At any given moment there are thousands of business meetings and special events going on with millions of guests traveling to and from different locations throughout the world. The event and hospitality industry is perfectly situated to have an extraordinary environmental and ecological impact by planning events with better awareness and by greening up their decision making process. Green planning is a responsible way of doing business that includes energy conservation, minimizing consumption of natural resources, reducing waste, reusing resources, recycling, and using earth-friendly products.

Green meetings and events are not main stream today but will be mandate before we know it. Times are evolving rapidly in that direction and event planners, venues, suppliers and participants are responding. They are beginning to follow ecological practices and implementing environmentally friendly processes and programs into the way they design their events. The more an event planner requests and ultimately hires green services, the more suppliers and vendors will begin to incorporate green practices as well. They will have to keep up with the times and the requests of their clients.

These suggestions listed below are for you if you gather people for any reason what-so-ever! It doesn’t matter what type of event you plan. Whether you are coordinating a special event, planning a corporate event, are part of the team planning conventions, involved in conference planning or business meetings and seminars. Maybe your are in charge of planning a company party, a sporting event, grand openings, a reception, a charity event or a fundraiser, or have volunteered to do your daughters wedding or son's school play or bake sale. You might be planning festivals, rock concerts, reunions, retreats, or book signing events. Or perhaps you are just having the family and friends over for a holiday get-together. The list is endless - thousand of events are being planned as you read this! ALL of them could use environmental practices.

Listed below are a few simple choices you can make today as you plan your special event or corporate meeting that will make an immediate difference with little effort. Do just one or do them all. The more you integrate into your planning practices the easier they become.

10 Easy Steps to Put into Practice Today

Here are ten simple steps that you can take right now to lessen the impact of any event:

1. Create Standards. Establish environmental standards in writing and get buy-in from your clients, the organization's management and/or your clientele. Share your standards with suppliers, vendors, speakers, and participants.
2. Use Technology. Use new media and electronic technology to cut down your paper needs. Create an informational web site, offer electronic registration and confirmation, and advertise using the web and use various forms of email. Create podcasts, webcasting, and video streaming to alleviate travel for and accommodate those who cannot travel.
3. Choose a Local Destination. Picking a local or close venue will reduce distances traveled by speakers and participants. Choos
   Secrets To Halving Your Business Electricity Bills
   When it comes to electricity, small and medium size enterprises can never assume they are getting a good deal. In fact, it's safe to say that - as the market stands today - businesses should assume the opposite is true, and that they are being taken for a ride by the big six energy providers. One of several smaller providers of business electricity, Electricity4Business has just compiled a free guide to help commercial electricity customers see through the dirty tricks.Despite the bad publicity heaped on industry fat cats, over 20% of customers have never switched electricity providers since deregulation of the market. The reason is that they simply don't have access to the right information. This document not only states
   earth-friendly products.

   Green meetings and events are not main stream today but will be mandate before we know it. Times are evolving rapidly in that direction and event planners, venues, suppliers and participants are responding. They are beginning to follow ecological practices and implementing environmentally friendly processes and programs into the way they design their events. The more an event planner requests and ultimately hires green services, the more suppliers and vendors will begin to incorporate green practices as well. They will have to keep up with the times and the requests of their clients.

   These suggestions listed below are for you if you gather people for any reason what-so-ever! It doesn’t matter what type of event you plan. Whether you are coordinating a special event, planning a corporate event, are part of the team planning conventions, involved in conference planning or business meetings and seminars. Maybe your are in charge of planning a company party, a sporting event, grand openings, a reception, a charity event or a fundraiser, or have volunteered to do your daughters wedding or son's school play or bake sale. You might be planning festivals, rock concerts, reunions, retreats, or book signing events. Or perhaps you are just having the family and friends over for a holiday get-together. The list is endless - thousand of events are being planned as you read this! ALL of them could use environmental practices.

   Listed below are a few simple choices you can make today as you plan your special event or corporate meeting that will make an immediate difference with little effort. Do just one or do them all. The more you integrate into your planning practices the easier they become.

   10 Easy Steps to Put into Practice Today

   Here are ten simple steps that you can take right now to lessen the impact of any event:

   1. Create Standards. Establish environmental standards in writing and get buy-in from your clients, the organization's management and/or your clientele. Share your standards with suppliers, vendors, speakers, and participants.
   2. Use Technology. Use new media and electronic technology to cut down your paper needs. Create an informational web site, offer electronic registration and confirmation, and advertise using the web and use various forms of email. Create podcasts, webcasting, and video streaming to alleviate travel for and accommodate those who cannot travel.
   3. Choose a Local Destination. Picking a local or close venue will reduce distances traveled by speakers and participants. Choos
      Architect Client Relationships
      In the history of architecture there has often been an unseen contradiction between what the architect wants to design and what the client wants built. Sometimes an architect will get so wrapped up in his vision and personal aesthetic values that what the client likes and does not like becomes secondary, or is overlooked completely. When this happens the house or building created may win design awards and look beautiful to a trained architectural eye, but the client or people who have to live in it may dislike it intensely. Often the owners or tenants will go back in and change things a second or third time to better suit their aesthetics or purpose.At the root of this problem is the very nature of architecture, to crea
      if you gather people for any reason what-so-ever! It doesn’t matter what type of event you plan. Whether you are coordinating a special event, planning a corporate event, are part of the team planning conventions, involved in conference planning or business meetings and seminars. Maybe your are in charge of planning a company party, a sporting event, grand openings, a reception, a charity event or a fundraiser, or have volunteered to do your daughters wedding or son's school play or bake sale. You might be planning festivals, rock concerts, reunions, retreats, or book signing events. Or perhaps you are just having the family and friends over for a holiday get-together. The list is endless - thousand of events are being planned as you read this! ALL of them could use environmental practices.

