Introduction

For many governments and businesses today, sustainable development is a goal that impacts on all of their activities. This Guide is designed to help meeting organizers plan and implement meetings that are as environmentally responsible as possible.

The Guide is intended to provide advice for various types of meetings from one-day events with a small number of participants to larger meetings with participants from abroad. Organizing a "green" meeting involves thinking of environmental considerations at every stage of the organization process. It means ensuring that environmental factors are considered in every decision to purchase a product or contract a service. Factors that should be considered for different types of products and services are listed in the various checklists.

• General principles for meeting organizers, and advice on how to identify environmentally appropriate products and services
• Administration: procurement office and administrative procedures associated with "greening" initiatives
• Logistics: general logistics, accommodations, hospitality/food services and transportation
• Facilities: new and existing
• Sponsorship
• Media/ Communications
• Security
• Special events
• Leaving an environmental legacy

Depending on the size and complexity of your meeting, some of the sections (e.g., Security, the Accommodations Checklist) may not apply to your situation. By filling out the online questionaire, only the sections of the manual relevent to your situation will be presented to you. You may then download this document in one of several word-processor formats.

The Guide is a compilation of "best practices ' that apply to most types of meetings. Although every effort should be made to adhere to these practices, it may not be possible to do so in all cases. For example, in some regions there may not be sufficient suppliers, or measures may not be feasible for reasons of cost or timing. If you are arranging a very large, high-profile meeting and/or a meeting where environmental practices will be subject to particular scrutiny, you may wish to hire an environmental consultant to assist you with such tasks as selecting environmentally appropriate products and services.

If this is your first time using the electronic version of the
Greening Meetings Manual, please click here for Instructions.