Page 1 of 6

Journal for Studies in Management and Planning

Available at

http://edupediapublications.org/journals/index.php/JSMaP/

ISSN: 2395-0463

Volume 03 Issue 08

July 2017

Available online: http://edupediapublications.org/journals/index.php/JSMaP/ P a g e | 340

Green Meeting in Hotel Industry Moving towards

Sustainable Development

Amandeep1 & Dr. Dilbag Singh2

Assistant Professor, Department of Tourism and Hotel Management, Central University of Haryana.

ABSTRACT:

Green meetings save the environment and also

help an organization to save money and

contribute to their Corporate Social

Responsibility activities. Everyone has been

watching and listening how every event or

organization is striving to go eco-friendly, some

even market their initiatives and special

activities which help them save the environment

and reduce the carbon footprint, but how much

do we know about going green and what exactly

counts to be green or eco-friendly? Meetings

and business tourism is increasing than ever,

and negative environmental impacts of

associated events can be significant. The hotel

or hospitality industry has also come up with

green meeting initiatives which strive in the

direction to save our environment and produce

the least amount of waste which has been an

emerging problem in terms of food,

accommodation, energy, water, etc. Many

hotels have benefited from green management

in ways such as enhanced reputation of the firm

and an increase in loyal customers. This review

paper aims at understanding the importance of

implementing sustainable and green practices

in the meeting of hotel and hospitality

industries. The findings and review of data

discussed in this paper, may generate ideas and

prove to be beneficial by implementing of such

green practices in hotels which they could

considerin nearfuture to be a part of a greener,

more sustainable Industry.

KEYWORDS:

Sustainability, green meetings, conferences and

conventions, business events.

INTRODUCTION:

During the last few decades, the increase in

pollution and hazardous waste produced by

various manufacturing and services industries

have seen a rise, contributing to the increased

carbon footprint. There is a need for more

sustainable business environment by many

industry sectors, and the meeting industry is no

exception. The hotel industry is a large business

sector catering to the meeting industry, which

means hotels can play a vital role in changing

the present practices being followed in order to

achieve sustainable growth by adapting to a

changing, more environmentally aware

working culture to implement green practices

and initiatives.

According to Events Industry Council, “A

green meeting or event incorporates

environmental considerations to minimize its

negative impact on the environment” [1].

Sustainability means meeting the needs of the

present generations without compromising the

aptitude of the future generations [2]. Green

meetings mean making healthier, safer, less

wasteful and less damaging event by

implementing eco-friendly practices and by

controlling the use of natural resources. These

eco-friendly meetings are usually held with the

aim of leaving a positive impact on the

environment and community. Greening the

meetings is a way of doing things that take the

present and the future into account by applying

sustainable and environmental practices. Eco- friendly practices of green meetings mainly

include reducing waste, reusing, recycling,

conserving energy and providing water

efficiency. Holding a green meeting can help an

organization to institute environmental

protection measures more broadly, thereby

obtaining even greater financial benefits. Along

with the positive environmental benefits,

greening the meetings can be a good way of

saving money for meeting organizers as well

Page 2 of 6

Journal for Studies in Management and Planning

Available at

http://edupediapublications.org/journals/index.php/JSMaP/

ISSN: 2395-0463

Volume 03 Issue 08

July 2017

Available online: http://edupediapublications.org/journals/index.php/JSMaP/ P a g e | 341

[3]. A meeting can be converted into a green

with basic sustainable practices which may be

related to saving of energy, use of local sourced

materials, and highly optimised use of

resources such as paper, water and food. Effect

on environment starts when a person starts

planning for a meeting. From his travel,

accommodation, mode of transport opted, food

he might be served and other supplies matter

and contribute to environmental pollution and

waste. The tourism and hotel industry have

been always quick in responding to the needs of

the customers as well as the environment and

such can be seen with the adoption of various

green initiatives by the industry by certifying

and following sustainable practices

recommended by green councils and

certification organisations such as LEED,

ECOTEL, ISO 14000 certification and many

more. Now by targeting an essential part of

organisation of meetings and finding ways to

make it greener the hotels can further take the

sustainability to next level which is not only

appreciated by the new age customers and

travellers but also making an impact on

environment worthy. Being a new concept

which is just at primary stage there is a need to

spread and inform the mass about the concept

and literate them about the same so to achieve

more adaptation rate by prevailing and

upcoming tourist and meeting destinations

around the world. There is a myth that

considering green practices generates higher

costs due to the green products and the

requirements, which needs to be put light on

and bring awareness about the benefits it brings

along, such as positive word of mouth,

branding, and corporate social responsibility

which would be additional key factors not only

in eco-awareness but also in marketing

strategies. Accordingly, this paper will try to

explore and identify the various areas and steps

of going green through meetings.