      Listed below are a few simple choices you can make today as you plan your special event or corporate meeting that will make an immediate difference with little effort. Do just one or do them all. The more you integrate into your planning practices the easier they become.

      10 Easy Steps to Put into Practice Today

      Here are ten simple steps that you can take right now to lessen the impact of any event:

      1. Create Standards. Establish environmental standards in writing and get buy-in from your clients, the organization's management and/or your clientele. Share your standards with suppliers, vendors, speakers, and participants.
      2. Use Technology. Use new media and electronic technology to cut down your paper needs. Create an informational web site, offer electronic registration and confirmation, and advertise using the web and use various forms of email. Create podcasts, webcasting, and video streaming to alleviate travel for and accommodate those who cannot travel.
      3. Choose a Local Destination. Picking a local or close venue will reduce distances traveled by speakers and participants. Choos
         Tips for Maintaining the Integrity of Important Files in a Modern Workplace
         One day at the office I was taken quite aback when I attempted to open an Excel spreadsheet I'd created and was prompted with the message: File in Use. Open as a read-only file? File in use? What was that all about? It was, after all, my file. Who else would be using it?The answer to that last question was, of course, anyone. Anyone at all could be using it. I worked in a company with 200+ employees and most of our documents were saved on drives with shared access. My file, essentially, was available to anyone in the entire company, from upper management to the receptionist, on a whim.With large network systems and often multiple branches, many companies these days have shared drives where employees i
         ether. The list is endless - thousand of events are being planned as you read this! ALL of them could use environmental practices.

         Listed below are a few simple choices you can make today as you plan your special event or corporate meeting that will make an immediate difference with little effort. Do just one or do them all. The more you integrate into your planning practices the easier they become.

         10 Easy Steps to Put into Practice Today

         Here are ten simple steps that you can take right now to lessen the impact of any event:

         1. Create Standards. Establish environmental standards in writing and get buy-in from your clients, the organization's management and/or your clientele. Share your standards with suppliers, vendors, speakers, and participants.
         2. Use Technology. Use new media and electronic technology to cut down your paper needs. Create an informational web site, offer electronic registration and confirmation, and advertise using the web and use various forms of email. Create podcasts, webcasting, and video streaming to alleviate travel for and accommodate those who cannot travel.
         3. Choose a Local Destination. Picking a local or close venue will reduce distances traveled by speakers and participants. Choos
            Sustainable Marketing - 4 Ways Your Stationery Kills The Environment (Second of 3 Articles)
            Remember when we last talked about sustainable marketing we looked at how PlanetArk and the Direct Marketing Association in the UK are publicising the message of sustainability. And we also noted the conflict of interest that arises with direct mail.Now I'd like to look at how stationery and how you use it affects the environment. 4 Ways Your Stationery Hits The Environment Marketing and marketing related activities consume a vast amount of ink and paper. There are at least 4 ways. These include business cards, letters, bills and brochures which all affect the environment: Forests themselves Printer Inks Dampening solutions Chlorine
            buy-in from your clients, the organization's management and/or your clientele. Share your standards with suppliers, vendors, speakers, and participants.
         4. Use Technology. Use new media and electronic technology to cut down your paper needs. Create an informational web site, offer electronic registration and confirmation, and advertise using the web and use various forms of email. Create podcasts, webcasting, and video streaming to alleviate travel for and accommodate those who cannot travel.
         5. Choose a Local Destination. Picking a local or close venue will reduce distances traveled by speakers and participants. Choose the host city that is the closest to participants’ locale. Choose a venue and hotel that are near the airport and within walking distance of each other or close to public transportation.
         6. Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. Ask your hotel or event venue to provide visible, accessible reduction, reuse, and recycling services for paper, metal, plastic, and glass. Also if food is involved in your event, ask them about their composting regime or give away programs.
         7. Volume Up. Have the food and beverage provider serve sugar, salt, pepper, cream, and other condiments in bulk dispensers. Use volume serving verses individual packaging. If you are using hotel rooms, find a venue that does not use individual shampoo and lotion bottles rather large dispensers. Also one that that offers a linen reuse program.
         8. Use Less. Be aware of what you use and how you use it whether it is food or product. When you order food or drinks for any occasion, try to order only what you will be using. And think about your give away items, are they really necessary. These are just a few areas where using less will help.
         9. Eat Healthy and Locally. Plan meals using local, seasonal produce and free range meats. Include vegetarian meals and order only what you need. Also use local flora in your decorating and keep the flowers in pots verse cut so you can use them as gifts and prizes.
         10. Use paper wisely. Published all printed materials on recycled paper using vegetable-based inks and print on both sides of the pages.
         11. Save Energy. Coordinate with the event venue to ensure lights, audio visual equipment and air conditioning will be turned off when rooms are empty.
         12. Spread the News! Tell participants, speakers, and the media about your success. You will be surprised. Green efforts are contagious.
         Some of these suggestions may seem obvious and they are, however, if you were to make the changes listed above, you would be way ahead of the game in becoming an environmental planner. The bigger event you produce the more these suggestions matter. For more information on how you can become more environmental, the Chapter Planning for the Environment in my book, The Complete Guide to Successful Event Planning. Visit my web site at www.successfuleventplanning.com to purchase the book.