So next month Marc and I will be going out West in conjunction with the Meeting Professional International World Education Conference (MPI - WEC).  We are going to do a Western Adventure which I am very excited about!  One of the stops on our trip is San Diego.  I love San Diego but Marc has never been.  So I’m trying to find fun quick touristy things to do.  I logged on to Frommers and there is a new section that I find fascinating.  Under the Planning A Trip tab, there is a new link called Sustainable Travel & Ecotourism.  How cool is that?!?!?

So here is what that section says…

Each time you take a flight or drive a car CO2 is released into the atmosphere. You can help neutralize this danger to our planet through “carbon offsetting” — paying someone to reduce your CO2 emissions by the same amount you’ve added. Carbon offsets can be purchased in the U.S. from companies such as Carbonfund.org (www.carbonfund.org) and TerraPass (www.terrapass.org), and from Climate Care (www.climatecare.org) in the U.K.

Although one could argue that any vacation that includes an airplane flight can’t be truly “green,” you can go on holiday and still contribute positively to the environment. Choose forward-looking companies that embrace responsible development practices, helping preserve destinations for the future by working alongside local people. An increasing number of sustainable tourism initiatives can help you leave as small a “footprint” as possible on the places you visit.

Responsible Travel (www.responsibletravel.com), run by a spokesperson for responsible tourism in the travel industry, contains a great source of sustainable travel ideas.

You can find eco-friendly travel tips, statistics, and touring companies and associations — listed by destination under “Travel Choice” — at the International Ecotourism Society (TIES) website, www.ecotourism.org. Also check out Conservation International (www.conservation.org) — which, with National Geographic Traveler, annually presents 

I have always been a fan of Frommers and it is the only web site that I turn to for travel information but now I love them even more!  Please check out these sites and purchase some carbon offsetting when you go on vacation.  Marc and I are going to!

Today will be another short blog just because it is so nice outside!  I would rather be out than inside on the computer!

So yesterday the boy and I were in Somerville, MA heading towards Arlington, MA.  We passed a Whole Foods Market with a HUGE banner hanging on the store that said, “Did you remember to bring your reusable bag?”  I LOVED that!  It really was a huge sign…it took up a whole corner of the building.  This brings me to todays topic of greenwashing.  On Monday, I posted an article on the Meeting Revolution’s Facebook page that was all about greenwashing.  Basically, greenwashing is saying that your company (or even personally) is green and environmentally friendly when your company (or you) really aren’t.

Here is the link to that article: http://thesietch.org/mysietch/keith/2008/04/10/how-to-spot-greenwash/

I see this a lot in hotels.  I have to say to hotels that is great that you have a linen program but what else?  There is so much they can do but they just don’t put the effort into it.  I can see how some people think that being green takes a lot of effort but really it isn’t.  It is changing some habits like mentioned in one of the videos on EcoTube (the British shopping video).  If you are going to do something anyway, like grocery shop, then why not bring your own bags?  Change is hard…I understand that completely!

First a random thought…This too was taken from Harvard Business Review for Green Business…”In a federal district court case in Mississippi, plaintiffs are suing oil & coal companies for green house gas emissions arguing that they contributed to the severity of Hurricane Katrina. The claims in that case include unjust enrichment, civil conspiracy (against the American Petroleum Institute), public and private nuisance, trespass, negligence, and fraudulent misrepresentation.” Interesting, huh?

This week I got an e-mail from one of the groups that I belong to on Facebook. The e-mail talked about a U-Tube for the environment. The link is: www.eco-tube.com/home.aspx. I recommend that everyone goes and looks at these videos. I have really enjoyed the videos so far. I really enjoy the videos that take a humorous look at the issues happening. For example, these two:
http://www.eco-tube.com/v/FUN/Pussy_Killers.aspx and http://www.eco-tube.com/v/FUN/Harrison_Ford_loses_an_acre.aspx

Yes, todays blog is short but I really want you to now go to EcoTube and check it out! Go…now!

So as an update from last week…I did hear back from the Newton Chamber of Commerce but not from the Newton Marriott.  Here is what Vanessa (Director of Events at the Newton Chamber) had to say: Amanda~ Thank you for your feedback and suggestions.   The information is valuable and we will consider your points when planning next year’s event.   Thanks again.  Vanessa Leite

Consider my points?  I hope she does more than consider them!

