10 Hot Green Meeting Trends for a Cool Planet

Technology is cool AND sustainable, so is gamification. Without trying too hard, an event can save a lot of trees by switching to a mobile app that includes the conference program, speaker’s bios, session abstracts and facility floor plans-all of which would have been printed on paper.

Now turn it up a notch and add in a gamification component or in short, a Green Game. Complete with a leaderboard, points and prizes, you can catch participants doing something right such as taking mass transit to the event, bringing their own water bottle or mug, choosing chicken over beef or recycling. Mobile app providers should be able to assist you with this or there are plug ins now available.

If your event doesn’t have a mobile app, you can easily recreate the experience by using Twitter and a hashtag to capture images of sustainable actions. An electronic monitor featuring a Twitter feed in a prominent area will keep guests informed.

Look for other ways to use technology with the added benefit of saving the planet, then add up the savings to share with your community.

Health and wellness are industry buzzwords right now as event organizers scramble to include practices which are gentler on our bodies than earlier conferences. The side benefit is that nearly all of these also benefit the environment. For example, healthy menu options featuring fresh local, organic food are good for the body and good for the planet. Attendees are concerned about eating right on the road and this includes good food from sustainable sources.

The opportunity to get more exercise during meetings is also high on the list for participants, so work it into your program by holding walking contests. Give them pedometers and track daily steps from the hotel to the meeting venue, to local shopping and restaurants; meanwhile, you are saving money on shuttles and cabs while reducing the carbon footprint.

One of my favorite fitness ideas was during a welcome reception when participants took turns on stationery bikes to produce electricity to blend the margaritas. Now there’s a good incentive!

There has been a lot of talk about giving up individual water bottles at events and replacing them with water bubblers, but nothing is lonelier than water bubbler sitting against the exhibit hall wall. The trend toward making these both sponsorship and educational opportunities is an important one. With signage educating guests on the environmental savings by reusing their water bottles with a prominent logo sponsored by an organization interested in publicity as a good corporate citizen, it is a win-win.

Why not take advantage of a trend happening outside the meeting industry and making it your own? Many individuals now make it a practice to avoid eating meat on Mondays and choose a drought tolerant menus on Wednesdays. You can easily incorporate these into your events by working with the chef to design menus featuring both. The bonus on this initiative is that the cost of vegetarian meals is usually lower than those with meat and when creatively designed, will ensure even the most strident carnivore is satisfied. For more information on water-wise choices, check out this infographic.