Wednesday, December 17, 2008

You Should Be Ashamed!

An article in The Oregonian newspaper on December 4, 2008, is headlined, “Oregon Convention Center's eco-friendly policy boosts business.” That is great news! I read on to see that,
“The International Oil Spill Conference -- worth 4,800 hotel room nights, $4 million to $5 million for the local economy and untold possibilities with worldwide visitors -- had just agreed to bring its 2011 gathering to Portland. One of the city's best selling points? The Oregon Convention Center's promotion of environmentally friendly programs.”
Fantastic, the Convention Center is seeing the competitive advantage of being environmentally friendly. This is, of course, in addition to the amount of energy (money) the Oregon Convention Center is saving by having adopted these practices. Wow, I think, that is a win/win worth talking about!

Until I read a little further in the article where it states they are now charging to receive measurable data
...“For an additional $800 daily, the conference organizers will receive daily breakdowns of the energy they use and conserve, how much was recycled, and composted and other savings.”

Really?…Why should the conference organizer pay more when the Oregon Convention Center is generating business and enjoying economic savings--especially in these economic times? As a meeting professional, I would either expect they provide this service at no additional cost or it would be a dealbreaker!

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