The European Union alliance commitment to the Kyoto Protocol of 1997 was a 12.5% reduction in greenhouse gases by 2012. Since then the Government have pledged to reduce the 1990 level by 20% by the year 2010.
The Hotel and Conference industry have a major part to play in delivering this and most recently the majority venues and agencies have written and promoted policies as part of their marketing initiative and sustainable business plans.
However, the big question has to be: are they practicing what they preach or is it a "jump on the bandwagon" and use the message as part of a sales pitch? This might appear cynical but at Banks Sadler we are very aware of the commitment from every member of staff needed in achieving and then sustaining the targets. We have spent time analysing and solving our interior areas influence by our daily operations; thus identifying where we can practice the 3R's – Reduce, Recycle and Reuse! This has come at quite a cost to us in time, resource and money – but I am delighted to state that the motivation to the staff and the message to our customers has far out-weighed this.
We also acknowledge we have a responsibility in:
- Measuring and extracting policies and practices from our supplier base before recommending them.
- Educating, encouraging and influencing our clients in what can be achieved in reducing their Carbon Footprint during a meeting or event.
What is a Green Event?
In summary: we are advised to consider when organising a greener event - you should be organised electronically, carbon emissions minimised for travelling delegates and speakers, save energy, practice recycling, and adopt environmentally-thoughtful measures wherever practical and possible.
The onus should not rest with the customer, the agent or the venue. All three parties should work together to achieve the best result – even considering offsetting projects.
The Government figures estimate that each delegate attending a full day meeting generates 10kg of carbon and this can be offset at a cost of 8p, whilst the delegate that attends an overnight conference generates 50kg that will cost 40p.
It is interesting to see the increase in initiatives that venues and hotels have taken on to counter act and support their policies. A few years ago we all started to see tent cards in the hotel bathrooms that were part of a reuse program. Again cynics just say that this cuts their laundry bill, I suggest to the hotels that they start to show on these cards what the guest is actually contributing by using the same towel for two days, this I am sure will generate a greater buy-in to the actual purpose.
Another area of changing initiatives is in meetings with stationary and delegate giveaways. The Events Teams at Bank Sadler have been demonstrating a great deal of thought in delivering eco-(and fair-trade) items to clients.
For example - the obvious recyclable items used in a meeting or event are
- General Stationary
- Pencils
- Badges
- Notepads
- Flipcharts
- Programmes / Brochures
- Agendas
- Utilise electronic Delegate Registration
And so on; but recently we have proposed delivering branded recycled T-Shirts, Delegate Bags and even the usual end of conference gifts have changed shape. In fact one event we organised a post event website for all delegates to visit and select a gift to be put back into the environment – through a selection from organisations such as Carbon Trust, Friends of The Earth and World Wild Life.
I am constantly reminded by my children that the Green issue is not limited to the workplace or home, it is now part of the education curriculum and that confirms that it is here to stay. At Banks Sadler we have discovered that from a little more effort, using our imagination, working as a team and embracing the challenges.
David Campbell
Chairman