Democrats and Republicans are going Green!!!

(CNN) -- This summer, Republicans and Democrats will
celebrate their presidential nominees at conventions billed as the
greenest in their parties' histories.

A workstation at a 2007 conference lets attendees look online instead of printing informational materials.

At the Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado,
biodegradable balloons and recycled confetti will fall on attendees.

Convention hall carpeting will be recycled, recyclable or both. And
organizers plan on using environmentally friendly paint for the walls.

Planning committees for the Republican National Convention in
Minneapolis, Minnesota, are working on improving energy efficiency for
the event. They have also cut down on paper use by relying more on
electronic communication and will use fuel-efficient vehicles in the
convention auto pool.

The measures highlight a major shift in the meetings and conventions industry toward holding environmentally friendlier events.

Holding a green meeting is "no longer a quirky, nice thing to do," said
Joel Makower, executive editor of GreenBiz.com. "It's something that
increasingly is being asked, if not demanded, by meeting producers."

If not closely monitored, thousands of conventioneers gathered in
large-scale meetings over the course of a few days can accrue plenty of
waste.

For example, a five-day event with 2,200 people could produce one ton
of plastic waste in the form of disposable serving pieces, said Bruce
MacMillan, CEO of the industry trade association Meetings Professional
International.

Meetings and conventions can also leave a hefty
carbon footprint from air travel, large-scale paper consumption and the
waste that comes from carelessly tearing down trade show exhibits,
among other things, said Shawna McKinley, a project manager for Meeting
Strategies Worldwide, an environmental consulting firm.

But
lately, greener practices have become a priority for businesses. Of the
two-thirds of the world's top 500 companies that publish corporate
social responsibility reports, 87 percent address climate change
and 65 percent have a specific portion on climate change issues.
Seventy-eight percent publish quantitative emissions data, according to
CorportateRegister.com.

These types of corporate social
responsibility mandates -- combined with some managers' genuine concern
for the issue and a public demand that companies do their part -- has
led to the growth of green meetings.

The 'green lens'

Not surprisingly, companies with the environment in mind, such as the
U.S. Green Building Council and the National Recycling Coalition, have
been on board with green meetings for years, McKinley said. But in the
past 18 months, companies from a wide range of sectors, including
technology, real estate, tourism and religion, have begun planning more
sustainable events, she said.

At the same time, companies have become more sophisticated in their requests.

Whereas recycling is what McKinley calls the "101 level" and a firmly
established standard, she said meeting planners are now moving onto
more intermediate practices, such as asking for locally grown or
organic food, or requesting hotels and convention centers that take
energy efficiency and water conservation into account.

Others are implementing programs such as tree planting to offset the carbon footprints of air travel, McKinley said.

Still, while many organizations are putting forth the effort, it's not
yet a perfected science, resulting in greening efforts that are "all
over the map," Makower said.

"In some cases, it's sort of random
acts of greenness. But in other cases, it's really strategic, thinking
about conferences through a green lens including every aspect of it,
from how they're produced to what the attendee experience is like to
what messages it signals to the industry and the larger community," he
said.

The Environmental Protection Agency is working on setting
standards for its own events, which may help set a more consistent
tone. (The agency already set guidelines last year to give preference
to facilities with sustainable practices.) The new standards, which the
EPA projects will be in place by June 2009, will regulate only the
agency's events, although other government agencies may use them as
guidance on best meeting practices.

For now, companies and organizations are learning as they go along.

A recent convention of the Professional Convention Management
Association took steps toward limiting waste by distributing recycled
bags and refillable water bottles to attendees. But, unbeknownst to
organizers, convention sponsors printed materials, resulting in about
five pounds of paper for each bag, said Deborah Sexton, association CEO.

The mishap is a lesson for upcoming events, she said.

The bottom line

Many companies and meeting planners have been pleasantly surprised that producing green meetings can be cost effective.

Some elements do cost more, but the increase in efficiency can offset the expense, Makower said.

For example, he said, using pitchers of water instead of individual bottles might cancel out the cost of organic food.

McKinley said a meeting client recently saved money by switching from
plastic disposable service ware to compostable serving pieces, because
the high price of petroleum increased the cost of plastic.

Best destinations

Web and teleconferencing eliminate the carbon emissions of plane
travel, but experts say that's not the only direction the industry is
headed.

Conventions can have a positive impact on a city's
economy and it's important to expose conventioneers to different
locales, Sexton said. To that end, industry professionals say they
choose cities and facilities in the United States and abroad with
environmentally sound practices.

Despite the unavoidable carbon
footprint of flying, McKinley said meeting face to face is essential.
"We need it for sales, we need it for education, we need it for
personal fulfillment."

Admits Sexton, "You'll
never have the perfect meeting, no one will. ... But the more you do
year in and year out, the better off it'll be."

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