So your clients want to “green up” their conference. And, they’ve left it to you, the planner, to show them the way.

The organizers of this month’s United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen (COP15) have taken some big steps (and a lot of little ones, too) to decrease the carbon footprint that comes with bringing together over 16,000 delegates from around the world.

COP15 organizers have been quite creative in their approach.

Delegates are being met at the airport with transit passes and bikes instead of the usual limousines and multi-passenger vans. And, when cars are necessary, organizers have opted for fuel-efficient hybrids.

The conference centre is being powered, in part, by wind turbines. The carpets are made from biodegradable materials, pens from recycled water bottles, and there will be no “official” conference gifts given to delegates. Water bottles have been eliminated and delegates required to get their water from water stations set up throughout the facility. Delegates who do not bring their own water containers can drink from biodegradable cornstarch cups that have been provided.

Food suppliers and local hoteliers in Copenhagen have jumped on the green bandwagon, too. Over 65 percent of the food served will be organic and all coffee and tea will be “fair trade.” Over half of the hotels are providing at least some eco-certified green rooms, a 48 percent jump from just two years ago.

In spite of all of their best efforts, organizers recognize transporting, housing and feeding tens of thousands of people over 11 days will result in substantial carbon emissions. To offset these, organizers have replaced 20 inefficient brick factories in Bangladesh with more energy efficient ones. They’ve calculated that in doing this they’ll reduce the use of coal in the brick making ovens by 90 percent.

Janet Latremouille is a sales associate at WTTC.com – The Meeting Planner’s Best Resource. She can be reached at 1-888-224-3178 or by e-mailing amjl@wttc.com

After the interview, Lindsay was kind enough to provide us with a list of links and resources compiled by the foundation especially for the meetings, incentives, conventions and events industry. For more information, visit The David Suzuki Foundation Website or use the site’s search engine to find additional resources and comments helpful to the industry. You can also contact the foundation with your specific questions by emailing contact@davidsuzuki.org. There is also the option to sign your company up for the David Suzuki “At Work” Program. Follow the link to read some of the program’s success stories.

Resources Links:

How-to Guide To Doing Business in a New Climate (Book, PDF)

How to Host a Sustainable, Carbon Neutral Conference of Other Events

Other Ways To Make Your Event More Sustainable

Guide To Making Sense of Paper Labels (PDF)

Guide To Offset Vendors (PDF)

The hospitality industry has taken steps to create “green” designations for hotels, restaurants and service suppliers. Many hotels are committed to building “green,” working with developers who build buildings that are LEED certified. Houston-based “Green” Hotels Association is building a green hotel community and a green marketplace that features environmentally responsible suppliers. The Hotel Association of Canada has its “green key” designation while the American Hotel & Lodging Association provides comprehensive guidelines to help the industry “green up.”

In recognition of the thousands of planners and suppliers committed to reducing the environmental impact of their industry, WTTC.com is pleased to launch a new editorial feature that will help planners and suppliers reach their green targets. We’ll provide information on responsible suppliers, welcome guest bloggers, and provide easy and economical ideas on how organizations of any size can reduce their environmental impact.

We’re also very interested in finding ways to promote responsible trade. There are lots of great companies out there who work hard to ensure that the suppliers and services they source are committed to fair trade practices.

We want to help members of the WTTC.com community connect with companies whose business practices reflect their own desire to make this world a better place – for everybody. If you’re a “green” supplier or a planner with a “green” success story to tell, let us know. We’d love to hear from you as well.

Janet Latremouille is a sales associate at WTTC.com – The Meeting Planner’s Best Resource. She can be reached at 1-888-224-3178 or by e-mailing amjl@wttc.com

Think about it – at a business convention, the company can pay for 10 of their staff to get rental cars and all drive separately to the meetings and events in a given town. Or the company can schedule chauffeured transportation – a couple of SUVs or an executive van for all 10 atttendees to take them all around. The fuel savings in huge! Not to mention if the attendees don’t know their way around that town – it’s a big time and stress saver for the employees to have the professional chauffeur drive so they can focus on preparing for the meeting, checking their Blackberry for important messages, etc. – instead of fighting traffic and navigation. And of course if they want to enjoy a cocktail at the after 5pm networking event-taking a chauffeured ride is the only option!

Share the ride – save the planet.