Event greening
This page includes a description of the planning team's efforts to "green" the conference event, encouraging as low-waste and sustainable an outcome as possible. However, we also intend this information to serve as a guide for future HGCI-related and other Harvard events. Special thanks to Tyler Neill '07 who interned with the HGCI during Summer '05 to, among other conference related projects, research and consolidate sustainable event-related information. Additional thanks to Phillips Brooks House Association for funding this internship.
Greening of the"Harvard Vision 2020" Campus Sustainability Conference
A quick guide to organizing green events at Harvard
Greening of the "Harvard Vision 2020" Campus Sustainability Conference
Our decision to green the event was taken very early in the conference planning process. With sustainability being the major focus of our event, it seemed natural to organize it in the most sustainable way possible . How were we going to foster environmental awareness among the conference participants, if we were not setting a good, visible example of sustainable behavior?
In summer 2005, we hired an intern whose main task was to:
- Identify greening procedures and strategies
- Set a time-line for their implementation
- Establish strong relationships with various Harvard staff, who would later work with us on greening the event
- Create a website based resource for other Harvard constituencies about planning green events and a greening section of the conference website for our conference participants
- Detail green events features on the conference website
The major conference areas on which we have been working on so far fall into the following categories:
Food
All dining events at the conference will use ingredients that as organic, sustainable and local as possible. We have been meeting with HUDS and Crimson Catering representative since July 2005 to finalize our menu and discuss all the catering green steps. We found them more than willing to use their knowledge of the food market and of campus events to help us arrange a delicious and ecologically friendly menu. The link to our delicious menu will be available soon.
We were also able to ensure that:
- All food scraps are going to be composted (and taken back to the HUDS headquarters, since our conference center did not have a composting program), and leftovers will be donated to the Greater Boston Food Bank
- No disposable plates, cups, tablecloths, single-serving container, or other non-reusable materials will be used, except for recycled napkins
- Signs about the nature of each food item will be posted in the dining area to generate awareness.
Procurement, Recycling, and Waste
- We will work with building managers to make sure that recycling bins are located in all conference areas.
- Several paper reduction opportunities have been identified (double-sided copies for as many conference materials as possible; on-line registration etc)
- Nametags from our previous conference will be used, and will be made from recyclable plastic. They are all going to be collected for reuse before participants leave the conference
- All the paper waste before, at and after the conference will be recycled or reused
Venues and Buildings
All the conference areas are located within a walking distance one from another, so no transportation will be needed to move from one location to another.- Information about green steps taken in each conference area will be posted in a visible place
Transportation
Major efforts have been made to encourage low-impact modes of transportation to the conference. - Detailed information about public transportation was supplied on the conference website. For transportation from South Station and Logan Airport, full information was supplied for MBTA shuttles, subways routes, and busses. In case a taxi was still the preferred option, the innovative PlanetTran hybrid taxi service was employed at a rate discounted to about the price of a regular taxi.
- Our webmaster is working currently on a carpool forum in order to connect drivers from nearby areas so as to split the cost and required fuel of traveling together.
Renewable energy
Efforts are underway to fund raise money to offset the carbon emissions of the participants who will be traveling by plane/car
Accommodation
- Hotels were selected based on their proximity to public transportation, their efforts to conserve electricity and water, and their willingness to work with us on our green programs.
AND THERE IS MORE TO COME, SO STAY TUNED!
Green Events
“Event greening” is about employing environmental best practices in the planning and implementation of an event. A few examples include:
- Conserving resources (paper, electricity)
- Making sustainable food choices
- Arranging to have event waste properly disposed of, recycled, or avoided completely
- Encouraging alternative transportation and accommodation
Events such as conferences, meetings, and large community festivals, require lots of materials. While an event can generate lots of great ideas, inspiration and fun, it also usually generates a formidable waste of resources. If someone ever bothered to conduct a Life Cycle Assessment of a typical carelessly planned event, the results would reveal its heavy environmental toll. From an environmental point of view, the best solution would clearly be not to organize anything! Because this is not a likely option, we must make sure our events minimize resource consumption as much as possible.
Moreover, not only does sidestepping the potential waste and pollution from your event benefit the larger global community but could also result in some tangible financial benefits for you and your guests.
With the help of some good information and the will to do it, an “environmentally conscious” event is entirely within your reach!
Event greening is not likely to increase incremental costs of your event. While some greening efforts, such as organic food, carbon offsets or employing someone to be in charge of the project could require extra costs, other efforts could result in savings. Below are a few examples:
- Knowing accurate numbers of guests attending meals would result in smaller amounts of unnecessarily purchased food
- Using and encouraging public transportation will help avoid pricey airfare or gasoline costs for you and your guests
- Conserving resources, such as paper (online registration, e-marketing, few printouts) will reduce your logistical expenses
With good planning, event greening will not take a huge amount of time. Most event greening techniques are quite easy. Most often, it is uncertainty and inertia that hold us back, both of which can be overcome. Be creative if you have time, but otherwise simply use the resources provided below and approach the challenge with confidence.
Environmental sustainability is not something achieved with a checklist, but rather something approached with each incremental effort and success. Do what you can, and it will help!
Event greening is becoming increasingly popular not only among environmental organizations, but also political parties and companies.
