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Bonus CD Includes:

•		Reusable Timelines and Checklists
•		Room Design Ideas
•		Sample Letters and Forms
•		Hiring and Certification Information
•		Helpful Catering Calculations

•		Guidelines for Creating Environmental Practices
•		Extensive List of Resources

MonaVie

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Planning for the Environment

At any given moment there are thousands of meetings and 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 impact by planning events with environmental awareness - by greening up their choices. 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 mainstream yet but are evolving and planners, venues, suppliers and participants are responding by following green practices and implementing more environmentally friendly processes and programs. The more a planner requests and ultimately hires greener services, the more suppliers and vendors will incorporate green practices as well.

Listed below are a few simple choices you can make as you plan your event or meeting that will make an immediate difference with little effort.  Do them all or do just one.  The more you integrate into your planning practices the easier they become.  There is an extensive chapter on Green Planning inside The Complete Guide to Successful Event Planning.

10 Easy Steps

If you do nothing else, here are ten steps that you can take to lessen the impact of your event: 

1. Create Standards. Establish environmental standards in writing and get buy-in from your client, the organization's management 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 various forms of email.
3. Choose a Local Destination. Picking a local or close venue will reduce distances traveled by speakers and participants. Choose the host city closest to as many participants as possible. Choose a venue and hotel that are near the airport and within walking distance of each other or close to public transportation.
4. 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.
5. Bulk Up. Have the food and beverage provider serve sugar, salt, pepper, cream, and other condiments in bulk dispensers.
6. Use Less. Choose a hotel that offers a linen reuse program and bulk dispensers for shampoos and soaps in guest suites.
7. Eat Healthy and Locally.  Plan meals using local, seasonal produce and free range meats. Include vegetarian meals and order only what you need. 
8. Smart paper Usage. Published all printed materials on recycled paper using vegetable-based inks and print on both sides of the pages.
9. Save Energy. Coordinate with the event venue to ensure lights, audio visual equipment and air conditioning will be turned off when rooms are empty.
10. Spread the News! Tell participants, speakers, and the media about your success. You will be surprised. Green efforts are contagious.

Environmental Resources