EcoGreenHotel

On Saturday, March 27th at 8:30 p.m. local time, the largest public demonstration for action on climate change will take place as lights are symbolically turned off for one hour. One billion citizens of the world joined in 2009 and this year won’t be any less than massive.

Since it’s inception three years ago, the World Wildlife Fund’s (WWF) Earth Hour encourages everyone from homes, office buildings, iconic landmarks to universities, cities and municipalities to turn off their lights for an hour – saving some electric energy in the short term while encouraging all to ponder and act on environmental issues in the long term.

Some of the world’s recognized symbols of hope, peace, human endeavor and natural wonder will plunge into darkness including CN Tower in Toronto, Table Mountain in Cape Town, Grand Palace in Bangkok to the Golden Gate Bridge, Mount Rushmore and the world’s second tallest building Taipei 101.

The Earth Hour 2010 video, provides a powerful message by the world’s most recognized landmarks contributing to the greatest display of civil action the world has ever witnessed.

Show your guests you care and play an active role in your community, the world, by inviting them to participate. Although you can’t turn off all the hotel lights since you operate 24/7, but you can ask your guests to turn the room lights off and join you in the lobby or restaurant to mingle over drinks – maybe even hand out tree or plant seeds at the end or educate them on what your hotel is doing to reduce it’s green house gases and become sustainable. I can just imagine all the creative ways you can get your guests to join in the fun!

With 25 days left, here at EcoGreenHotel, we’ll be planning our own electricity-free activities – and yes, we have signed up! You can find out if your state, city, town, business or organization has signed up to join Earth Hour by visiting www.earthhour.org and clicking on your state.

EcoGreenHotel’s Director of Sustainability, Jeff Kiec recently completed a series of green hotel case study presentations in Texas and Arkansas. Along with the local Convention and Visitor Bureaus of Bentonville, Arkansas and Plano, Texas and the SBDC for Enterprise Excellence, EcoGreenHotel spread the word about hospitality sustainability initiatives.

One of the most attention-grabbing topics addressed was the use of Eco-Labels and the growing importance of third party certification programs to determine the true extent of a green hotel’s sustainability initiatives. A consensus was reached that there is an immense need for the hospitality industry to determine a clearer definition of a truly “green” hotel. This would help to reward those hotels that implement and maintain robust sustainability programs and marginalize those that overstate or completely green-wash their efforts for short-term gain.  During the question and answer sessions, discussions developed on how to differentiate the hard work required to achieve various green hotel certifications and which of those programs garner the most credibility amongst the traveling public and sustainability professionals.

In addition, a common thread was uncovered, the willingness of the municipalities to support hotels in their efforts to operate in a sustainable manor. Christopher Day, Commercial Recycling Supervisor for the City of Plano, provides guidance and training for businesses to develop robust recycling programs of all sizes. Helping create recycling programs is viewed as a win-win situation for both the municipalities and the hotels. By reducing the amount garage sent to land fills, the City wins by reducing long-term re-occurring costs. The hotels win by reducing the number of weekly hauls, reducing total cost of hauling, creating a revenue stream with its recyclable products and creating a culture of environmental responsibility among its employees.

Due to the interest and success of this series of presentations, EcoGreenHotel will be hosting another round of presentations in Dallas, Austin and San Antonio in the coming months.  The future case study presentations with cover the role of social media in reputation management, expanded detail on Eco-labels, third party certifications, and additional real world cost savings case studies.

EcoGreenHotel would like to pay special thanks to Wendy Bader of the Bentonville Convention and Visitors Bureau, Mark Thompson of the Plano Convention and Visitors Bureau, and Tom Pryor of the Small Business Development Center of Enterprise Excellence.  We appreciate your efforts and help!

You can learn more about their organizations at:

http://www.sbdcexcellence.org

http://www.bentonvilleusa.org

http://www.planocvb.com/main/index.php

As we look towards better days in 2010 I am reminded of a presentation, I attend at the ALIS conference few years back, by a noted futurist, discussing the business, economic and social trends that we could expect to see in the next 10, 20 even 50 years.

