Reducing food waste is by no means a new concept. Yet, many industry professionals who have interest in saving money while reducing the environmental impact of their events employ only a minimum of tactics to reduce food waste.

Every event is different and it’s difficult to identify a single list which applies to all. Still, we try. Here’s a hardly-exhaustive list of tactics planners might consider when creating an event which offers food and beverage:

The supplier: Caterer success has much to do with how effectively they eliminate waste. Established processes and team trainings can help. Effective purchasing and storage and rotation can all reduce food spoilage or breakage. Menu design, as well, can influence rates of waste. There are some software solutions that have proven helpful in some cases, such as LeanPath. Planners should ask prospective suppliers about their practices and how their practices can support the no waste agenda.

The venue: The type of venue selected may influence how effective is the support for food waste reduction. Hotels, because they serve many meals in many different outlets, can often re-allocate safe, un-served food completely. Ask. If the supplier advises that no waste is experienced, then this should inform the negotiation for how they’ll charge if the planner doesn’t meet the guaranteed number (savings opportunity). Exhibition halls often have no food and beverage service of their own and contract with local providers. They may have suggestions for who can perform best to help reduce food waste, so planners should ask.

The counts: Old news, perhaps but still a challenge. Many hotel venues require planners to commit to a number 72 hours in advance and then charge the planner that minimum, even if fewer people attend (see ‘venue’ above for the disconnect) Large events have benefitted from requiring delegates to indicate meals they’ll attend during the online registration process.

Donations: For the recent EWEC 2010 conference in Warsaw, planners worked hard to successfully overcome the barriers to donate food to the regional Food Bank. Concerns about food safety were mitigated with written agreements between parties and participation from Food Bank representatives whose equipment and on-site presence allowed them to immediately collect safe food product for same day distribution. Their efforts resulted in 2,900 meals being donated to a ready infrastructure in need, rather than discarding them as waste. Note: the Iceland volcano eruption caused attendance reductions and food count challenges the first few days of the conference, making the Food Bank initiative especially important in this case

Type of service: plated meals are more labor intensive and more costly but can mean less waste under most circumstances. Effectively monitored buffets can control waste but, in most cases, everything left on the table gets discarded. Bold suggestion: invite staff, volunteers and even visitors to grab a plate before the catering team clears the room. Box lunches are normally a big waste but sealed beverages, whole fruit and packaged snacks can all be re-used if not consumed, but only if they’re not left in a heap on top of the tables. Consider placing a separate receptacle for such re-usable items at the service location.

For planners that are looking for specific actions and practical steps to improve sustainable event performance, can the above actions be a place to start? Who knows? You might just help cool the planet.

What examples have you seen be effective? What are some solutions for different kinds of events?

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 company displays of sustainability and the utter lack of a corporate culture of sustainability in so many companies.  No community investment, eco-certification or annual report can replace a culture of sustainability which would have prevented the Deepwater Horizon disaster in the first place.

The recent intense focus on ‘the business case for sustainability’ retards, perhaps, business leadership (CEOs, COOs, CFOs) understanding and acceptance of the potential sustainability can have for a business.  Beyond the savings which result from eco-efficiency initiatives, beyond the increased stock value from consumers who trust the brand, beyond the practical benefits of recycling or supporting community, sustainability for business is more about philosophy and spirit that it is about any series of actions or stated commitments.

This philosophy of sustainability guides responsible actions and sparks innovation for better practices.  In a culture of sustainable business, certain decisions don’t get made because they violate the fundamental tenets on which the business-and the greater natural order– are based.  Reward systems are created to inspire greater commitment to the philosophy of balance and restoration than short term profit and exploitation.

Have you ever known (or been?) an absent parent or lover who substituted emotional investment with monetary investment?  The purchase of a new bicycle after a family argument, or the buying of flowers for the forgotten anniversary might serve as familiar examples.  But what would most people rather have?  Most would choose to have the heart, spirit and trust-affirming emotional presence of the loved one, rather than a material surrogate.

BP invested heavily in Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives. Yet, in spite of their focus on the Carbon Disclosure Project, or their annual reports compliant with Global Reporting Initiative criteria, or their contributions in support of communities struck by natural disaster they, like so many companies, missed the larger point.  It might be said that The Deepwater Horizon tragedy was the result of a lack of corporate culture—an emotional investment in sustainability as a core value and business philosophy and way of working that would have prevented the disaster in the first place.