Random fact from the Harvard Business Review:  The World Health Organization estimates that burning dung and drinking contaminated water together cause eight million deaths per year!  Can you believe that?!!?  I was amazed when I first read that.

So on to the topic of today’s blog…I want to show that anyone can make a difference and it never hurts to speak up!  Over the weekend, I attended a Chowder Festival in Portsmouth, NH.  It is part of Prescott Park’s annual events.  I have been attending this event for over 10 years!

This event has grown a lot over the past couple of years both in attendees and in safety…I think it started when a local company (Lupo’s) decided to serve cold chowder to a couple thousand people.  That really got the health inspector’s attention.  So now there are much stricter rules.  This year they started to give out polystyrene bowls at every booth…there are about 14 booths and 4,000 attendees.   I had brought my own bowl and spoon but was refused service.  The reason why they switched from one bowl for every booth to one bowl for one booth is that the health inspector is afraid that the ladle will touch the dirty bowl and spread germs from one person to another.  So when I got home I sent an e-mail to the Executive Director of Prescott Park and this is what I said to him (this is just part of the e-mail…I had other comments which is why this seems like a strange start to this paragraph):

Also what disgusted me more than the lines were the Polystyrene bowls.  Prescott Park is trying to kill the planet.  Why couldn’t we have used a corn or bamboo based product?  Just think about it…there were 14 booths and over 4,000 people…that is at least 56,000 Polystyrene bowls!  Here is an example that I hope you can use an inspiration, “When we “greened” the Live Earth concert in Giants Stadium, using china service for 51,000 fans would have been impossible.  This of the amount of hot dogs, pizza slices, pretzels, etc. they went through during the eight hour concert!  What we were able do, however, was convince the stadium caterer to use biodegradable cups, wrappers, cutlery, etc.  Because we had composting available for the event, these items were then thrown into the compost bins along with the leftover food items, avoiding food waste going into the landfill waste.  Meeting Strategists Worldwide

This year I even brought my own bowl and spoon.  Of course the booths refused to serve me so I did something that would be worse in the eyes of the health inspector.  I took the bowl that they gave me dumped it into my bowl and left my dirty bowl on the booth.  While I was in the very long lines, I had time to talk to the people around me about the bowl situation and many were concerned about the polystyrene bowls.  One guy even said, “I can’t understand why they wouldn’t use a corn base bowl?”

The Executive Director wrote back and told me that I was absolutely correct.  He was horrified about the bowl situation as well but it was the only economical choice.  So I have volunteered my services to help the Park become green.  I want people to start speaking up about what they see or experience for themselves.  How are things going to change if no one says anything?

As I was writing the e-mail to the Executive Director I was researching how long it takes polystyrene bowls to decompose…knowing that it took a long time.  By the way, never found that number which can’t be a good thing but I came across this web site: http://www.americanchemistry.com/s_plastics/sec_pfpg.asp?CID=1421&DID=5213.  It is for American Chemistry and it is facts about polystyrene.  This fact sheet made me laugh…it looks at polystyrene is a positive light.  Of course they aren’t going to talk about the negatives…um like it kills the planet!  Read it and I hope you find it kind of funny and sad all at the same time.

This week on the Meeting Revolution Facebook page, I posted a comment on the wall.  I want anyone who does something green to write about it.  Or better yet take a picture or video of it.  Post it to the web site.  Let everyone know what good things you are doing for the environment!

On Tuesday, June 3, 2008, I attended a Green Expo put on by the Newton Chamber of Commerce. I was very excited to attend this since I missed the Boston Business Summit.

The exhibit hall opened at 10:30AM (the same time as the breakout meetings started). I got there at 10:25AM and they wouldn’t let me in yet…although other people were walking in so I just followed them. I walked around the show and met some great companies and people.

The companies who exhibited were:

