Welcome to the Daily Plan-It (published quarterly) designed to inform and inspire your meetings and conferences to higher levels of success! Read on for ideas and tips to expand the strategic importance of your meetings, enhance your delegates’ satisfaction, reduce costs and help the planet. Further ideas and information can be found at www.meetingstrategiesworldwide.com. If you prefer to not receive future issues of the Daily Plan-It, please contact editor@meetingstrategiesworldwide.com.

In the News & Announcements

Please help us give a warm welcome to our two newest team members. Susan Elshire is our new HR and accounting extraordinaire. Ms. Mike Thomas is bringing her expertise and talents to join us as a project manager.

Take a look at the latest article highlighting green meetings and featuring Meeting Strategies Worldwide. "Going Green - What's good for your meeting is good for the environment—and the ROI," Smart Meetings, November 2006

Carbon Offsets - The Basics
By Amy Spatrisano, CMP

What is a carbon offset? The "official" definition of a carbon offset (from Climate Trust) is, "carbon offsets are the process of reducing a ton of carbon dioxide emissions in another location for the emissions you cause in either your home, office, commute, travel or other activities that use energy and cause emissions.

Carbon offsets enable anyone to reduce their climate footprint by supporting projects, typically energy efficiency, renewable energy, sequestration, biomass, etc. that reduce carbon dioxide emissions to offset one's own climate footprint.

What does a carbon offset have to do with meetings? Many companies and organizations have become concerned with climate change issues especially related to carbon emissions. Carbon offsets are a way to mitigate the carbon emissions that occur when attendees travel to meetings. Offsetting your event offers a value-added component for your attendees and can also offer some good PR. Attendees can feel good about participating in your event knowing their carbon emissions are offset.

What does it mean for an event to be carbon neutral? The term carbon neutral implies that if enough carbon offsets are collected to mitigate the meeting's carbon emissions, the event is considered carbon neutral. Caution: most carbon neutral claims do not include all the aspects of carbon emissions that are necessary to produce an event or conference. For example: the emissions necessary to provide the food and beverage served at the event are usually not considered. The emissions caused with exhibitor freight and products provided for a trade show are also not included. It would be better to use the phrase "working towards a carbon neutral event."

How do I go about arranging for carbon offsets for my events? There are a variety of carbon offset options. There are organizations that plant trees. There are ones that invest in renewable energy projects. There are others that accept offsets that are retired or donated from corporations. To learn more about carbon offset options, check out www.climateservices.com.

How do I calculate the amount of carbon offsets needed to offset my event? The carbon offset provider you select should be able to estimate the total carbon emissions expected by calculating the demographics of your attendees (in other words where the attendees will be coming from, are they within driving distance, are they flying, etc), the convention and/or hotel space you're using over what period of time, what forms of transportation you're using during the event, etc.

There are also calculators available for you to do your own calculations; however, if you're planning a large event and offsetting energy use as well, I highly recommend you use a provider that can calculate them for you.

Who pays for the carbon offsets? Four options:

Your organization pays for the offsets.
You offer the opportunity on the registration form for your attendees to pay for their own emissions (prices range from $6-$25 per attendee).
You get the offsets sponsored.
You use a combination of the above.

Carbon offsets are the newest, seemingly easiest way for organizations to mitigate some of their environmental footprint. Caution though: Not all carbon offsets are alike. For more information, I encourage you to visit the resources provided in this newsletter.

Case Study - 2006 Forest Leadership Forum
By Nancy Wilson, CMP

The 2006 Forest Leadership Forum produced by Metafore attracted nearly 400 attendees from around the world. The event provided an opportunity for action-oriented global leaders and key stakeholders to showcase innovative business practices for pulp, paper, and wood products. The three-day meeting was held at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland, Oregon, May 3-5, 2006.

Metafore serves as a catalyst for companies and organizations striving to become more environmentally and socially responsible. Their interest in producing a green conference was a natural extension of their organization's values. Their previous Forest Leadership Forum held in Atlanta in 2002 won the 2003 IMEX Environmental Meeting Award and was recognized as being one of the "greenest conferences ever held in the USA." The goal for this year was to reduce the impact that the Forest Leadership Forum would have on the environment and to improve on the efforts of the 2002 Forest Leadership Forum.

As the conference managers, Meeting Strategies Worldwide began by working with Metafore to develop environmental policies for the conference and determine the minimum guidelines for destinations, facilities and vendors. Ensuring that the site selected for the Forest Leadership Forum was an environmentally responsible one, was crucial.

Destination choice has a large impact on minimizing transportation during the conference. Metafore developed guidelines to minimize both air and ground transportation requirements. Here is a sample of the guidelines from the request for proposal:

Meeting venue should have access to an urban area, shopping, restaurants, airport, recreational areas (parks, forest areas) on a public transportation system or within walking distance
Hotels must be connected to, within walking distance of or accessible by public transportation to the convention center
Both hotels and the meeting venue must be accessible from airport by public transportation.

In an effort to minimize the air travel required, Metafore used the geographic location of the proposed attendees in determining the possible cities. Using the guidelines, requests for proposals were sent to key cities. The field was narrowed to three cities which met the guidelines and other environmental criteria. Of these, Portland, Oregon was ultimately selected.

