Walking the Talk

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is putting its money where its mouth is. Prospective meeting venues for the agency will now be judged based on their green initiatives.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has given its procurement staff a list of questions that, as of last month, they must now ask hotels and convention centers that are bidding for EPA business. The questions run the gamut from recycling programs and energy efficiency to paperless billing and reused towels. Answers will be considered when evaluating bids.

"We can use our own purchasing power to influence behavior, and to strengthen the link to our mission of protecting health and the environment," Thomas O'Connell, an EPA procurement director who led the Green Meetings Work Group that devised the new rule, told The New York Times.

According to the Times article, the EPA spends about $50 million on travel annually, much of it for meeting spaces. The General Services Administration (GSA), which sets policy for all government travel, is amending its own rules to suggest that meeting planners throughout the government consult the EPA checklist. That could affect a significant chunk of the $13.5 billion in annual federal spending for travel.

The EPA will not check on the truthfulness of a hotel's answers, and planners can accept bids from hotels that are not high environmental scorers. "But meeting planners usually follow our recommendations," Peggy DeProspero, travel director for the GSA, told the Times. 

EPA's Green Checklist

Convene contacted the EPA to get its list of questions for hotels and convention centers regarding their green practices. Here they are:

1. Do you have a recycling program? If so, please describe.

2. Do you have a linen/towel reuse option that is communicated to guests?

3. Do guests have easy access to public transportation or shuttle services at your facility?

4. Are lights and air conditioning turned off when rooms are not in use? If so, how do you ensure this?

5. Do you provide bulk dispensers or reusable containers for beverages, food and condiments?

6. Do you provide reusable serving utensils, napkins and tablecloths when food and beverages are served?

7. Do you have an energy efficiency program? Please describe.

8. Do you have a water conservation program? Please describe.

9. Does your facility provide guests with paperless check-in & check-out?

10. Does your facility use recycled or recyclable products? Please describe.

11. Do you source food from local growers or take into account the growing practices of farmers that provide the food? Please describe.

12. Do you use biobased or biodegradable products, including biobased cafeteriaware? Please describe.

13. Do you provide training to your employees on these green initiatives? Please describe.

14. What other environmental initiatives have you undertaken, including any environment-related certifications you possess, EPA voluntary partnerships in which you participate, support of a green suppliers network, or other initiatives? Include ''Green Meeting'' information in your quotation so that we may consider environmental preferability in selection of our meeting venue.

Greening Your Space

Employees like green - not just more of it in their paychecks, but an overwhelming percentage prefer an environmentally friendly place to work

According to a recent poll by Mortgage Lenders Network USA, 94 percent of Americans prefer to work in a building that is designed to be energy efficient and ecologically sound.

Women appear to be more environmentally concerned than men: 72 percent of working women declare a strong preference for green employers, versus 64 percent of men. And, a larger percentage of Americans ages 45-54 would prefer to work in an eco-friendly building versus their less eco-minded counterparts ages 25-34 (74 percent versus 62 percent).

Employers seem to be getting the message: The U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certifications for newly constructed green buildings has jumped in the past three years by 150 percent, from 167 to 417.

You may not work in a LEED building, but you can make simple changes or encourage your organization to take steps to green your workplace, such as:

1. Turn off equipment when it's not being used. This can reduce the energy used by 25 percent; turning off the computers at the end of the day can save an additional 50 percent.

2. Reduce fax-related paper waste by using a fax-modem and by using a fax cover sheet only when necessary.

3. Use both sides of the page.

4. Find a supply of paper with maximum available recycled content.

5. Choose suppliers who take back packaging for reuse.

6. Buy "greener" products and services locally. The farther your supplies or service providers have to travel, the more energy used.

7. Turn off the lights in common areas once everyone leaves.

8. Get indoor plants.

9. Use Energy Star certified equipment.

10. Put out recycling bins for paper, plastic, and glass.

11. Visit Environmentally Preferable Purchasing, a Web site from the EPA that offers guidance on purchasing eco-friendly office supplies (www.epa.gov/epp).

 12. Telecommute when feasible.  

Conquering Commuting

"One of the biggest impacts your office makes is how people get there," Elysa Hammond, staff ecologist for sports nutrition bar manufacturer Clif Bar, told Sales & Marketing Management magazine. Clif Bar motivates employees to carpool, walk, bike, or take public transportation to work. Staff members earn points for making eco-friendly commutes and at the end of each month are rewarded with gift certificates for up to $60 at such places as Whole Foods. Here are some Web sites addressing workplace commuting:

• A cooperative effort of the EPA, the U.S. Department of Transportation, and participating corporations, Best Workplaces for Commuters (www.bwc.gov) provides information for employers and employees looking for gas-guzzling alternatives.
• The Sacramento Transportation Management Association helps more than 87,000 commuters find alternatives to commuting to work. Its Web site www.sacramento-tma.org/Bicycling.htm offers checklists and advice on riding bikes to work.
• www.sierraclub.org/sprawl/transportation/commute.asp provides ways for employers to help reduce motor vehicle mileage.
• Calculate the financial and environmental benefits of alternative transportation: http://transportation.stanford.edu/alt_transportation/calculator.shtml.
• Check out www.carfree.com, which "proposes a delightful solution to the vexing problem of urban automobiles."

° Michelle Russell is Convene's editor.