With lessons learned from the carbon footprint measurement of COP15, Deloitte is providing a list of recommendations for successful carbon footprint measurements for future COP meetings.

1. Establish an effective governance structure

Understanding the most significant GHG sources should be included in the decision-making process for the logistics of the COP meeting in order to achieve the best results and to demonstrate commitment. The governance structure may include a body of representatives from the national government hosting the COP and the UNFCCC to ensure effective planning, coordination and communication.

2. Adopt a step model

The 8-step model described in chapter 2 may apply for measuring the carbon footprint of events. First of all the model makes it possible to focus on the most significant as well as the most uncertain factors; secondly it ensures an effec-tive process; and lastly it provides key messages to communicating in a timely manner during the process. The steps, however, should not necessarily be seen as a sequential process, as they may overlap.

3. Engage with organizers and suppliers on interchange and collection of data

The access to valid data is essential for achieving a credible and applicable result, and most data are collected in collaboration with direct or indirect sup-pliers to the COP meeting. In order to ensure sufficient and timely data collec-tion, the requirement for data should be agreed at an early stage, preferably by the engagement of suppliers.

4. Use acknowledged standards and units of measurement

Standards for organisations (eg. GHG Protocol and ISO 14064) and events (eg. BS 8901 and ISO 20121 in the future) may be deployed at COP meetings, however the standards designed for organisations must be adjusted to suit the purpose.

5. Keep track of documentation

All data and information sources as well as preliminary results should be tra-ceable. Focus on the ability to revise and compare estimates as they evolve before and after the conference – including the possibility to estimate and doc-ument GHG emission reductions from specific initiatives.

6. Make control calculations by alternative methods

Whenever an alternative source of data or method of calculation is available, it can be used to control the validity of the method applied in the methodology. If large deviations occur, the causes for those deviations may be found and explained, and potential errors may be corrected.

7. Get third party viewpoint

Involve a third party such as an independent research institution, NGO or similar in decisions regarding scope, methodology and data sources. Such involvement may help increase credibility in the results, ensure that special public interests are considered, and – to some extent – prevent criticism from observers. The involvement may be established on an official or ad hoc basis. In addition, the reporting entity may engage an independent auditor to express an opinion on the carbon footprint.

8. Compare and benchmark to similar events

When possible, similar events whose carbon footprint has been measured may be studied to compare and benchmark, and to control the validity of applied calculations. As described in the introduction, some factors may vary greatly and make it challenging to compare. Those factors include the nature of the events’ activities and local conditions such as infrastructure and weather conditions7.

9. Estimate the level of confidence

Quantitative measurements of the level of confidence is a time consuming and costly discipline. Therefore a more simple qualitative consideration of level of confidence may be used to evaluate whether the overall results have a high, medium or low level of confidence, and whether initiatives should be taken to raise confidence levels. If the level of confidence of key data is relatively low due to factors yet unknown, it is recommended to add a buffer to the total estimate. As an example, please see Appendix II – levels of confidence. (comment: VERY IMPORTANT)

10. Utilize results for communication and awareness raising

The results of the pre-conference estimate are suitable for communication and awareness raising during the conference. Using sufficiently plausible numbers for quantifying the effect of participants’ behavior may encourage more people to behavioral changes.

Down load the report: COP15 Carbon Footprint Deloitte 2010.pdf

A number of imminent, important happenings may help bring order and support to meetings industry professionals seeking to improve their commitment to the organization of sustainable events. First, the release of a report on the organization of the United Nations Climate Change Conference, Copenhagen (COP15) offers among the most recent examples of a sustainable event report. Exhaustive in detail and revealing of both planner failings and successes, the report will provide concrete examples of specific actions planners (and communities) can, and should, take to improve chances for a more responsible event. COP15, the first United Nations event to successfully seek compliance with the BS8901 sustainable event management standard , becomes the first to submit an event assessment report to feature Global Reporting Initiative compliance.