It was an eye-opener, very thought provoking and certainly relevant to a room full of room full of hoteliers. I recently thought about that when I came across the book the EXTREME FUTURE by James Canton. In it, you will be glad to know that the author predicts a move toward green sustainability, as well as great business opportunities for those involved in eco-friendly products and services. We are EcoGreenHotel hope he is right!
The book itself is a visual trip forward, taking the reader to tomorrowland, but also explaining in detail the trends that will shape our world in the 21st century. This has been a life’s work for Mr. Canton, who heads up the Institute for Global Futures, a San Francisco think tank that forecasts trends for government and corporate clients. He was once a student of Alvin Toffler, who wrote Future Shock way back in 1970 and was a pioneer in the field of FUTURISM.

Forecasting is a key business component for all companies, and to many of us it is a vital part of our jobs. From his book, here are the top 10 trends that James Canton sees for the future:

The Top 10 Trends of The Extreme Future:

1. Fueling the Future – The energy crisis, the post-oil future, and the future of energy alternatives like hydrogen. The critical role that energy will play in every aspect of our lives in the 21st century.

2. The Innovation Economy – The transformation of the global economy based on the convergence of free trade, technology and democracy, driving new jobs, new markets, globalization, competition, peace and security. The Four Power Tools of the Innovation Economy are Nano-Bio-IT-Neuro.

3. The Next Workforce – How the workforce of the U.S. is becoming more multicultural, more female and more Hispanic. Why the future workforce must embrace innovation to become globally competitive.

4. Longevity Medicine – The key forces that will radically alter medicine such as nanotech, neurotech, and genomics, leading to longer and healthier lives.

5. Weird Science – How science will transform every aspect of our lives, culture and economy—from teleportation to nanobiology to multiple universes.

6. Securing the Future – The top threats to our freedom and our lives, from hackers to terrorists to mind control. Defining the risk landscape of the 21st century.

7. The Future of Globalization – The new realities of global trade and competition; the rise of China and India; the clash of cultures and ideologies; and the cultural-economic battle for the future.

8. The Future of Climate Change – How the environment is changing and how we need to prepare for increased global warming, pollution, and threats to biodiversity.

9. The Future of the Individual – The risks and challenges from institutions, governments, and ideologies in the struggle for human rights and the freedom of the individual in the 21st century.

10. The Future of America – The power of America and its destiny to champion global democracy, innovation, human rights and free markets. Copyright © 2007 Dr. James Canton & IGF

And, while no one can truly predict the future, having access to knowledge and trending information is critical to anyone who has a stake in where we are all headed.
EXTREME FUTURE also recognizes that the convergence of many of these single trends also have implications and impacts on each other. Fascinating reading, both from a business and personal perspective, the book is now available in paperback. Let us know what you think, and if you have a book that you highly recommend let us know that as well and we will pass the word.

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Fads come and go and by now we’ve all heard of the concept  ‘going green’. Some may overlook this terminology as a short-term marketing fad. However, many global industry leaders recognized the economic advantages of going green and chose to become pioneers in the sustainability movement. They recognized that incorporating sustainable practices into daily operations provide tremendous long-term benefits for their profits, employees, suppliers, vendors, and surrounding communities.
Since 2001 Toyota’s Green Supplier Guidelines ask suppliers to go beyond legal and social requirements and to undertake activities that support its environmental goals. Apple Computers now requires its global supply base to sign Supplier Code of Conduct that incorporates a broad spectrum of sustainable business practices.

Wal-Mart’s Sustainability 360 program engages its 8,000 retail locations, 100,000 suppliers, and 2 million associates to develop goals to reduce their environmental footprint. The entire company is committed to reaching the sustainability goals by committing to purchase 100 percent renewable energy, create zero waste and sell products that sustain people and resources.
The hospitality industry is rapidly adopting similar practices. Marriott hotels has over 275 EnergyStar labeled hotels and is committed to increasing its green hotel portfolio ten fold in the next five years. It has 50 Marriott branded hotels in design, development, or under construction are expected to achieve the US Green Building Council’s LEED Certification in 2010. InterContinental Hotel Group is currently developing, Green Engage, an extensive in-house sustainability software program that will soon assist over 4400 hotels in 150 countries increase energy efficiency, reduce water consumption, eliminate waste, and lower their impact on the environment.