As a result of the early decisions made by Metafore, the following was possible:

Participants could take the light rail system (MAX) directly from the airport to both the Doubletree and Hilton Hotels.
Participants either walked or took MAX to the Convention Center for the meetings.
Participants took MAX downtown in the evening to enjoy the Portland dining.
The tours also used MAX and the bus system for transportation.

In addition to the environmental savings, a huge economic savings was also realized. There was no cost to conference organizers for any ground transportation as all of these are within Portland's "fareless square."

To mitigate air quality issues, Metafore also purchased carbon offsets through Better World Travel to offset attendee travel to the conference.

Metafore successfully reduced their environmental footprint in the transportation area, saved money and enhanced their attendee's experience.

Ask the Experts

In each issue, your questions will be answered by experts in the industry.

Q: What offsets are available to meeting planners and others in the hospitality industry?

Bjorn Fischer, Business Development Manager, The Climate Trust*
A: High quality offsets like ours effectively and efficiently reduce Greenhouse Gas levels. Activities that could be offset include heating from various sources such as natural gas, oil and propane; ground transportation and air travel; and waste. In addition, electricity consumption can be "neutralized" through RECs (Renewable Energy Certificates).

*The Climate Trust was established to provide an alternative compliance mechanism for power plants regulated under the United States' first GHG emission reduction law, the Oregon Carbon Dioxide Standard, enacted in 1997. The Climate Trust is the only state-sanctioned provider of offsets in the US and has been acquiring regulatory grade offsets since 1999.

Have a question for the experts? Send your questions to expert@meetingstrategiesworldwide.com.

Upcoming Events!

Everyone in the industry knows that fall season is conference season! And we're working hard to make this conference season a great one!!

Local/Community Events:

Oregon Food Bank
Look for an announcement the week of December 11th about the details.

Conferences/Events:

BSR 2006 Conference — November 7-10, 2006, New York, New York
The Business for Social Responsibility (BSR) Annual Conference serves as both a construction site and an exhibition hall for the work of building a more just and sustainable global economy.

2006 GreenBuild International Conference & Expo — November 15-17, 2006, Denver, Colorado
The Greenbuild International Conference & Expo brings the industry together under one roof. Three days of extensive educational programming, workshops, a vast exhibition floor and ample networking events give attendees unrivaled opportunities to learn about the latest innovations, exchange ideas and develop new business relationships.

2007 "Greening the Hospitality Industry" Conference — February 6-8, 2007, Portland, Oregon
Hospitality industry professionals will gather for the 3rd annual Greening the Hospitality Conference to learn more about green meetings and share their organization's environmentally responsible practices. Leaders in the field will be on hand, sharing their insights on industry issues and environmentally responsible approaches to processes such as registration, site location, marketing and exhibiting, and much more.

Food for Thought

According to the Edinburgh Centre for Carbon Management, a consulting company that advises businesses and governments on strategies to mitigate climate change, an average commercial flight in the United States releases nearly 1,800 pounds of greenhouse gas, per passenger, into the atmosphere.

“Transportation activities accounted for 33 percent (2.05 million tons*) of CO2 emissions from fossil fuel combustion in 2004 [in the US]. Over 60 percent of the emissions resulted from gasoline consumption for personal vehicle use. The remaining emissions came from other transportation activities, including the combustion of diesel fuel in heavy-duty vehicles and jet fuel in aircraft.” - US Environmental Protection Agency, "Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990-2004," April 2006

*Converted from 1.862 Tg = 1862000000 kg

Recommended Resources

Climate Biz
Good starter article with basic information.
http://www.climatebiz.com/sections/backgrounder_detail.cfm?UseKeyword=Carbon%20Offsets
Several articles about carbon offsets.
http://www.climatebiz.com/sections/carbonoffsets.cfm

EcoBusiness Links
Price survey and extensive list of carbon offset programs.
http://www.ecobusinesslinks.com/carbon_offset_wind_credits_carbon_reduction.htm

Safe Climate
Criteria for choosing carbon offset projects.
http://www.safeclimate.net/business/solutions/criteria.php
List of links to several organizations that provide consulting, in-depth publications, and NGO programs related to climate change.
http://www.safeclimate.net/business/solutions/other_orgs.php

Sustainable Travel International
Several resources including carbon offset program, eco-travel, certification program and training.
http://www.sustainabletravelinternational.org/documents/op.html

Sterling Planet
Renewable energy program.
http://www.sterlingplanet.com/

Climate Care
Carbon offset program and calculator.
http://www.climatecare.org/

Climate Trust
Overview article about carbon offsets and carbon offset program.
http://www.climatetrust.org/about_offsets.php

Leonardo Academy
Cleaner and Greener Program which provides detailed analysis of emissions produced by conferences.
http://www.cleanerandgreener.org/

GreenBiz - "Environmentally Responsible Business Travel"
Great overview article covering the basics on green business travel. Includes links.
http://www.greenbiz.com/toolbox/essentials_third.cfm?LinkAdvID=23887

Edinburgh Centre for Carbon Management
Detailed articles on various facets of carbon offsets, for those of you who want to delve in deeper.
http://www.eccm.uk.com/publications.html

Contact Us

Meeting Strategies Worldwide
6220 NE Glisan
Portland, Oregon 97213
U.S.A.
Phone: (503) 252-5458
FAX: (503) 261-0964
operations@meetingstrategiesworldwide.com
www.meetingstrategiesworldwide.com