With its wide-open spaces, mountaintop views, and Pacific coastlines, the West is a natural environment for your next meeting. And we mean natural. When you bring your meeting to the West, you'll find stunning destinations where the locals share a passion for the environment and a commitment to keeping their corner of the world pristine.

For the growing number of planners who want to incorporate sustainable initiatives in their meetings and conventions in order to minimize their environmental footprint, the West is truly a natural fit.

It should come as no surprise that the Western Association of Convention & Visitor Bureaus' (WACVB) members have been ahead of the curve in embracing green meeting practices. They are well prepared to help planners accomplish their educational goals and exceed their attendees' expectations - while keeping the environment top of mind.

Here are a handful of the initiatives cities, convention centers, hotels, and convention and visitors bureaus across the Western United States and Canada have taken to lessen their impact on the environment, and the ways in which they have been recognized for their efforts:

Portland, Ore.
Portland is known for its green spaces and proximity to natural wonders like the Columbia River Gorge and Mount Hood. The city is also known as an incubator for progressive urban planning, environmentally conscious public policy, and the sustainable development movement.

The Rain Garden at the Oregon Convention Center might look purely decorative, but it was designed to cleanse the rainwater that drains from the convention center's massive roof. As the rainwater flows though a series of pools, native grasses, and rocks, it is filtered of pollutants. This ensures that the water that eventually reaches the nearby Willamette River is as clean as possible.

The Doubletree Hotel & Executive Meeting Center Portland-Lloyd Center has earned a Green Seal GS-33 Lodging Sustainability certification. The 476-room Doubletree - which hosted the national conference of the Green Meeting Industry Council in February 2007 - is the first lodging property in Oregon to receive this "green hotel" designation, which includes a set of stringent criteria that encourages hotels to adopt environmental standards and practices in their everyday operations.

The ongoing efforts of the Hilton Portland & Executive Tower - the largest hotel in Oregon - have also been recognized by Green Seal with the coveted Green Seal Lodging Properties certification. In late 2005, Hilton Portland & Executive Tower turned its attention to "greening" hotel operations. The 782-room Hilton Portland & Executive Tower recognized the opportunity to reduce its environmental impact and improve sustainability (replacing toxic products with eco-friendly products is one example) - while saving energy and money.

Santa Clara Convention Center, Calif.
For the fourth consecutive year, the California Integrated Waste Management Board has awarded the Santa Clara Convention Center the WRAP Award (Waste Reduction Awards Program) for its efforts; the convention center's recycling program has reduced waste by nearly 90 tons annually. "It's an honor to be awarded for our part in saving the environment," said Steve Van Dorn, president and general manager. "Our convention center is an example of what we all can do if we make reducing waste and recycling a priority." Since April 2002, the convention center has recycled paper, cardboard, glass, and aluminum. What's more, the center's full-service caterer, ARAMARK, contributed food to Second Harvest Food Bank. The center also sells equipment it can no longer use, purchases recycled paper products, buys in bulk, recycles toner cartridges, and uses refillable soap dispensers.

Spokane, Wash.
The management team at the Spokane Facilities District has earned Silver Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification from the U.S. Green Buildings Council for the nearly two-year-old Group Health Exhibit Hall. The Group Health Exhibit Hall is only the third convention center in the country to earn the prestigious designation. The $89 million "green" Group Health Exhibit Hall at the Spokane Convention Center opened in July 2006 with 100,160 square feet of exhibit space.

Tourism Vancouver, Canada
Tourism Vancouver has committed to "greening" all of its staff's air travel with the purchase of carbon offset credits through Uniglobe Travel's Green Flight program, the only program of its type in Canada. Tourism Vancouver is the first destination marketing organization to commit to offsetting all of its flights through the program. In 2007, Tourism Vancouver offset approximately 220 metric tons of emissions resulting from the organization's air travel through investments in sustainable green energy projects in Western Canada that have been approved by the federal government. The organization will not only offset flights taken by staff traveling for sales and marketing business, but also those flights purchased to bring travel influencer clients, customers, and media to Vancouver. Through Tourism Vancouver's partnership with Uniglobe Advance Travel, the organization will also be offering all convention delegates coming to Vancouver for conferences and meetings the opportunity to purchase carbon offset credits, further extending the impact of the program.

West Hollywood, Calif.
The West Hollywood Marketing & Visitors Bureau (WHMVB) has begun incorporating earth-friendly practices into everyday workplace activities. This initiative directly correlates with the WHMVB's new slogan of "Living Forward" and is designed to contribute to the global goal of preserving the environment. In partnership with Cultivate Communications, the WHMVB printed its official 2008 West Hollywood Visitors Guide, and will print all further collateral, on earth-friendly paper. Cultivate also prints the Bureau's quarterly newsletter, OnePointNine: Business Edition on FSC- (Forest Stewardship Council) certified paper. The WHMVB has implemented the use of USB flash drives, which are small, lightweight, and rewriteable, to supplement the use of printed press kits. The flash drives include an electronic representation of a West Hollywood media kit and allow WHMVB to bring its message to the press quickly and easily while using less paper. The WHMVB office also has implemented a company-wide recycling program and plans to offer recommendations to local hotels and other businesses on how they can make their working environments greener.

Visit www.thewest.travel and click on "Members/Find a CVB" for a complete resource of destinations in the West.