It’s tough to pick a green destination. It’s not just how green your venue is, but how green the entire city is, from airport to transit to water use policies, waste management, building codes, operational requirements and attitudes.
APEX/ASTM included destinations in standard E2741-11, “Evaluation and Selection of Destinations for Environmentally Sustainable Meetings, Events, Trade Shows, and Conferences.” But only two cities, Denver and Portland, have achieved Level 1 certification.
The Green Meeting Industry Council (GMIC) can help suggest other green cities with its Destination Spotlight. Here are some of the greenest choices in North America from GMIC Director of Operations Amanda Ulbrich.
Denver was the first city to gain ASTM Level 1 certification. Clients may not yet be selecting destinations based solely on green practices, but Denver leaves no doubts about its attitude. Every request for information and every bid includes detailed information about the city’s sustainable practices.
Las Vegas is the sleeper on GMIC’s list. Sustainability is as much an economic move as it is a green statement. With most of the world’s largest hotels and one of the largest convention centers on Earth in the middle of a desert at the far end of most supply chains, Las Vegas can’t afford not to push the sustainability envelope.
Portland is home to GMIC, so the only surprise is that Denver got its Level 1 certification first. Portland was among the first destination management organizations to dedicate a full-time position to promoting the city’s green credentials.
San Francisco emerged as the “Greenest City in North America” in a 2011 report from the Economist Intelligence Unit, based on CO2 emissions, energy, land use, buildings, transport, water, waste, air quality and environmental governance. It was the first city in the US to mandate composting and recycling for residents, restaurants and events—in 2009.
Vancouver-Whistler gets high marks for assuming that clients want to do the right thing with default choices such as no bottled water and no printed convention materials. Whistler Conference Centre, for example, has nearly 90 percent landfill diversion by aggressively pushing composting and recycling with planners, their clients and attendees.