Sustainability is here to stay. Over the coming years the concept will become a more effective of a tool for businesses to find hidden cost savings and operational improvements.
Interested in learning how your hotel can go green? EcoGreenHotel is working with local convention and visitor bureaus to help promote sustainability through a series of green hotel case study presentations. This February EcoGreenHotel will be presenting to Bentonville, Arkansas area hotels to show how they can help Wal-Mart achieve its sustainability goals. Visit EcoGreenHotel to learn more: www.ecogreenhotel.com

About Author
Jeff Kiec, LEED-AP and Corporate Director of Sustainability, is a veteran of the environmental service industry. His experience includes engineering building assessments, operational sustainability audits, and environmental site assessments. He has project experience in a range of property types including industrial, multi-family residential and commercial office buildings. As the Sustainability Director for Deep Ellum, a historic arts and entertainment neighborhood in Dallas, Texas, Kiec is responsible for education and working with neighborhood businesses and property owners to incorporate sustainable building technologies.
Driven by passion, EcoGreenHotel is dedicated to helping lodging facilities address environmental issues and achieve the Triple Bottom Line. EcoGreenHotel.com is also a great resource for tools, checklists, current news and trends, as well as a marketplace for green products and services at EcoGreenHotelStore.com.
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EcoGreenHotel recognizes Caroma as a leader in smart technology for water conservation in the hospitality industry. If you are in the midst of planning ahospitality development or in preparation stage of a renovation you must consider Caroma dual flush toilets and high efficiency urinals to bring easy maintenance and easy water savings to your project.

With Caroma’s high efficiency (HET) dual flush toilets, you don’t need to trade flushing performance for water savings. Caroma’s toilets are designed to work together as a complete flushing system that takes into consideration waste removal as well as proper drainline carry out.

Using gravity forced “washdown”, this system delivers more energy from less water and pushes (rather than siphons) waste out of the bowl, quite simply making the water work harder and more efficiently.

All Caroma floor-mount toilets are WaterSense labeled, meaning they use at least 20% less water than the current federal standard while still providing equal or superior performance. It’s a simple two button flushing system. The reduced flush button releases 0.8 gallons per flush (gpf) for liquid and paper waste. The full flush button releases 1.28-1.6 gpf for solid waste. This can save up to 44% more water than the standard 1.6 gpf single flush toilet and up to 74% more water than a 3.5 gpf single flush toilet.

Caroma is also a major supplier of high efficiency urinals. The H2Zero waterless urinal utilizes breakthrough technology to use zero water for optimum performance and water conservation. The H2Zero’s unique patented cartridge technology does not use an oil-based seal, as traditionally used in waterless urinals. The Bio Seal™ allows urine to pass through the seal freely, eliminating unnecessary waste build-up within the cartridge and acts as a one-way airtight valve to seal the cartridge from the drainage system.

The Cube3 Ultra urinal is the first liquid-sensing automatic flushing mechanism that detects usage rather than motion to activate the electronic flush valve, eliminating accidental flushing. The smart controller automatically reduces flushing frequency during periods of high use.
Businesses and households enjoy other features of Caroma toilets. For example, the trap size is nearly double the North American standard, enabling the system to eliminate clogging and double flushing. Additionally, Caroma 270 toilets come with an adjustable offset connector for 10”-12” rough-ins that accommodate rough-in variations and make the toilet ideal for retrofits and renovations. The unique style and clean lines also provide for easy cleaning.

The Hilton Palacio del Rio hotel in San Antonio installed 470 Caroma Sydney 305 elongated toilets in 2007. During the first eight months after the toilet installation, the Hilton Palacio had saved nearly six million gallons of water compared to the same months one year earlier. Guest complaints about toilet problems have dropped more than 90%.
More information is available at www.caromausa.com or (800) 605-4218.

Do you know about an environmentally-friendly product that deserves to be the subject of an EcoFeature? Tell us about it in an email to info@EcoGreenHotel.com and we may spotlight it on our website or blog, or in our newsletter!