Solar Sam, Green Needham, Furnature, Pearl’s Premium Lawn, Gentle Giant, MA Collaborative Law Council, Green Roundtable, Green Decade,  Coca Cola Bottling Company of New England, Hill Energy/Rate it Green,   EMS, Waste Management, Chapman Construction, National Grid, Charles River Watershed, Progressive Asset Management, Climate Energy, Aircuity, NewBridge on the Charles, Poirier Appliances, Equal Exchange, Stonyfield Farm, Sterritt Lumber, Anderson Windows, Shaklee, Sunshine Cleaning Systems, Mass DEP, WXRV 92.5, E.L. Harvey, Borrego Solar, Mass Technology Collaborative, Sustainable Construction Services, Casey Company, Big Toys, Curtains Up & Down, Clean Energy Design, New England Window Systems, Mass Biofuel, Suez Energy, NStar, Northeast Data Destruction/Miller Recycling, Burke Oil, Wainwright Bank, Boston Business Journal, City of Newton/Mass Recycle, Arbonne International, Waterless/Ralco, Indrsano Electric, Conservation Solutions, Applied Ecologics, Newton Marriott Hotel, Sustainnovation Consulting, Dustless Floor Sanding, Boston Green Building, Geiger Promotional Products, Mass Energy Alliance, Gorman Richardson Architects, S&H Construction, Shear Color Printing, Next Level Promotions, Earth Our Only Home, Green On the Side, Smart Growth Alliance, ERG.

So as you can see a good amount of companies but they were really focused on the house/construction side. I was there to look for clients.  I wanted to talk to Coca Cola, Stonyfield Farm, Boston Business Journal, Newton Marriott, Boston Green Building, Earth Our Only Home and Green on the Inside.  I was able to talk to all of them except the Newton Marriott…who really needed to talk to me.

This was the Newton Marriott’s opportunity to shine in front of 200/300 local green businesses and in my opinion they did a not so great job.  First there was no recycling bins in the exhibit hall or any of the break outs.  There were bottled sodas at lunch and the water glasses were pre-poured.  There was no mention of donating the leftover food or composting the waste.  They did mention that the chicken was local but what about the rest of the meal?   Plus the major lunch sponsor was Stonyfield Farms, Gary Hirshberg was actually speaking…so they should have used Stonyfield yogurt in the dessert.  The next day when I was back in my office, I wrote to the Director of Sales at the Newton Marriott and told him these concerns.  I also told him to call me if he wanted to learn more about being green.

I also sent an e-mail to the President and the Director of Events at the Chamber and told them my thoughts.  There were other logistical issues besides being green.  I even had people at my table at lunch telling me that this event could have used my help…kind of flattering!

So if you go to an event that you see things that could be more green, don’t hesitate in telling the planner and the meeting site.  We need to have minds changed…be a revolutionist!

Hello

Sorry for the delay in posting…I had an event on Sunday and I’m still trying to catch up (It is Wednesday)!

In catching up on my e-mails and newsletters, I came across a really interested site called Sustainable Business News (http://green.bizjournals.com).   There were three really interesting articles.

1.)Dem convention vehicles to run on waste beer

May 27, 2008 11:06 am EDT   Filed in Biofuel

Beer will help fuel the Democratic Convention in Denver, Colo.

Environment News Service reports that flex fuel vehicles at the Aug. 25-28 convention will run on waste beer from Molson Coors Brewing Company. The company’s Golden, Colo., brewery annually produces about 3 million gallons of ethanol made from waste beer.

Coors is the first U.S. company to turn beer that’s deemed not up to snuff into ethanol and has been recycling the waste beer since 1996.

Environment News Service: Waste Beer Ethanol to Fuel Democratic Convention Motorpool

This is just such a GREAT idea!  When I read this yesterday, I sent it to everyone I know.  I now want a car that can run off of beer!

2.)Bay area levies first-in-nation carbon tax

May 22, 2008 9:39 am EDT   Filed in Regulation

San Francisco Bay area businesses will be the first in the nation to pay a tax on the greenhouse gasses they emit — 4.4 cents per ton of carbon dioxide.

The Bay Area Air Quality Management District Board voted 15-1 Wednesday to levy the tax, which will cost most businesses $1 or less a year, but hit the oil refineries around the bay harder, the San Jose Mercury-News reports. The new tax will cost the area’s five refineries up to $180,000 apiece each year. For the area’s largest polluter, a Shell Oil refinery in Martinez, the tax would be $186,475 a year based on its annual emissions of 4.4 million metric tons. Overall, businesses are projected to pay $1.1 million under the proposed tax.

All told, the tax is expected to generate about $1.1 million from 2,500 businesses, and the money will be used to pay for a program monitoring local sources of greenhouse gas.

San Jose Mercury-News: Bay Area pollution board first in U.S. to levy emissions fee

This is an interesting thought and many knew this was coming.  I think it is a great idea and will really help companies involved…even if they are being forced into it.