A corollary document to the COP15 report will also be released next week. Titled the “Copenhagen Sustainable Meetings Protocol” (CSMP), the whitepaper seeks to provide a framework for planners to integrate existing local and international certifications and standards for sustainable event management. Placing a special focus on BS8901, the APEX green meetings standards and the Global Reporting initiative for events, the CSMP gives clear guidance for developing strategy and for stakeholder engagement, which was a special hallmark of the COP15 event planning process. MCI Sustainability Services is proud to have authored the documents and to have participated in the watershed event and vibrant discussions which informed them. Information about the release of the documents can be found here next week. Here, too. For more sustainable events, stay tuned!

Many communities  incinerate waste in an  effort to reduce costs (financial, aesthetic, perhaps environmental?) associated with landfills. The act of incineration often provides a secondary benefit of generating energy.  In Copenhagen, Denmark, for example, 5% of the energy source mix comes from the incineration of waste.  Landfill space saved, energy produced.. All good, right?

Maybe not.  Concerned about the incineration of trash, and the potential effect this practice may have on discouraging recycling rates,  I tracked down this article. and this article. I included in as a Twitter post (here) where the link got a lot of traffic, indicating larger interest.  While there are studies offering support for incineration (normally underscoring the benefits outlined above)  it’s difficult to justify  the wasted resources represented in the incinerated ‘waste’ stream (including PET plastic, cardboard, office paper, glass and aluminum), as well as the mountains of toxic slag which must be landfilled or shipped to nations too poor to refuse them.

In her keynote address to the Green Meeting Industry Council, Annie Leonard of ‘The Story of Stuff’ fame shared her own up-close and personal observations of these piles, recounting the journey of one such pile which traveled from New York City to Haiti and, once discovered as harmful to the environment, back again to NYC for better handling.

Not so fun fact: Plastic

It is estimated that 6-8% of total annual oil production goes to the production of plastic.  Of the plastic produced, just 7% is recycled.  The rest? Landfilled or incinerated.

In his book, Sustainability in Business, JP Bergqvist calls waste ‘valuable resources in the wrong place’.  Recyclable materials, like plastic, bound for the municipal incinerator are an especially painful example of this observation.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Incinerate

The reality, at least in the short term, is that incineration probably has a role to play in the ongoing challenge of municipal waste management.  What’s missing, perhaps, is a more aggressive approach to reducing waste in the first place and optimizing recycling.    Destinations, and the businesses who operate in those destinations, must pursue ever-more effective waste management systems which focus on the Reduce, Reuse, Recycle model, complete with published targets and leadership support. Meeting planners, meanwhile, can serve as advocates for such practices and create market demand for recycling by asking better questions and measuring the waste from their events.

Recyclable materials..  they’re too precious to burn.   Looking forward to your thoughts and ideas.

Sustainable Event Planners must initiate processes to factor in the environmental performance of the destination itself.  Armed with reports such as Yale’s Environmental Performance Index and Best Places to Meet Green planners can begin to make informed inquiries and defensible decisions. Not only do top performing destinations offer better potential for sustainable event fundamentals such as comprehensive waste management (minimum 50% of total waste recycled or composted), efficient public transportation and access to sustainable foods, but can deliver capacity to reduce the event related greenhouse gas emissions.  Hotel rooms in Sweden, (and other nations with more than half of their energy supply from renewable sources) emit half the carbon as hotels whose energy comes from brown coal.

The upcoming APEX green meeting standards, a collaboration between the USEPA and the Convention Industry Council, identifies a comprehensive list of considerations for planners and destinations, themselves.

Are you considering the environmental, or better yet sustainable, performance of your events’ host city?  If not, what resources would you need to start?

Hotels, conference centers, caterers and wholesale vendors across the globe routinely offer non-sustainable fish choices in response to real or perceived client demand.  Should they?

Meeting planner and supplier polls show expanding interest in  ‘green meetings’. Meanwhile, perhaps in the name of tradition and/or good customer service, these same planners and suppliers purchase huge quantities of fish stocks deemed endangered or harmful to sustainable fisheries.  Doubt it?  Go to Hong Kong and ask for shark fin soup.  Go to Baltimore and ask for farm raised salmon.  You’ll be pleased with the speed of service.

“The customer is always right”. Really?   What responsibility do we have (as buyers and suppliers) to refuse to carry threatened species, or to deny a client request for same? Will the market punish us if we commit to buy only sustainable seafood?

