Many have observed that the BP oil spill is a reminder that corporate responsibility to community and the environment requires more than a clever re-brand. There’s something missing from the conversation, however. These observations of BP (and the many companies who are very glad they are not BP), don’t seem to make the link between [...]
Filed under: General Sustainability | Tagged: CSR, Leadership, Practical Tips | 5 Comments »
My grandfather spent a chapter of his life as a card dealer in a poker hall. A maxim he often shared was “Call a spade a spade”. Today, in corporate reporting circles, such an approach is called “Transparency” and it occurred to me as I read this article shared by MeetGreen’s twitter feed. The rest [...]
Filed under: General Sustainability, Hotels | Tagged: CSR, MeetGreen, Reporting | 2 Comments »
Oddly, as technological innovations have advanced, and use of handheld communication devices expanded, so has the production of paper and consumption of trees. In 1961, world production of paper and paperboard stood at 77 million tons. In 2005, 354 million tons (more here). Meanwhile, recycling of paper and paperboard in industrialized nations is consistently less [...]
Filed under: Destinations, Exhibition and Congress Centers, General Sustainability, Meetings and Events | Tagged: CSR, Green Meetings, climate change, Practical Tips, Sustainable Procurement, cop15 | 6 Comments »
The Green Meetings Industry Council (GMIC) has been the most effective force for change in the meetings industry movement to find and integrate more responsible practices. A wellspring of ideas, resources and friendships for the rapidly expanding network of committed business professionals who have discovered it, the GMIC is like no other meetings industry association. [...]
Filed under: Destinations, Exhibition and Congress Centers, General Sustainability, Meetings and Events | Tagged: Business case, CSR, GMIC, Green Meetings, linkedin, Practical Tips, Standards | 3 Comments »
At the recent MCI International Business meeting (IBM) in Vienna, over 600 MCI staff participated for three days in plenary sessions, workshops, training classes and of-course a few drinks. For my CSR update session, we decided to start the plenary with something a little different.. Have a look at the video and listen to Charlotte [...]
Filed under: CSR@MCI | Tagged: CSR, mci | 1 Comment »
For the meetings and events industry, it’s the elephant in the room and, for all it’s size and imminent danger, it’s not moving anytime soon. Airline emissions represent a minimum of 80% of event-related emissions for larger meetings and a recent, information-rich article from the Guardian/Green Futures magazine reveals that, in spite of all the [...]
Filed under: Destinations, Exhibition and Congress Centers, General Sustainability, Meetings and Events | Tagged: CSR, Green Meetings, climate change, linkedin | Leave a Comment »
Two international retailers, H&M and Wal-Mart, just got a pie in the face of their (stated?) strong Corporate Social Responsibility programs. Today’s news from the New York Times revealed that bags and bags and bags of unsold, post-holiday clothing stock was destroyed before being discarded, ostensibly to prevent it from being re-sold. A saavy business [...]
Filed under: Exhibition and Congress Centers, General Sustainability, Meetings and Events | Tagged: CSR, Green Meetings, Greenwashing, GMIC, Practical Tips, Trash challenge, linkedin | 3 Comments »
Soon, the British Standards Institute will release a standard on ‘Carbon Neutral’ events. That is, if your event does not follow and document key processes outlined in the standard, it cannot be deemed ‘carbon neutral’. The pursuit of a standard which requires a commitment to reduced emissions is appropriate, but the Carbon Neutral “brand” needs [...]
Filed under: CSR@MCI, Exhibition and Congress Centers, General Sustainability, Meetings and Events | Tagged: CSR, Green Meetings, climate change, Standards, cop15, linkedin | 9 Comments »
In starting this blog it was our hope to share practical examples of sustainability in practice in organizations, especially the meetings industry. While other topics sometimes stir our passions, the intent is still to shine a light on ways to improve your business for triple bottom line benefit Corporate Social Responsibility is, of course, a [...]
Filed under: General Sustainability | Tagged: Business case, CSR, Practical Tips | 1 Comment »
In the lead up to the annual business meeting held this year in Vienna, Austria, MCI offices from around the world competed to bring home the MCI Leadership in CSR award, 2009. Applications were submitted and subsequently forwarded for judging. Points were allocated in 5 different categories: •Office CSR Plan •Green Globe Index Ranking •Integration [...]
Filed under: CSR@MCI, General Sustainability | Tagged: CSR, mci, Practical Tips | Leave a Comment »