About EcoGreenHotel
EcoGreenHotel conducts sustainability and energy efficiency analysis of hotels. EGH specializes infinding local, state and government programs that offer credits and rebates available to owners, developers and operators of hotels. Additionally, EGHhosts on-site workshops, case study seminars,staff training, and guides facilities through the LEED, Green Seal and Energy Star certification process.

www.EcoGreenHotel.com offers a marketplace for green hotel products and services and provides a one- stop venue for green hospitality industry news, basic environmental overviews and other tools like green hotel checklists, project ideas, book lists, and valuable links designed to promote a more sustainable hospitality industry.
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The Bentonville Convention & Visitors Bureau and EcoGreenHotel have teamed up to bring the local hotel community an educational look inside the Green Hospitality movement. EcoGreenHotel’s Jeff Kiec LEED AP will be presenting real world case studies. Bentonville is the worldwide headquarters of Wal-Mart a global corporate leader in the sustainability movement.  Jeff Kiec is the Corporate Director of Sustainability and will present examples of hotel energy efficiency, innovative technologies and green marketing. All case studies are based on real results from around the country. These proven solutions help general managers and building engineers increase their occupancy while lowering their overall costs.

Learn how hotels can quickly and economically stay competitive with leaders in the hospitality industry that are gaining the attention of the green traveler.  The case studies will cover:

• “Eco labels” for hotels
• Swimming pool energy  and chemical use reductions
• Occupancy Based Energy Management Systems
• Guest room and back of the house recycling programs
• Operational cost savings
• Web-based marketing strategies
• And much more…..

There will be no charge for the event and will include a great lunch sponsored by US Energy Solutions. In addition, EcoGreenHotel will provide a free EnergyStar benchmark evaluation to a local hotel as a door prize.

Who should attend? – Hotel Owners, Management Companies, General Managers, Building Engineers, Sales & Marketing Directors

Thursday  February 11^th 11:30am -1:00pm

DoubleTree Guest Suites Hotel

301 Southeast Walton Boulevard
Bentonville, AR 72712

Event Limited to 40 participants

Please RSVP to Wendy@bentonville.org

If you cannot make the Bentonville Event you can join us in Arlington TX on Tuesday February 16^th 2010 or Plano TX Thursday February 18^th 2010. Email JKiec@EcoGreenHotel.com for more information. Also contact us if you would like to hold a similar event in your area.

About Jeff Kiec

Jeff Kiec, LEED-AP

Corporate Director of Sustainability-EcoGreenHotel

Mr. Kiec is a veteran in the environmental service industry. His experience includes engineering building assessments, building and operational sustainability audits, and environmental site assessments. As the volunteer Sustainability Director for Deep Ellum, a historic arts and entertainment neighborhood in Dallas, Mr. Kiec is responsible for educating and working with neighborhood businesses and property owners to incorporate sustainable building technologies.

EcoGreenHotel is a valuable resource for hotels dedicated to supporting hospitality sustainability. You can visit www.EcoGreenHotel.com or www.EcoGreenHotelStore.com for more information.

Eco-Efficiency, also generally termed “green,” is based on the concept of creating more goods and services while using fewer resources and creating less waste and pollution. In other words, it means doing more with less. So what does this have to do with your bottom line? It helps hotels provide better service while using fewer resources. Thereby, reducing the materials and energy intensity of goods and services lowers the hotel’s ecological impact AND improves the bottom line. It’s a key driver for overall business performance.

Triple bottom line, sometimes called the TBL or 3P approach – People, Planet and Profits, requires thinking in three dimensions, not one. It takes into account ecological and societal performance in addition to financial.
Today, quantifiable environmental impacts include consumption of finite resources, energy usage, water quality and availability, and pollution emitted. Social impacts include community health, employee and guest safety, education quality and diversity.

Why should you consider adapting such an approach?
For one, diverse businesses are learning the benefits of corporate sustainability. Take for example well-known companies such as Starbucks, Wal-Mart, Staples, Bank of America, GE, Home Depot, Anheuser-Busch, Honda, and Dell. It’s simple, factoring these impacts into their overall balance sheets will make these companies more successful because it delivers greater efficiency, makes them more competitive and sparks innovation – all drivers of profitability.

Need even more reasons? A study by A.T. Kearney, Inc, found that in 16 of the 18 industries studied, companies committed to sustainability outperformed industry averages by 15% over the six months from May through November 2008.
“Our study indicates that the market rewards specific companies,” said Dr. Daniel Mahler, author of the study. “We find common characteristics among the leading companies that show that sustainability goes far beyond the narrow definition of being environmentally friendly.”