3.)Dunkin’ Donuts building green store

May 22, 2008 12:42 pm EDT   Filed in Construction, Corp. Actions

Dunkin’ Donuts is joining the rush to greener stores.

The company was breaking ground Thursday on its first LEED-certified store, to be built in St. Petersburg, Fla., the Boston Business Journal reports.

bizjournals: Dunkin’ Donuts tries “green” concept

I find the Dunkin Donuts article really interesting because Starbucks had a negative article written about them and being environmentally friendly a couple of weeks ago.  I posted it on Meeting Revolution’s Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=12869258796).  Here is the link to that Starbuck’s article…http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2004412179_starbucks14.html.

Now I don’t go to Starbucks anyway and I try to get the people around me to not go to Starbucks.  I feel that this is another reason to not go there.  I am really impress with Dunkin Donuts and the LEED certification.

Last Friday, I sent an e-mail out to local hotels to find out what they were doing to be “green”.  I got many different responses but two responses got me thinking.  Both hotels said that they were or were going to participate their states green certification program.  I went to those states particular web site and to my surprise each state has their own green program.

I’ll pick on NH because that is where I live.  The New Hampshire Lodging and Restaurant Association (NHLRA) started a program called New Hampshire Sustainable Lodging & Restaurant Program (NHSLRP).  Now as I told one of these hotels, this is a great start to be green but why stop there.  As much as I love each state for trying to good…there is no standards between NH’s program and let’s say MA or RI.

I would check out Energy Star’s certification and the US Green Building Council LEED certification.  These certifications are regulated by the government and there are checklist and standards that have to be up kept in order to keep the certification.  As a meeting professional, I will only do a meeting at a hotel that has either a LEED or Energy Star certification.  On both the Energy Star and U.S Green Building Council web sites have hotels and other facilities that have the certifications.

http://www.energystar.gov

https://www.usgbc.org

We are going to touch upon certification many times in these blogs but if there are an specific questions about the certification process let me know!  I want to end this blog with a great story about a company in Boston, MA who is LEED Certified…(All of the following information was taken from the Harvard Business Review on Green Business Strategy).  When I was reading this information, all I could think was, “This information needs to go into my blog!”  It is THAT good!

“In its first year of operation, Genzyme Center - Genzyme Corporation’s 12-story LEED-Platinum headquarters in Cambridge, Massachusetts-used 42% less energy and 34% less water than standard buildings of comparable size.  Green buildings can also boost employee productivity by approximately 15% in part because they use alternative building materials that don’t emit toxins, like formaldehyde, that are commonly found in standard building materials and workplaces.  At Genzyme Center, 58% of the 920 employees report that they’re more productive there than they were in Genzyme’s former headquarters building.  Employee sick time in the new headquarters is 5% lower than for all of Genzyme’s other Massachusetts facilities combined.  Moveover, green design criteria-including abundant daylighting, individual climate controls, and outdoor views-raise morale and employee satisfaction, which also improves productivity.

Genzyme Center earned its LEED-Platinum rating in part because of its location.  The building stands on a remediated brownfield site (where a cold gasification plant once stood).  It is adjacent to a power plant-something that might typically be considered a challenge because it means unattractive views for workers and visitors.  Genzyme, however, turned the plant’s proximity into an opportunity by piping the plant’s “waste” stream into the center’s HVAC system to warm the building in the winter and cool it (with two steam absorption chillers) in the summer.  Adopting this steam system reduced the building’s electrical requirements and energy costs, and those saving are reimbursing the company for the system’s higher up-front capital costs.

The LEED rating program gives points to properties located within a quarter mile of bus lines and within half a mile of rail and subway lines.  Genzyme Center is a five-minute walk from a mass-transit station.  Approximately 25% of the building’s 920 employees leave their cars at home.”

So far, this week has been the most perfect spring week ever! It has been in the low 70’s (except on the ocean), clear blue skies and fluffy white clouds. Ah…just perfect!

Today I went out and gave my garden a little love. I aerated the soil and mulch. Next I have to go and purchase some plants!

Let’s talk about food at our meetings today! Perhaps in my garden, I will plant some vegetables!

Okay…so what can you do with the meals that are “Green”? Lots of options…Here is a list:

• Don’t serve individual bottles of water. I have attended Meeting Professional International (MPI) World Education Conference (WEC) and Professional Educational Conference (PEC) for the past couple of years. Last July, they switched over to water bubbler and re-usable water bottles. This really worked well especially when the water bottles were nice. This also makes for a great sponsorship opportunity. But if you can’t find a sponsor no worries…using water pitchers are just as good too!