It’s unclear where ‘responsible purchasing’ stops and ‘advocacy’ starts, but one wonders if the lack of industry complaint against non-sustainable fisheries and the tolerance of suppliers who offer non-sustainable fish, is a tacit approval of harmful practices.  Let us not be our own enemy.

Education is key.  The more one learns, perhaps, the more one will challenge a flawed system and work to activate a change.

Find out more about sustainable fishery issues by reading the UNEP guide,  the new WWF report, and Daniel Pauly’s informed, disturbing assessment Aquacalypse Now.  Here, at the Marine Bio site, too.

Have answers and thoughts on the questions above?  Please share.

Meanwhile,  recycling of paper and paperboard in industrialized nations is consistently less than 50% of the waste stream.

Fun fact:Recycling 1 ton of paper saves the energy equivalent of 185 gallons (700 liters) of gasoline.

Less fun fact: In 2008, the US EPA reported that in the US alone, over 35 million tons of paper went unrecycled.

Meetings Industry example: COP15  exceeded 8 million printed pages for its 10 day event (=the weight of  two Caterpillar dump trucks).

There exist many, many tools, resources and recommendations to guide a move to reduced printing. What’s needed now is social change (getting comfortable with practices to reduce paper use at the source) and action.  Some fundamentals:

1.  Measure your use and attach a monetary value to that.  Set a goal to reduce use using money as a goal.

2.  Convert your paper use to interesting environmental impact figures: Check out this

3.  Change your purchasing practices to mandate a minimum of 35% post consumer recycled paper.  In most industrialized nations, it’s cost is at par or below virgin paper stock.  Pressure suppliers.

4. Educate your stakeholders (see above) and advise them that your Congress directories, annual reports, telephone directory, newsletter, etc, will only be available online.  Encourage readers not to print.

5.  Collaborate with your printer.  The more you print, the more they make, but good providers have practical solutions for reducing (expanded margins, smaller sizes, paper types, etc).  Explain your goals and approach them as a resource and a partner.

Let’s tame that paper hungry beast

Your ideas?  Helpful resources?

The GMIC is as much a tribe as it is a driver of business;  the culture is one characterized by palpable excitement and optimism for the potential of the future imbued with a fiery passion for leaving the world a better place.  Jaded enough, perhaps,  to know that idealism alone will not result in needed positive change for industry, members have come together to share best practices, uncover new technologies, and make incandescent the messages for the cause of sustainable, responsible ‘green’ practices for business.  In this way, this is an organization focused on creating business results in a faster, smarter way.

Next month, from 9 through 11 February, 2010 in Denver, Colorado, USA, the GMIC will hold the Sustainable Meetings Conference.

The emerging APEX Green Meeting Standards, itself a direct result of the passionate GMIC network of committed professionals, will serve as a framework for much of the content of the conference.

For any meetings industry professional who understands that we are stronger as a network of unified talents and voices, and who seeks practical resources and ideas to speed improved business performance, they are strongly encouraged to register and attend.  This conference is the most powerful conference and education experience for green meeting planners and suppliers.  Plan to come.

See you in Denver!

Items destroyed and discarded represent huge waste (cost) not only to staff time, landfill costs, etc, but to both brands, neither of which needs the outpouring of bashing which has been the result.  While costly in terms of wasted resources, this incident represents huge lost opportunity.  A well organized initiative to donate these items would have avoided cost and boosted consumer trust in each brand.

These incidents have special resonance for large meetings and events, as well as other businesses.  We seem geared to see disposal, rather than planned donation, as the preferred method to clear out exhibition halls, registration desks and store rooms.  What meeting planner would not feel remorse if journalists splashed their event on the front page for  insensitive, irresponsible waste practices?  Why wait for such embarrassment before taking action to integrate a plan to donation usable materials post event?

As part of planning their European Offshore Wind event in Stockholm last fall, EWEA partnered with Majblomman, a Swedish NGO supporting children, to  donate congress bags.  Similar efforts are being observed by other meeting planners and venues, so the idea is neither new or difficult to understand, just rare in its occurrence.

We’re better than this, people!

In addition to the previously mentioned (here, too)  GMIC Trash Challenge, Please share your thoughts, examples and resources for expanding on the idea to donate usable resources.