were no industry-specific guidelines for convention organizers to follow. "We were interested in developing these guidelines as an industry, rather than having others make the regulations for us," Jones said.

Volunteer members of the CIC's green meetings task force, who researched and drafted the report, previously held positions with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Ocean's Blue Foundation, the Society of Incentive Travel Executives' Green Meeting Group and the World Travel Organization. They also included representatives from hotels, convention and visitors bureaus, convention centers and meeting planning organizations.

The task force used existing environmental regulations to come up with instructions that specifically applied to the conventions industry, Jones said.

Available on the CIC's Web site at www.conventionindustry.org, the report details best practices for every aspect of the industry, including exhibition service providers, lodging providers and destination management companies. An example of a suggestion would be the use of laptops in offices as opposed to desktop computers, which use 10 percent more energy; or using reusable linens, dishes and cutlery at event venues.