At the end of the day, in plain English, eco-efficiency equals cost savings that translates directly to the bottom line. Intuitively, doesn’t it just make sense?
Ways to Become Eco-Efficient?
Transforming your hotel to be “green” doesn’t have to be at the expense of financial objectives – rather sustainable businesses are becoming more efficient, more innovative, more connected, more profitable, and more competitive.

However, just like all things, businesses go through phases. The best would be to consult a professional who understands the hospitality industry and sustainable solutions. It’s very easy to find solutions, but does it make sense for your hotel – that is the key factor.
To start, the following points should be incorporated into your hotel’s business strategy – as many are already forced to do given the dizzying energy costs. Let’s try to be proactive by:

* Reducing energy usage
* Enhancing recycling possibilities and options of all materials used
* Utilizing new technology to reduce energy and water consumption
* Recycling more and reducing toxic chemical use
* Maximizing use of renewable and recycled resources
* Purchasing environmentally friendly products, especially for housekeeping

You should also benchmark your hotel to determine your current situation. I have noticed many hotels striving for an Energy Star Certification and, on the flip side, guests seeking hotels that demonstrate green initiatives through certification. This program allows hotels to quantify and track energy and water usage and savings over time.

Wouldn’t you love to cut your energy bills 5-20% immediately? Next phase is to analyze your current situation and identify areas that yield tremendous savings in a short period of time. Our team at EcoGreenHotel offers an entire energy-efficiency package that does just that and more.
Bottom line of eco-efficiency is: completely integrate it into your business strategy – before natural resource prices sky-rocket. I believe the triple bottom line thinking and sustainability are unavoidable.

About Author

Experienced financial and private equity analyst of hotels and real estate investments, Susan Patel, has taken on the entrepreneurial hat at EcoGreenHotel as the lead in business development.

Driven by passion, EcoGreenHotel is dedicated to helping lodging facilities address environmental issues and achieve the TBL. EcoGreenHotel.com is also a great resource for tools, checklists, current news and trends, as well as a marketplace for green products and services at EcoGreenHotelStore.com.

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Flip.to, a new social media tool that helps turn hotel guests into buzzing evangelists.

For an example of a hotel utilizing Flip.to look to the James Hotel in Chicago.

The concept of Flip.to is multi-faceted but is based on a simple one- word-of-mouth is a compelling and trusted form of marketing. Flip.to allows a hotel to create evangelists out of its employees, associates, partners – but more importantly – a hotel’s guests and a restaurant’s patrons. Every time one of these target groups uses Flip.to, they become instrumental in reinforcing the hotel’s message by sending it out to their friends and followers on their social networks (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Email) – in essence, becoming an extension of the hotel’s sales force and public relations efforts.

Flip.to can integrate with a hotel’s booking engine so that each guest can spread the word to his friends and colleagues about their upcoming stay right after they’ve made a reservation – with built-in incentives for both the guests and his or her followers to take action. Flip.to tracks each participant’s activity, so a hotel manager has analytics that show everyone’s activity on all social networks at any given moment.

Find out more about how Flip.to works for hotels and restaurants and sign up for the beta, or contact roncallari@ioptimizemarketing.com for more details.

About EcoGreenHotel
A valuable resource for hoteliers, EcoGreenHotel is dedicated to helping lodging facilities address environmental issues and implement environmentally sound initiatives. The company’s online presence at www.EcoGreenHotel.com and www.EcoGreenHotelStore.com offers a marketplace for green hotel products and services and provides a one-stop venue for green hospitality industry news, basic environmental overviews and other tools like green hotel checklists, project ideas, book lists, and valuable links designed to promote a more sustainable hospitality industry.

The atrium lobby of the Embassy Suites Jackson – North/Ridgeland

Potential guests searching for an environmentally friendly hotel in Jackson, Mississippi or throughout Tennessee, the Carolinas, Texas, Alabama and as far north as Illinois need look no further than Kana Hotel Group. Kana recently contracted with EcoGreenHotel to perform an in-depth sustainability analysis of thirteen of its properties, with the dual goals of protecting the environment and boosting profits at the same time.

Kana Hotel Group’s president, Alpesh Patel, said he has three reasons for pursuing the greening process.