• Buy locally grown food that is in season. Food that hasn’t traveled thousands of miles to your plate is fresher, tastier and drastically cuts down on pollution. Plus you get to celebrate the local community. This is a great way to show what the local flavor might be.

• Speaking of buy food locally, this includes seafood. Buy seafood from sustainable fisheries. What does that mean? Sustainable seafood is from sources, either fished or farmed, that can maintain or increase production into the long-term without jeopardizing the affected ecosystems. That definition was taken from Monterey Bay Aquarium. Go to their web site and do some searching (www.mbayaq.org)…it is a great web site!

• Estimate your final guarantee better. I know that we all already try to do this because it saves on the budget. BUT this also cuts down on the amount of food wasted.

• What is your food served on? At NEMICE 2008 (New England Meetings Industry Conference and Exposition) we used bamboo serving items for the first time. We had some mixed reviews. The “silverware” was a little strange. Some of the attendees that I spoke compared the utensils to the spoon that you get with a Hoodsie Ice Cream Cup. The reason why we chose to use these bamboo plates and utensils is that they biodegrade in four to six months while the normal serving items that are made out of polystryrene and don’t biodegrade.

• After the event, make sure anything that can be composted is! Another option is to donate the leftover food to a soup kitchen or food bank. The donation isn’t necessarily green but it is a great step towards being socially responsible.

Here is a very short list of things you can do at your next meeting. For more ideas or if you have a comment, don’t hesitate to contact Meeting Revolution at amanda@startameetingrevolution.com.

So it has been a full week since Meeting Revolution was unveiled and it has been a great week!  Did you noticed…every where you turned someone was talking about being green?  I have to admit…I was on green overload!  And the sad part is that in a couple of months the green buzz will fizzle and people will go back to the same old thing they have always been doing.  I know that is a negative view to take but hopefully the media won’t let down and people will change at least one thing they do in their lives to be more green.

What did you change in your own lives or meetings this week?  Anything?  Don’t worry if it wasn’t something huge…something small done over and over can still make a change too.  Just think you aren’t alone doing this one action…think about printing e-mails.  If you normally print lets say three out of five e-mails but this week you only printed three out of ten.  That is a great start!!!  Did you know that it takes 1/2 a tree to make one sheet of paper (http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_many_trees_does_it_take_to_make_one_sheet_of_paper)?  I think that is a lot.

If you haven’t checked out our Facebook group profile this week, you should (http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=12869258796)!  I post articles and web site daily that are about environmentally friendly things.  This week, I posted these links:

Most Expensive Bottled Water -                                               www.wrcbtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=8220738

Treading lighter with low-carbon diets - www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-lowcarbon22apr22,0,6619396,full.story

Top 10 eco-friendly hotels in North America - www.planetout.com/travel/article.html?sernum=13861

Starwood Hotels’ ELEMENT Brand to Mandate LEED Certification in All Hotels - www.starwoodhotels.com/corporate/news.html (Except there is no direct link so you this takes you to their main Press Release page and then scroll down until you see this title) **This was a big buzz around Massachusetts because an Element is being built in Lexington, MA.

I also found a great web site www.go-green.com.  I really recommend that you check this site out.  I even got to figure out my carbon footprint using their calculator.

WOW…this post is long!  Like I said, every week should be Earth Week!  Please feel free to post your comments and share your thoughts.

Have a great week!

So this is Blog Number One…very exciting! I just want to thank everyone who took the time to look at the web site yesterday.

Of course I am very proud of it. A lot of work went into it so there are four people that I would like to thank.

Marc Swanson of MSwanson Consulting (www.mswanson.com) - He is the nerd behind Meeting Revolution.

Chika Seo, Owner of Bacon Forest Design, Inc. (www.baconforest.com) - She made the logo and company name look professional. Plus she recommended Marcos…

Marcos Carvalho (www.marcossrc.com) - He worked under Marc perfecting the web site. Marcos was in charge of the flash portion of the site . Marcos stepped in at the very last minute and did a great job!

Cindy Gourgue of Gourgue Consulting (www.gourgueconsulting.com) - She edited the web content as well as helping me decided what the web site should look like.

Here is to a great start! I hope you enjoy the blogs…Please feel free to post and make comments as well. This should be interactive!