Rethinking Meetings to Achieve Greener Formats and Sustainable Solutions

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My business is part of industry called by several names you may recognize. It's referred to as the meetings or events or hospitality industry. Sometimes it's lumped in with tourism. What our industry really represents is all businesses over every industry. If you're in business, you're in the meeting industry.

Think about it. What business doesn't have meetings? The purpose, type and size definitely vary, but all meetings possess some basic elements. They have a purpose or expected outcome. They require two or more people. They are held somewhere, many requiring some form of travel, and often involve food and beverage. Definitely a simplification, but you get the idea.

What you may not realize is the meetings industry, as I prefer to call it, represents billions of dollars and millions of jobs in the U.S. alone. We interface with dozens of other industries and venues to produce meetings — hotels, convention centers, agriculture, transportation, food and beverage producers, purveyors of textiles, flooring and flowers, technology of all kinds and manufacturers of goods to name a few. So, we're definitely impacted by the current state of the economy.

Our industry is rife with fear that meetings will go away and the industry will collapse. Do I believe meetings will change? Absolutely! However, we are social animals and some of the world's best work was done because, or when, people have met face to face. Technology can replace some meetings certainly, but physical meetings can produce results not possible through a virtual medium. Now more than ever given all the elements mentioned, we're in a place where we get to reevaluate, rethink how we do meetings.

Making sure we answer some basic questions about whether or not we should meet is key. Many meetings take place because they are habitual. It's been ages since people revisited why they even have those meetings. The first question really is why are we meeting? The others include what's the proposed outcome, who should be there, where should it be held, when would it be best, what format should be used and how are we evaluating the success? I realize they are basic questions, but when was the last time you considered them even if you're just having a staff meeting?

So, where's the opportunity I mentioned? Everywhere! Using local venues, food, beverages and public transportation can help the economy by ensuring money remains within the community. For some, this opens up new markets. Then there is the obvious result that making your venue or meeting more sustainable saves costs. There's a growing market for sustainable solutions for a variety of aspects of the meeting industry from 5-star bulk dispensers for hotels to sustainable drink containers, from trade show booths to virtual meeting options. The list goes on — more sustainable signage, paperless alternative communications, new sponsorship options, participant connection through community legacy projects that provide an opportunity to give back, fresh local flavors and menus (no more rubber chickens!), the return of "mom-and-pop" eateries, stores and services.

Most of the people I've talked to over the past couple of months are very glad to see the end of 2008. For many it ended up as tough year. While I can commiserate with them, I also found 2008 to be the start of something bigger than anything I've experienced before. The shift in the administration had me realize how oppressed I'd felt for the past decade. I actually cried on Election Day with tears of release and relief I didn't know were in me. And yet, what I witnessed was an amazing sense of hope and spirit in my fellow Americans. Something I didn't know we could feel again.

Yes, the financial crisis, as we've termed it, is frightening, however there is still an amazing sense of hope and optimism that we'll pull through. We really can do this. How? I have no idea. But our country has wicked smart people who will develop innovative solutions. There is an openness in many of us for new ideas and possibilities that hasn't existed for a long time. It is this opening for innovation that will shift our industry and others from surviving to thriving. Sustainability is still among the top trends or considerations for business.

I think the events of the past year with the promise of hope in the coming year open up the most amazing opportunities for those willing to see, to create, to innovate.

Amy Spatrisano, CMP, is a leader, innovator and entrepreneur in the meeting planning and events industry. She is a principal with Meeting Strategies Worldwide, an environmental management firm specializing in the meetings industry.