All About Green
Your Megatrends article in Convene’s March issue on ecolabeling highlights a critical and emerging industry issue, particularly as we see more companies angling to secure their share of the growing green market.
The bad news is there is not a universally accepted standard for green meeting practice, as you point out. But efforts are under way to address this, including the joint-APEX/ASTM Green Meetings Standard. As a result of this, we will be able to concretely define what a green meeting is, both in terms of process and clear performance criteria. (For more information on the standard development process, contact ppicarie@astm.org.)
In the absence of an oversight [group] and standard, the question remains: How do meeting professionals make good decisions and ensure we represent what we do appropriately and ethically from an environmental perspective?
The useful ecolabels that are available to help us locate things like greener hotels and meeting venues include Green Seal, Green Key, Green Globe, LEED, and EU Flower. But certainly all standards are not created equal. Some of these ecolabels are stronger than others, using independent, third parties to assess performance. Some do not. It is also important to point out that some ecolabels do not cover specialized needs planners may have. There is presently no way to assess the green performance of exhibit companies, decorators, or destination cities as a whole. In the end, the onus is on each of us to research the criteria used for each green claim, and make the best decision for our clients, the environment, and the communities we meet in.
As more and more meeting planners and suppliers promote themselves as “green,” we should all be mindful of avoiding what TerraChoice calls the Six Sins of Greenwashing (http://tinyurl. com/3sctyn). Here are comments from my recent post to Nancy Wilson’s Green Meetings Blog (http://blog.meeting strategiesworldwide.com/) about how these “sins” are relevant to us:

1. The Sin of the Hidden Trade-off. That is fabulous you can provide organic produce, but I would really prefer something local that does not need to be shipped 3,000 km. from farm to plate.
2. The Sin of No-Proof. So, exactly what environmentally responsible cleaners do you use anyway? Can I see them?
3. The Sin of Vagueness. I appreciate that you provide a zero-waste conference, but what does that really mean?
4. The Sin of Irrelevance. That is a new one — I’ve never heard of a water-conserving light bulb before.
5. The Sin of Fibbing. But I thought you said you were a Green Seal–certified hotel?
6. The Sin of the Lesser of Two Evils. It’s great that you planned a carbon neutral conference, but did you actually reduce any emissions?

TerraChoice’s report highlights examples of the treacherous ethical ground often navigated when marketing a green product or service. It’s important to always keep these sins in mind when we make the claim to “be green” in our meetings.
Your advice to substantiate, participate and benchmark is key. The need for transparency and verification can’t be understated. Conduct a back-of-house tour to confirm if promised practices are in place, or space exists for recycling. Provide and ask for measurable data to prove practice.
Both the planner and supplier need to communicate clearly about what is expected in terms of environmental practice. We also have a responsibility to inform attendees about what we are doing because they too are wanting to know what it means when we say we are offering a green meeting.

 Shawna McKinley
Project Manager
Meeting Strategies Worldwide

Green Meetings
I wanted to pass along a green meeting idea for your readers. We have started using carbonless speaker evaluations. The evaluations are printed on triplicate carbonless paper, which we have printed at Office Depot for $55 for 250 copies - very reasonable.
At the conclusion of educational sessions, our moderators collect the completed evaluations, tear off the pink copy and yellow copy and give to the speakers. Talk about immediate feedback! We also save money and labor - no copying, posting, scanning, and/or mailing of evaluations.

Torryn P. Brazell, ACA, GPC, CMP, CAE
Executive Director
National Grants Management Association

Behind The Scenes, March
Being a "cover to cover" kind of reader, the first thing I read in your March issue was your Behind the Scenes column regarding the airlines/security/flights and our increasingly "inhospitable" industry. My "major hotel chain" national sales rep and I were having lunch not two hours ago talking about the rudeness issue, the lack of meaning of relationships anymore, and the greater lack of respect for planners and employees.
But I am responding mostly to the first issue in your column about the airlines.
As an industry, we've talked and talked and talked about it … and you are absolutely right, the issues have crossed over from simply consumer service issues to now becoming full-fledged safety issues.
The air traffic control system is archaic and outdated (I had a pilot on a recent flight refer to ATC as "the chaos" that is air traffic control), customer service is non-existent during every part of the travel process, and the story you referred to about being stuck nine hours in a plane is absolutely the poster-child story for how it's all about the profit over safety and comfort. And from where I sit, no one seems to be concerned about these issues, or doing anything about them.
This is about more than stale peanuts and paying for bad airline food - it's about the lives of our members, our attendees, our colleagues, our friends, and families. It's about the American economy (it's the economy, stupid!) - not only the travel dollar spending, but more importantly, it's about the educational and learning opportunities we provide to our attendees that allow them to, in turn, do more, grow their businesses, and learn skills and techniques that will make a difference in all of our lives.
How bad does air travel have to be before our attendees start saying, "You know, it's not worth the hassle."
How many incidents do there need to be before our attendees start saying the risk is too high?
How uncomfortable will it get before our attendees say, "Why am I putting myself through this?"
How many accidents will there be before the FAA and others will be forced into action, and how long will it be before air travel feels "safe" again?

Michele F. Liston, CMP
Director, Meetings and Education
NAILBA National Association of Independent Life Brokerage Agencies

How Adults Learn, Now
I have enjoyed following the How Adults Learn, Now series written by Glen Ramsborg and Sue Tinnish. These articles remind meeting professionals to not lose focus on what really matters at meetings - optimizing the adult learning experience.
The principles and factors discussed provide a framework for creating and executing an effective learning environment. Notably, using the musical analogy made the material more realistic and easy to apply.
These valuable articles have also reinforced the need to continue implementing good educational practices in my classroom.
Keep the strong educational content coming - that is what makes Convene such an outstanding publication!

Amanda Cecil, Ph.D, CMP
Indiana University