"Get Your Green On" Wins IMEX Award

Congratulations to Shawna McKinley, MeetGreen; Judy Kucharuk, Footprint Management; and QuickMobile for winning the IMEX Award for Commitment to Community.  This awesome threesome was recognized during IMEX 2012 for the "Get Your Green On" app designed for EventCamp Vancouver.

They also wrote and recently published a case study on developing the application which can be found here http://pdxmeetgreen.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/GetYourGreenOn.pdf

 Who says hard work, creativity and risk-taking don't pay off?

Measurement: The Next Step

As evidenced at the GMIC Sustainable Meetings Conference last month, measurement and reporting of environmental impact has finally taken hold.  Presentations were no longer about educating participants on why measure, instead they included real-life statistics and information proving the value of green meetings.  Yes (fist pump)!

Venues, hotels and meeting organizers are validating their environmental and economic savings with data. Take a look at the stats from one session compiled by Shawna McKinley.  Reporting mechanisms such as calculators, case studies, and corporate reports are being used to tell the story.  Sustainable meetings are good business!

Greenwashing tales of why an organization is a "good corporate citizen" are now being questioned and the public wants solid facts and figures to back it up.  Social media, with its radical transparency, are pushing this trend forward.

It is heartening to witness this shift in the hospitality industry and know we are on the way to a more sustainable future.

photo credit: Green Meeting Industry Council

Carpooling on the Information Highway

The media (social and otherwise) allows so much information to flow through our lives each day, it is tough to filter.  Does a certain article or post warrant a blog entry with careful consideration, or do I just need to pass the information on to you?

 Organically (no pun intended), I seem to be using my Twitter account @nancyjzavada to post quick bits of information on our industry, environmental or social impacts of meetings, and other travel/meeting related happenings.  Blogging has been used more for our organization's tips, ideas, experiences and of course, pretentious musings.  So be it.

First of all, my thanks for reading this blog and I promise to stay relevant and informative as green meetings and events continue to evolve.  Secondly, feel free to follow me on Twitter @nancyjzavada to see what has caught my eye in this big, noisy world we live in. 

Please feel free to point me in the direction of great stories and comment on any of the posts.  Like any good carpool, there is plenty of room for all of us.

Yes, Paul, We Are All In!

Onstage at the GMIC Sustainable Meetings Conference, Harith Wikrema challenged the audience to donate to the Foundation by saying he would match any donations made that day.  Not missing a beat, Mitchell Beer, Foundation Chair, popped up and said he would collect them.

Immediately, people started getting out of their seats and handing cash to Mitchell.  Someone brought him a shopping bag to gather all the money and the giving just kept on going.  Presenters had to stop their discussion while the crowd dug through purses and pulled out wallets while working their way to Mitchell.  It was like an old-time church revival with the energy in the room building with each donation.  I have never seen anything like it at an industry meeting.  Several others shouted out that they would match the total as well.

$1,008.35 was raised in a matter of minutes!

The community-minded professionals in the room walked the talk so the Foundation can continue to fund important educational programs bringing sustainability to the meeting industry.  This is why GMIC and it's members make such a difference in our world.  As Paul Salinger, GMIC President, said in his opening remarks, "We are all in!"  Two days later, we proved it.