“First, it’s simply the right thing to do. We want to be a responsible business,” Patel said. “Profitability is another reason. Energy costs greatly affect our bottom line; in this tough economic environment, anything we can do to reduce expenses without sacrificing guest satisfaction is very important. The third reason – it’s what our guests and team members want. More companies and guests are choosing greener hotels with all else being equal, so this is another competitive advantage that we’re trying to achieve for our hotel. And the greening process has been fun and meaningful for our team members.

EcoGreenHotel president Scott Parisi said his company’s sustainability analysis for each of the Kana properties includes an Energy Star Portfolio Manager Account setup and upload, the property’s current Energy Star ranking, an onsite evaluation of the property by an EcoGreenHotel Sustainability Professional, a comprehensive energy conservation report and strategy proposal, energy procurement opportunities, rebate and incentive opportunities, and cash flow and funding opportunities to allow for project implementation.

“Working with a company like Kana Hotel Group is such an honor,” Parisi said. “They’re clearly doing this for all the right reasons. They’re one hundred percent engaged and committed, as evidenced by the fact that they’ve signed up thirteen of their properties for analysis to become green hotel accommodations. They’re walking the talk, and that’s refreshing.”

The first to undergo the analysis was the Embassy Suites Jackson-North/Ridgeland in Jackson, Mississippi, managed by Kammie Smith. The property has implemented a green team made up of both line level and managerial associates and led by sales manager Meghan Elder. EcoGreenHotel is coordinating the entire project and working with the green team and vendors to ensure proper and timely installation with the least interference in daily operations. EcoGreenHotel is also applying for rebates, incentives and loans to offset the costs of implementation.

From simple acts of recycling paper to biodegradable 100% recycled room keys Embassy Suites has taken strategic steps to go green. Read about Embassy Suite’s green initiatives here at www.greenhotelmississippi.net.

Patel said he is delighted with EcoGreenHotel’s administration of the process.

“We chose EcoGreenHotel for this process because they have excellent expertise in this arena and they have provided true value in the planning and execution of our green initiatives,” he said. “EcoGreenHotel is doing an outstanding job getting the most bang for our buck and delivering everything from A to Z.”

Patel and Parisi both spoke about the process at the 2nd Annual Green Lodging Conference in Orlando, Florida on December 9-11, 2009.

In addition to the Embassy Suites Jackson-North/Ridgeland, these Kana properties are also working toward sustainability to offer their guests green accommodations under the guidance of EcoGreenHotel:
• Hilton Garden Inn Nashville/Smryna TN
• Hampton Inn Knoxville/Lenoir City, TN
• Hampton Inn Knoxville/East, TN
• Staybridge Suites Greenville, SC
• Holiday Inn Express Knoxville/East, TN
• Hilton Garden Inn Charlotte/Mooresville, NC
• Hilton Garden Inn Huntsville/South AL
• Hilton Garden Inn Abilene, TX
• Hilton Garden Inn Winston-Salem, NC
• Holiday Inn Express Knoxville/Clinton, TN
• Hampton Inn & Suites Chicago Southland – Matteson, IL
• Hampton Inn & Suites Huntsville/Athens, AL

About EcoGreenHotel

A valuable resource for hoteliers, EcoGreenHotel is dedicated to helping lodging facilities address environmental issues and implement environmentally sound initiatives.

The company’s online presence at www.EcoGreenHotel.com and www.EcoGreenHotelStore.com offers a marketplace for green hotel products and services and provides a one-stop venue for green hospitality industry news, basic environmental overviews and other tools like green hotel checklists, project ideas, book lists, and valuable links designed to promote a more sustainable hospitality industry.

EcoGreenHotel’s consulting services guide owners, operators and developers through the journey of developing and/or maintaining a sustainable operation or project.

For more information about EcoGreenHotel, please visit www.EcoGreenHotel.com or send an email to info@EcoGreenHotel.com.

There’s an old saying that people age at twice the normal rate when they’re in a meeting.

We now know that unfortunately, Mother Nature does, too.

Meetings and conventions that are run the traditional way have a strong negative impact on the environment, causing an increased demand for energy, paper, water and transportation, and a significant contribution to the waste stream. That’s why hotels and resorts around the world are devising new standards for green meetings – and event planners are embracing those standards.

