Reason to Believe

or at least attend. The Green Meeting Industry Council's Sustainable Meetings Conference will take place in Denver, CO February 9-11, 2010. Here are the top 10 reasons why this is a must-attend event...

10. Green Strategies Save Money: Green meeting specialists know how to save money onsite - by cutting waste, working with local suppliers, and proving that the "eco" in eco-efficiency is about economy as well as ecology.

9. Earning Customer Loyalty: A sustainable meeting builds customer loyalty, showing participants that their organization cares about the bigger picture-even in hard times.

8. Improving the Onsite Experience: The skills and knowledge behind a sustainable meeting can help you create a smarter, more interactive learning experience for participants.

7. Competitive Advantage for Vendors: Hoteliers and other vendors who demonstrate green knowledge and performance gain competitive advantage in an economy where any advantage is crucial to the bottom line.

6. Measuring the Bottom Line: Green performance metrics can only succeed environmentally if they pay off financially. So green measurement is a great way to assess the return your organization receives from its meetings investment.

5. Managing and Mitigating Risk: Leading organizations like Oracle, The Gap, the American Institute of Architects, and the U.S. Green Building Council know that greening is the "right" thing to do. But it also mitigates risk. For top associations and Fortune 500 businesses, sustainable meetings are a great way to demonstrate good citizenship and corporate social responsibility (CSR).

4. Striking the Balance: Meeting professionals have been struggling to find a balance between live and virtual meetings and to cope with the mounting challenges surrounding air travel. The 2010 Sustainable Meetings Conference is a place to explore solutions that keep the participant experience front and center.

3. Learning the Standard: The program for the 2010 Sustainable Meetings Conference is built around the green meetings standard that will soon be released by the U.S. Accepted Practices Commission (APEX). Learning the practicalities of this detailed new standard will be an advantage for every organization that participates in the conference.

2. Building a Network: The annual Sustainable Meetings Conference draws a network of senior, experienced meeting professionals who've built their green checklists into strategic action plans that support their companies' core values and objectives. Attending the conference is the first step in making these thought leaders and decision-makers a part of your network.

1. Building Momentum: This conference is about getting green done! On the first day, the Future Leaders' Forum and the Leaders' Track will both deliver action goals for the year ahead. At the closing roundtable, GMIC will invite leading meeting experts and association leaders to discuss next steps for building a sustainable industry.For more information, visit www.sustainablemeetingsconference.com.