e-Communiqué

April/May 2006

Published exclusively for members of ACCED-I

On the campuses of our nation’s higher education institutions, a bold new method of building and planning is taking root. It is the development of campus environmental sustainability, for which the departments of college conference and event services play an integral role in advancing.

As a variety of businesses have undertaken a shift to a more sustainable model, the media has increasingly noted aspects of environmental sustainability on campuses. From the wide array of these higher education sustainability efforts there are a number of tangible opportunities for conference and event services and ACCED-I. Before touching on each of these areas it’s important to define sustainability.

There are many definitions of sustainable development. In fact, many of our institutions dedicate classroom time for an entire semester to define this. For our purposes, we cite the World Travel and Tourism’s definition from the Brundtland Commission– “Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” (Lipman et al, 1998)

Sustainability on campus is certainly being discussed in higher education circles, and with ever greater frequency. The mainstream media has featured articles on this topic, including The New York Times as recently as January 2006. In “The Greening of America’s Campuses,” Timothy Egan describes several campuses that are shifting their living-learning landscape to better accommodate students looking for places with a sustainable focus. (Egan, 2006) Higher education associations continue to make reference to this topic - including the Society of College and University Planning (SCUP)’s annual Campus Sustainability Day, and ACCED-I, through Debra Rowe’s article, referencing the United Nations’ Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005-2014). (Rowe, 2005)

Institutions of higher learning are taking cues from the private sector of which has integrated aspects of sustainability into its business practices and seen significant social, environmental and economic benefit. Take, for instance, the Interface Carpet Company, producers of carpets, textiles, chemicals and flooring. In the mid-90s they were a $802-million-dollar company that also produced 1.2 billion pounds of materials, 2/3 of which were from irreplaceable natural resources. (Anderson, 1998) Led by CEO Ray Anderson, Interface changed business practices dramatically so their standard carpet practice was distilled down to a model based on easy to install and repair carpet squares made of natural materials.

As a part of this “sustainability makeover,” Anderson invited 1,000 Interface employees to a conference at the Grand Wailea in Maui! At this conference he issued a challenge to each of the participants – to mindfully reduce their environmental impact during their stay. Interface employees took the challenge to heart, and over the course of their weeklong stay they saved a considerable amount of resources as compared to a similar-sized group the year prior. The group comparatively saved 48% water, 48% propane and 34% in solid waste charges due to their aggressive conservation measures. Amortized over the year this would amount to over a $1 million savings. (Anderson, 1998) The added bonus: the Grand Wailea was so impressed with the efforts that they bought all new carpeting through Interface. Interface has advanced its triple bottom line – examining the economic, social and environmental aspects of its business – and has profited handsomely each quarter.

___________

“Energy and waste management…are far from the only aspects of environmental sustainability.”
___________

The classic focus of environmental sustainability on campus has centered on waste management and energy use. Waste management usually means increasing recycling efforts and in some cases reducing tipping fees. Energy use refers to how campus buildings reduce energy use, especially in times of energy crunches, as is presently the case. Both are very important aspects of environmental sustainability, in terms of capital improvements and in terms of traditional campus planning. Energy and waste management, however, are far from the only aspects of environmental sustainability.

It’s helpful to think about sustainability in higher education in terms of different levels: the university level, the departmental level, the office level and the human resource level.

At the university level, sustainability typically revolves around buildings. The largest recognized movement of building sustainability is the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification conducted by the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) (www.usgbc.org). These certifications center on keeping energy and resource use at a minimum. Several institutions have prioritized the construction of these facilities. A presidential directive at the University of Vermont calls for all new buildings to be LEED-certified.

At the departmental level, in our case conference and event services, there are multiple opportunities for advancing campus-based sustainability initiatives. There are a number of resources offering possibilities for “greening” campus conference operations including, but not limited to, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) – Green Meetings Publication (1996), the Convention Industry Council (CIC)’s Green Meetings Report (2004), and the Blue Green Meetings website (www.bluegreenmeetings.org). There are also several private sector resources, including the Green Hotelier (www.greenhotelier.com). The CIC’s resource does a good job of splitting actions into event supplier and event organizer categories.

In terms of event suppliers, there are things that we can coordinate with local visitors bureaus such as providing conference guests with maps of local parks and walking trails, or working with local food vendors to supply seasonal foods for meals that guests sign up for, thus making for more accurate numbers and reducing food waste.

___________

“What if instead of giving the traditional conference gifts, guests were given a reusable mug at check-in that they could use throughout the conference?”
___________

In terms of event organizers, we can promote our campuses as walkable, transit-based, environmentally-friendly locations, and work with our dining and catering staff to use reusable plates and cutlery. What if, instead of giving the traditional conference gifts, guests were given a reusable mug at check-in that they could use throughout the conference? Several ideas are discussed in these resources – some may be more applicable for your institution than others.

At the office level, there are a number of ways to advance sustainability on campus. Several offices have undertaken an inter-office sustainability plan which guides the products they buy, the policies for turning off equipment, reusing paper and recycling, to name just a few. Such a plan also helps to educate all of those working within the office.

Lastly, at the human resource level, there are ways to advance sustainability. One is educating and empowering staff with conservation measures that can help them reduce utility costs. Another is encouraging staff to maintain a healthy work-life balance to assist with their well-being and, consequently, the other missions of the office.

There are tremendous opportunities for the membership of ACCED-I to advance environmental sustainability on campus. These efforts also help to advance the uniqueness of our locales, help to combat waste, lead to potential savings in utility costs and perhaps even increase revenue. Working on environmental sustainability in conference and event services is, additionally, a way to support university initiatives in a very tangible way and a great way to bridge town-gown relationships. Creative solutions in this arena are being created in the nooks of the world’s collegiate conferences – perhaps developing an ACCED-I sustainability working group would help to unearth and share these stories.

References:

• Anderson, Ray (1998). “Mid-Course Correction.”
• Convention Industry Council (2004). “Green Meetings Report”.
• Environmental Protection Agency (1996). “It’s Easy Being Green! A Guide To Planning And Conducting Environmentally Aware Meeting and Events”.
• Egan, Timothy (2006). “The Greening of America’s Campuses: It’s not just recycling anymore.” The New York Times – January 8, 2006.
• Lipman, Geoffrey H., Antonio Enriquez Savignac and Maurice F. Strong. Agenda 21 for the Travel & Tourism Industry. (1998).
• Rowe, Debra (2005). “New Focus on Education for Sustainable Development and Our Important Role”. ACCED-I e-Communiqué .