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The Green Meeting Industry Council is Launched
The Green Meeting Industry Council is Launched
Published 02-02-04
Submitted by Green Meeting Industry Council
The Green Meeting Industry Council is dedicated to improving meeting management practices by promoting environmentally responsible strategies through the collaborative efforts of meeting industry stakeholders. The Green Meeting Industry Council is committed to balancing economic, environmental, and community objectives as they relate to the meeting industry.
The organization was created to respond to the need to galvanize the hospitality industry stakeholders in this evolving arena and to provide education and resources for meeting planners to make their events and conferences environmentally responsible. The hospitality industry is responsible for over 1 million meetings & events annually and over 12,000 tradeshows annually in North America alone. The hospitality industry is a $100 billion corporate industry.
GMIC was initiated by Portland-based Meeting Strategies Worldwide (MSWW), a meeting planning firm known nationally to have been planning their client’s meetings “green” for many years. Besides engaging the Convention Industry Council (CIC) in becoming a vocal supporter of the concept of green meetings, the two principals and co-founders of MSWW Amy Spatrisano and Nancy Wilson, have been active contributors to the development of the issue of green meetings in many other ways and serve on the board.
Board member Terri Stewart from the US Green Building Council (USGBC) will bring invaluable insights to the work of GMIC since GMIC expects to play a similar role in the green meetings arena as the USGBC has played in the arena of green buildings. Buildings and meetings are quite similar in that no two are alike and standards and certification programs designed around either need to provide the flexibility required by the many variables. A standard and certification program for green meetings is one of a number of goals the GMIC Board began discussing at this board meeting.
Board member Tyra Hilliard, chair of George Washington University’s Events Management Program brings years of meeting industry experience to the table along with an intention to offer an accredited/professional certificate training program for green meetings. GWU has extensive and renowned experience in developing and administering local and on-line (distance learning) training/professional certificate programs. A concept paper outlining a green meetings training and professional certificate program was funded by EPA/OPPT and is being co-developed by MSWW, GWU and the Oceans Blue Foundation (OBF). PPD’s Russell Clark was fortunate to have been able to connect Tyra with MSWW and OBF after meeting with Tyra per her request that followed her attendance of an educational seminar on green meetings that Russ presented at during a monthly luncheon of the Potomac Chapter of Meeting Professionals International.
Board member Mark Sirangelo brings a uniquely business-oriented perspective to the mix having founded and run a number of meeting industry-related companies over many years that includes a stint as the chair of the Meeting Professionals International Foundation Board. The Foundation’s mission is to research the meeting planning profession, identify opportunities to increase the productivity and communication value of meetings, and help the meeting stakeholders achieve their meeting objectives.
EPA's Russell Clark is acting as a Federal Liaison to the Board of GMIC rounds out this initial interim Board.
Green Meeting Industry Council
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