Below are a few links to major conferences and organizations committed to greening:
- 2004 Democratic and Republican National Conventions: CERC04
- The Olympics - IOC Commission on Sport and the Environment
- Greenbuild Conference
A quick guide to organizing green events
- Start a dialogue with other members from your group. You will not be able to achieve as much as with having your colleagues on board. If there are official meetings related to the event, take the opportunity to let others know about your interest in its greening and share with them what you have learned here or elsewhere. Also, take the time to talk to a few people one to one to further excite them about this opportunity.If you don’t have time to manage this project, consider finding a volunteer or intern who will lead this project from beginning to end and could commit regular hours to its implementation. If you have an involved group advisor, take advantage of his or her knowledge of the campus and departments. Use the contacts provided here to connect with enthusiastic people who will help you have a successful green event.
- Create a simple checklist of things you would like to work on and a timeline for their implementation. While some things need to be thought of in advance (food, transportation), others need to be taken care of at the time of the conference. You could use the following, straightforward resource “How to Plan a Sustainable Event” that will give you some basic ideas on areas to focus on.
- Check our "Green events at Harvard" resource below, listing important strategies and people
While you can use the list above to work on any event greening, the implementation of green techniques will vary from one organization and one university to another. As a result, the following strategies are Harvard-specific and result from several weeks of work with its numerous entities.
Food
What to ask for:
- Organic, locally produced, and, (when applicable,) fairly traded food. Not all of these will apply or be possible for every food item, but will still give you quite a few options to explore. Note that local food saves resources needed to transport goods over large distances, and it helps smaller communities. Organic certification, on the other hand, helps ensure healthy, pesticide-free food and sustainable farming practices. Furthermore, the organic market, still small, will grow inasmuch as it is supported.
- Very few disposables. Favor reusable materials like porcelain, metal, and cloth. If using disposable materials is necessary, prioritize recyclable packaging or recycled paper products, such as napkins. Avoid disposable cups, utensils, plates, tablecloths, napkins, and excessive packaging as much as possible, Even biodegradable flatware and utensils must be produced for a single use and so are not nearly as resource efficient as reusables.
- Composting. If working with HUDS, composting would not be a difficult issue at all. If you’re using other food services or are obtaining your own food, do your best to work out a way to separate and properly dispose of compostable food waste.
- Accurate numbers. Thanks to a detailed registration, you will know how many people will attend each of your events. Let your catering company know what those numbers are and avoid ordering more food than needed. The more food you buy that doesn't get used, the more will have to be taken care of afterwards and the more money you are likely to spend.
- Donating leftovers. Harvard is already a registered Donor in the Greater Boston Food Bank’s (GBFB) Second Helping program, so if you are working with HUDS, donations are almost automatic. Otherwise, you can visit the GBFB website or discuss this option with your caterer.
Harvard Caterers
There are several caterers at Harvard from which one may choose, but for the time being we have been only working with Harvard University Dining Services (HUDS). Based on our experience, HUDS’s Crimson Catering makes greening relatively easy, as their entire team is very enthusiastic about sustainable foods and practices.
Contact: Bob Leandro, Robert Martin and Madeline Meehan will be your contact people when working on a sustainable menu and other green steps.
Be aware that HUDS is only able to cater events in College campus buildings.
Other schools or buildings may have their own caterers, so take the time to meet with them to go over your event and explain your sustainable priorities.
Procurement, Waste and Recycling
- Visit the UOS Recycling website to learn everything you could ever want to know about recycling at Harvard, including what can be recycled and why we should
- If recycling/composting bins are missing in your event areas, talk first to the buildings’ managers. They may arrange the bins and their pick-up for you. If it doesn’t work, contact Rob Gogan, Harvard University Waste Manager.
Venues and Buildings
- Contact the building managers on an individual basis, and think about meeting to discuss how to efficiently meet your groups green needs (e.g. energy efficient lighting, bins, sustainable cleaning product).
- Ask them to give you information about all the green steps that have been undertaken in their building and later display it during your event. Not only will it make the participants aware of a variety of green efforts happening around them but could also encourage the building managers to pay more attention to how they operate their buildings.
Transportation
- When reaching out to the event participants, encourage them to use public transportation (train, bus, subway) when coming to your event.
- In the transportation section of the event website, list all public transportation options, each of them including cost & time, as well as distance from the closest T or bus stops to the event areas
- Research green taxi options (for instance, PlanetTran is "the Nation's first and Boston's only transportation service based exclusively on environmentally-friendly hybrid vehicles!" and offering special discounts for the Harvard community)
- Create a carpooling on-line forum on the event website
Renewable Energy
- Did you know that an average commercial domestic US airline flight releases more than 1,700 pounds per person of greenhouse gases into our atmosphere? Running any special event is bound to result in considerable GHG emissions, especially if your guests are coming by plane and from far away. Consider getting carbon offsets for all the miles traveled by your guests or encourage them to do it themselves. Check: http://www.climatecare.org/Individuals/index.cfm or http://www.betterworldclub.com/links/offsets.htm
Accommodation
- Find a Green Hotel for your guests. The “Green Hotels” website lists all the properties in your area “whose managers are eager to institute programs that save water, save energy and reduce solid waste”.
- Make sure that the hotel you choose is locate in the proximity of your event to avoid greenhouse gas emissions from your guests’ daily commuting to the conference!
- Some hotels are not listed on the “Green Hotel website but have implemented several green projects into their operations. Sheraton’s sale representative, for instance shared with us information about all their environmental initiatives and has shown lots of interest in running additional pilot projects at the time of the Conference, such as “green cleaning.”
General Resources
- Explore other sections of the HGCI website, particularly those under the “take action!” heading. You’ll find tips on saving energy, “reducing your paper trail” usage, and green procurement.
- Check External Resources. A large number of resources have been consulted to create this online tool for you.