Green Meetings Award
Click here to download the 2009 application form
The deadline for applications is 6 February 2009.
About the Award
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The Green Meetings Award was launched jointly by IMEX, the International Hotels Environment Initiative, and the Oceans Blue Foundation at IMEX 2003. The award is now partnered by GMIC (Green Meeting Industry Council).
The award recognises environmental awareness amongst meeting organisers, highlighting the opportunities that now exist to stage business tourism events in 'green-minded' venues, whilst also planning an agenda in which sustainability issues have been taken fully into account.
Please contact Dale Hudson, DHudson@imex-frankfurt.com for more information.
Previous Winners
Awarded the 2008 IMEX Green Meetings ‘Gold’ Award were Scandic Hotels for their Swedish Environmental Coordinators Meeting which took place in Scandic Ariadne in Stockholm in October 2007. Scandic has 130 hotels in 9 countries and each hotel has at least one person with the role of environmental coordinator. The meeting was impressive not just because of the environmental work within the hotel where the meeting took place but because the same work applies to all hotels. This is due to Scandic’s top management being deeply engaged in sustainable business. A “Compass for sustainable business” has been developed. All business within Scandic relates to the compass’s triple bottom line, e g Purchasing policy and Supplier’s declaration and guidelines for construction
Click here to download the 2008 Gold Award winner's case study
The 2008 Silver Green Meetings Award went to Unitarian Universalists Association (UUA) for a conference held at The Oregon Convention Center. The 2007 General Assembly supported businesses in and around Portland. 61% of food services were sourced locally. They also supported local charities by donating left over, unserved food to those in need.
The Globe Foundation of Canada's organisation of the bi-annual World Urban Forum (WUF) Conference, on behalf of UN Habitat and the Government of Canada, was awarded the 2007 Gold Green Meetings Award. The conference addressed 10,000 delegates from 150 countries on the issue the rapid urbanisation of the world's population. As event organisers Globe created a detailed greening programme that successfully integrated event operations with marketing, promotions and communications. They instigated a green procurement strategy and set out to make the conference carbon neutral. Planning focused specifically on waste minimisation, pollution reduction and energy conservation and actively engaged suppliers and delegates.
Click here to download the 2007 Gold Award winner's case study
The 2007 Silver Green Meetings Award went to DNC Parks and Resorts for the 2006 Sierra Business Council Conference. Measurable achievements at the conference included 50% of meals being produced using local, sustainable produce and waste reduction of 70% thanks to recycling, composting, re-use and minimisation of packaging.
In 2006 the Green Meetings Gold Award was presented to the US Green Build International Conference and Expo 2004. USGBC's strategy for its 2004 Green Build Conference was to enlist the help of the convention centre, hotels, caterers, exhibitors and decorators in minimising waste by reducing consumption, pollution and waste at source. Outcomes for the 2004 event included a saving of US$25,000 through the use of water stations and compostable cups instead of water bottles. An audit measured waste output at the Oregon Convention Centre and the hotel and showed that 48% of solid waste was recycled while 23.9% of food served was composted. An additional 3450 lbs of food were donated to a local community service organisation.
Click here to download the 2006 Gold Award winner's case study
The 2006 Silver Award winner, the Sierra Club, was praised for introducing clear contract measures and achieving excellent waste management reduction at its first ever four day annual conference, which took place in San Francisco in September 2005 and hosted 4,000 delegates.
The Boston-based Coalition for Environmentally Responsible Conventions (CERC) won the 2005 award. CERC was praised for its work during the 2004 Democratic and Republican political conventions in the United States. The organisation was formed in 2004 by 15 local environmentalists in direct response to the Democratic Convention being held in Boston. CERC also targeted the Republican Convention in New York in its efforts to increase awareness and improve overall environmental education among meeting planners in the United States in general.
Click here to download the 2005 award winner's case study
The 2004 award was given to Terri Stewart of the US Green Building Council (USGBC) for her work on the Green Build International Conference at the David Lawrence Convention Centre in Pennsylvania last November. According to the judge, Stewart and her team were clearly focused on minimising environmental impacts and their application data was well crafted and well qualified. Terri also demonstrated a clear commitment to influencing environmental policies of the show’s suppliers. The caterers, convention centre and registration company all changed their practices permanently as a result of what they have learned from the USGBC.
Click here to download the 2004 award winner's case study
In 2003 the award was won by Meeting Strategies Worldwide, in recognition of their work on the 2002 Forest Leadership Forum. This forum, hosted by the World Wildlife Fund and the Certified Forest Products Council, and held in Atlanta was one of the greenest conferences ever held in the USA. In total, more than 1.34 tons of waste was recycled and more than $68,000 saved against budget. Meeting Strategies Worldwide made these achievements through a combination of environmental and economic stewardship of transportation, marketing, guest registration, accommodation and catering arrangements, all of which were scrutinised and planned against strict criteria.
For more information on other IMEX green awards visit the Green Awards page.
