SEATTLE HAS EARNED A REPUTATION FOR BEING ONE of America's most environmentally friendly cities. PCMA has taken a leadership role in the green meetings arena. Put the two together - for PCMA's Annual Meeting in Seattle on Jan. 13-16, 2008 - and you raise the bar for eco-friendly meetings.

The meeting will kick off with a surprise initiative that will leave Seattle just a little bit greener than when PCMA first came to town. Here are some of the eco-friendly practices attendees will notice on site:

•  To reduce plastic waste, individual bottled water will not be served at the 2008 PCMA Annual Meeting. All attendees will be provided a reusable water bottle to fill at several water stations located throughout the Washington State Convention and Trade Center (WSCTC), thanks to the support of PCMA's event partners: VisitBritain, Visit Charlotte, VISIT FLORIDA, MGM Grand at Foxwoods, Nashville Convention & Visitors Bureau, Ontario Tourism Marketing Partnership, United Airlines, and the Virginia Beach Convention & Visitors Bureau.
• The 2008 registration bags are made from organic jute and recycled nylon and extra/unwanted bags will be donated to a local charitable organization.
• All trashcans in the PCMA meeting space will be removed and replaced with recycle bins.
• All PCMA Annual Meeting printed material will be printed/copied on post-consumer recycled paper.
• Print-on-demand stations for handouts will reduce the paper waste in the concurrent sessions.
• Plastic name badges will be collected and recycled.
• All excess food will be donated to a local food rescue program.
• Food preparation will focus on locally grown produce and feature organic food items free of environment-harming pesticides.
• Partners will be printing and shipping a reduced quantity of marketing collateral and amenities to reduce waste.
• PCMA has encouraged its partners to print collateral on recycled paper or provide an amenity in place of printed collateral.
• PCMA will collect and store any unused/excess partner collateral as inventory for future events, thus reducing future print requirements. If partner collateral is not reusable, PCMA will recycle it.

With Washington occupying the No. 3 spot of "America's Greenest States" by Forbes magazine, you can be sure the Washington State Convention and Trade Center (WSCTC) has environmentally friendly practices down pat. Here are some of the center's Recycle, Reduce, Reuse initiatives:

• An overhaul of the center's lighting system was conducted to replace outdated equipment with new and more efficient fixtures.
• New touchless faucets and self-flushing toilets were installed to reduce water consumption.
• The WSCTC recycling program recycles paper, wood, metal, and plastic products. As a result of the recycling initiative, the WSCTC has recycled:
• 174 tons of cardboard
• 2,460 lbs of aluminum cans or 79,200 individual pop cans
• 186 tons of mixed paper, plastic, and glass
• 12 tons of scrap metal
• an estimated 8,000 wood pallets shipped to the WSCTC were sent back with the shipper to be reused
• all computers and office machines replaced by updated models
• all spent fluorescent bulbs and ballasts
• all spent AA, AAA, and 9V batteries
• 3,328 gallons of kitchen grease, reused by a rendering plant.
• This past year, 23,968 meals were sent to local charity.

Finally, for this event, WSCTC is partnering with a local company to recycle PCMA's Annual Meeting banners.

LEAVING BEHIND A LEGACY

Greenbuild works to make each host city more environmentally friendly

GREENBUILD,THE U.S. GREEN BUILDING COUNCIL'S (USGBC, www.usgbc.org) International Conference and Expo, tries to instill improved environmental practices in its host cities. Greenbuild Denver 2006 implemented the first recycling program in the Colorado Convention Center, which continued after the conference left.

Greenbuild 2007, held Nov. 7-9 in Chicago, partnered with Meeting Strategies Worldwide (www.meetingstrategies worldwide.com) on the following green initiatives:

Air quality - Greenbuild worked with the Leonardo Academy Cleaner and Greener Event Certification Program (www.cleanerandgreener.org) to offset more than 100 percent of the emissions caused by its event activities - including electricity and fuel use during, and travel to and from the event; food preparation and cleanup; and electricity used in hotel rooms - to earn Cleaner and Greener event certification. Exhibitors were asked to use displays that do not emit toxic fumes during installation.

Energy efficiency - The newly opened McCormick Place West Building - certified by the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System - reduced the lights, power, and HVAC during move-in and move-out times. Hotels selected were within walking distance of the center or public transportation; hotels implemented towel/sheet reuse program, did not replace amenities unless consumed, and shut off HVAC when guests were not in their rooms.

Water conservation - The center served drinking water from large containers, not individual bottles. The caterer did not pre-fill drinking glasses at meal functions or provide saucers under coffee cups.

Waste minimization - The center, caterer, and hotels followed recycling, reduction, and reuse programs, and donated leftover food. Exhibitors recycled cardboard and freight materials, and minimized packaging and collateral materials.

Environmental purchasing - The center provided a minimum of 20 percent recycled products for hand towels and toilet paper, and a minimum of 50 percent environmentally responsible cleaning products.The caterer provided locally grown and organic foods wherever possible and affordable (minimum 20 percent of meals), purchased condiments and beverages in bulk, and participated in a food-composting program. Name badges were printed on recycled paper, holders were recycled, conference bags and giveaways made of recycled materials, and programs printed on postconsumer recycled paper with soy-based ink.

Going Green on the Ground

What eco-friendly ground transportation options can you offer your group? Here are tips from Catherine Chaulet, senior vice president of events at BostonCoach (www.bostoncoach.com):

• Work with a ground transportation company that offers hybrid vehicles. The Toyota Prius is the most familiar hybrid vehicle on the market.
• Utilize business-class vans. Ridesharing in businessclass vans reduces your environmental footprint without sacrificing the amenities senior executives expect. Business-class vans consume only about one-third more fuel than sedans.
• Schedule fewer vehicles to transport guests less frequently. Have the shuttle pick up guests every 20 minutes instead of every 10 to cut down on fuel consumption and emissions. Be sure to tell your guests about your green goals; attendees will generally be happy to wait a little longer if they know it's for a good cause.
• Consider emission-free vehicles when available and appropriate. For instance, pedicabs, peddle-powered cycles that can usually accommodate two passengers, are a fun alternative means of transportation to an event