LITERATURE REVIEW:

Barbara Obritzhauser 2011, stated in his

research that while conducting a green meeting

the main initiatives undertaken were in the F&B

and waste management areas of a meeting by

serving jugged iced water, using local suppliers,

composting food waste and using different

purpose recycle bins which may separate paper

and plastic waste. To spread awareness and see

better results the organisers also distributed

pamphlets mentioning ways by which each

individual can make a difference and also

provided an estimation calculator to count the

carbon footprint they make and can save

through different activities. The hotels or

meeting places also follow sustainable building

design for the venue to minimise waste and

reduce consumption of non-renewable

resources by using water saving faucets, LED

lightning and solar water heating sources [4].

Amandeep (2017) highlighted that using green

practices the businesses not only benefits the

environment but also save on cost in long run

by promoting their business apart from the

competition, by adopting sustainable practices

one can also improve the sustainability of

business too. When one is less dependent on

natural resources than competition and have

ways to deal with the rising cost due to climate

change or scarcity, the business will have

greater chance of long term success [5].

Green Meeting Industry Council and the

International Standards Organization

ASTM International, have developed “Green

Meeting Standards which can be classified into

nine major areas namely [6, 7]

Page 3 of 6

Journal for Studies in Management and Planning

Available at

http://edupediapublications.org/journals/index.php/JSMaP/

ISSN: 2395-0463

Volume 03 Issue 08

July 2017

Available online: http://edupediapublications.org/journals/index.php/JSMaP/ P a g e | 342

1) Accommodation: Hotels, motels, as

well as bed and breakfasts, hostels, or

other facilities.

2) Audio-Visual: Including sound,

lighting, and staging at meetings.

3) Communications: Event

communications, programmes, and

promotional materials, including name

badges and conference bags, etc.

4) Destinations: Any city or area

supporting meetings, including aspects

such as municipal recycling, etc.

5) Exhibits: The practices of the

general service contractors who set up

the shows.

6) Food and Beverage: Related to the

restaurants, hotel, or independent

caterers serving food and beverages.

7) Meeting Venue: Any facility hosting

a meeting.

8) On-Site Office: Practices of an

organization related to the meeting

while setting up and executing during

the event.

9) Transportation: Participant and staff

travel.

Source: Greenbiz Website [6]

https://www.greenbiz.com/blog/2014/01/21/epa-approved-standards-green- meetings

Mair and Jago (2010) in their study proposed

a model to understand how some business

events operators are willing to invest in

sustainable practices and facilities. They found

number of internal and external drivers such as

the presence of a Corporate Social

Responsibility policy, a desire for image

enhancement, perceived competitive

advantage, and customer demand. They

suggested that ‘green’ or sustainability will

become a hygiene factor, which will simply

become expectation from organisers and

participants. [9]

L. Ranacher & U. Pröbstl-Haider (2014) in

their research concluded that if meeting venue

have some kind of ecocertification of green

meetings it is perceived positive feature.

Creation of green meetings is considered to be

dependent on the organiser’s sense of

environmental responsibility, as it’s influenced

by personal, sociocultural and situational

factors. [11]

According to Bongkosh Rittichainuwat &

Judith Mair (2012) research results it indicate

that the people attending the green meetings

were most likely to agree to staying in the same

hotel where meeting is held, saving

transportation effect on environment and being

served with local food instead of importing

meats/veggies/fruits. They were also happy to

minimise the wastage of food resonating the

mantra of reduce, reuse and recycle. These

findings suggests that organisers should be

aware of these options and can freely go ahead

to implement and contribute towards greening

of meeting industry. [12]

Chiou, Shin Yi (2011) said green meeting

trends have a strong commitment to

conferences, trade shows, meetings in the