Daily Buzz: Hosting Sustainable Meetings

There’s no way around it: The meetings industry leaves a huge carbon footprint. Between traveling attendees, paper invitations and communications, energy used to power the event, and more, conferences create sizable waste that affects the environment.

That realization has left many in the industry pushing for more sustainable events. “Insiders stress the importance of a holistic approach to sustainability, looking to ‘green’ all stages of sourcing, organizing, planning, and executing events,” says Allan Leibowitz in a post for Skift  (opens in a new tab).

For many planners, a holistic meeting approach starts with finding an eco-friendly venue with the green credentials to prove it. At a logistical level, it means moving to paperless events, avoiding plastics, creating local menus, and encouraging attendees to go green, too.

“It’s not enough to go green: Events need to show off their environmental credibility,” Leibowitz says. “As long as the environment remains a hot issue in society, events with green credentials will be perceived as more worthwhile and will help organizers please their audience and deliver the right messages.”

What’s in a Credential?

Does your association offer professional certification or certificate programs? Helpful article for any organization interested in continuing education https://t.co/9IlNgENhSc  (opens in a new tab) via @WBT_Systems  (opens in a new tab) #CEUs  (opens in a new tab) #assnprofs  (opens in a new tab) #assnchat  (opens in a new tab) pic.twitter.com/KWx8xQIxXH  (opens in a new tab)

— Talented Learning (@TalentedLearn) October 9, 2018  (opens in a new tab)

Many associations offer their members continuing education through certification or a certificate program. Although they sound similar, they signify different things—and if your association wants to offer either type of program (or both), you need to know the difference.

Here’s the gist of it, according to a post on the WBT Systems blog  (opens in a new tab):

Certification recognizes a person’s existing experience and skills, and the requirements for obtaining the credential usually include experience and education components. For example, you might have to have a bachelor’s degree and four years of real-world experience to qualify.

A certificate program provides additional learning or training, and the credential is earned when a person shows mastery of the new skill or knowledge.

Other Links of Note

Data is the barometer of success for many organizations. Harvard Business Review shares three ways to create a data-driven team  (opens in a new tab).

Want to include augmented reality at your next meeting? The HubSpot blog offers a guide on the technology and how it could affect your business  (opens in a new tab).

Technology in the workplace can boost productivity, but it can also be distracting. CMSWire breaks down how to know if your tools are causing a disruption  (opens in a new tab).

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