In fact, venues without meaningful green initiatives are losing business. For example, Florida Governor Charlie Crist’s recent mandate that state meetings and conventions must take place in certified green hotels whenever possible set off a stampede among hoteliers who scrambled to “get their green on” and remain relevant. Similar mandates are happening around the country as more governments and corporations instruct their meeting and convention planners to choose only eco-friendly venues.

And venues are stepping up to the plate by coming up with (and publicizing!) innovative green meeting initiatives. For example, Hilton recently introduced its Hilton Meetings product, which features online tools for organizing meetings, eliminating the need for paper. For the parts of the event that do require paper, Hilton uses recycled products printed with eco-friendly inks. Marriott is donating a portion of its group room revenue to charities that work to preserve the Amazon rainforest. Fairmont’s Eco-Meet program gives planners the opportunity to select a meeting structure that minimizes waste and maximizes environmental awareness.

Attendees at Kimpton Hotels’ inspired EarthCare meetings can take home the paper on which their conference agenda was printed and plant it to produce wildflowers. Rosen Hotels and Resorts pioneered green meeting best practices that recently earned its owner, Harris Rosen, a prestigious Legacy Award from Sustainable Florida. And Individual properties are also developing their own green meeting programs. Among other things, the Sheraton in Reston, Virginia features sustainable menu items for its hungry conference-goers to enjoy.

What can your property do to increase meeting and convention bookings? Implement some or all of EcoGreenHotel’s Top Ten Green Meeting Tips, that’s what! See how many of these tips are already in place in your green hotel, then strive to do even more:

1. Limit paper waste by using e-mail, the web, and listservs for as much advance communication (proposals, menus, banquet orders, etc.) as possible. Offer online registration and paperless billing. Some properties even set up free websites for conference organizers, allowing them to post agendas and workshop handouts online. In your meeting rooms, provide presenters with white boards and water-based, non-toxic markers instead of paper flip charts.

2. For items that must be printed, use 100% post-consumer recycled paper and eco-friendly vegetable-based or soy ink. Print on both sides of the page.

3. Ask attendees to return their plastic name tag holders at the end of the event. Put labeled boxes near each exit – one for the paper part of the tag – which can be recycled – and another for them to drop the plastic holders into on the way out.

4. Offer condiments like salt and pepper, sweeteners, creamer, cream cheese, mustard and ketchup, etc. in bulk containers instead of individual single-use packets. Serve beverages from pitchers rather than in individual plastic bottles.

5. Set tables with reusable tablecloths, napkins, coasters, eating utensils, plates and glasses rather than disposables. Consider eliminating tablecloths altogether to save water in the laundry, and absolutely eliminate all Styrofoam. Use centerpieces of live plants, rocks, edible organic fruit or other Earth-friendly, natural items.

6. Promote paper, plastic, glass and aluminum recycling and vegetable waste composting by stationing a number of recycling and compost bins – each clearly labeled to maximize proper use – in easily accessible places throughout the venue.

7. Develop a menu that features as many locally-sourced, seasonal organic foods and beverages as possible – and try to make the price comparable with conventional menus. Be sure to present plenty of attractive options for vegetarian and vegan diners.

8. Be a good neighbor by teaming up with a local food bank or shelter to arrange donations of leftover banquet food. Donate a portion of the proceeds from each convention to an Earth-friendly charity. Provide meaningful ways for incoming groups to benefit your community. Offer volunteer opportunities like planting trees to offset their carbon footprint, or participating in a beach cleanup.

9. Prepare every staff member – from the front desk receptionist to the waste management director to the purchasing clerk – to maximize their role in each green meeting. Be certain that cleaning crews are trained to recycle everything, and that the chef understands the need to buy locally whenever possible. Get everyone on the same page.

10. Publicize your efforts! Tell the world about what you’re doing. Not only will tooting your own horn bring in more business, but you’ll also be building and strengthening the wave of sustainability that is currently sweeping the globe. Meeting participants and convention-goers will take some of your good ideas with them, and will implement them in their homes and offices. Other businesses will emulate your efforts as well.

Follow EcoGreenHotel’s Ten Tips and soon every meeting will be sustainable – and so will our planet!