Sustainability Resources and Ideas for Meetings

By Beth Buehler

Over the last two decades, I’ve watched the fluidity of sustainability resources and ideas for meetings and written about the topic in numerous articles and blogs. The definition of sustainability has expanded, so referring to the concept as “green” meetings has become less common.

Get Informed

The concept of Three Pillars of Sustainable Conference Planning mentioned by Meaghan Maybee in her pc/nametag blog Sustainable Events: 10 Strategies for Eco-friendly Conference Planning is easy to digest. An event is considered sustainable if it follows practices in three categories: environmental, economic and social sustainability.

For many years, the focus was mainly on environmental sustainability as planners and groups addressed things like recycling, composting, eliminating single-serve packaged items, repurposing leftover swag and conference materials, examining carbon footprint, and selecting venues and hotels with significant efforts of their own in place. It’s a fact that meetings and events create waste, and Maybee provides several impactful statistics like the average waste for a three-day event with 1,000 attendees being three tons. Also, the average event wastes between 15 to 20% of all food it produces, with salads being one of the most widely wasted food items.

Maybee’s 10 Strategies largely focus on the environmental sustainability category, recommending approaches such as partner with LEED-certified venues, create a sustainable event policy, share eco-friendly messaging with attendees and stakeholders, and provide eco-friendly event transportation options. Read the article to review the six other strategies.

I also found Kanchi Jain’s 11 Steps to Planning Sustainable Events and Meetings for Skift Meetings to be helpful when looking at sustainability resources and ideas for meetings. While there is some overlap between the two articles, she encourages planners to choose sustainable catering options, embrace digital solutions, design sustainable décor and branding, and measure impact by tracking metrics such as waste produced and diverted from landfills and carbon footprint. Good ways to showcase success, Jain notes, is to create a post-event report that highlights sustainability efforts and impact achieved; post information on social media; and develop case studies that can serve as roadmaps for others to follow. One statistic she cited that perked my interest is from an Events Industry Council (EIC) study that states sustainable practices can lead to a 20-30% cost savings in event expenses.

Speaking of EIC, the organization’s Futures Landscape Report 2025 examined 12 key themes, including Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) business standards and principles. Under the ESG section, the report states that sustainability will become increasingly integrated into event planning over the next 5 years, from venue selection and waste reduction methods to carbon footprint minimization and supplier choices. “Sustainable practices (e.g., carbon negative), speakers and initiatives will become essential for attracting attendees, sponsors and clients,” the report predicts. “ESG considerations will influence all aspects of event planning, including supplier/partner relations, event format/scale, waste management practices, carbon impacts and community engagement.”

In addition, EIC suggests that sustainability will play a big part in what planners are looking for “in sourcing RFPs and managing the events lifecycle, with many turning to ISO 20121:2024 (in alignment with the United Nations Sustainable Development Group) to cut through the noise of myriad fragmented sustainability standards.”

If you aren’t on the sustainability train for meetings and events, don’t delay as it is chugging full steam ahead. What does this mean for Colorado? I’ve written a Destination Colorado Meetings blog about sustainable schwag for trade shows and previously mentioned all that Denver has done to be an eco-friendly city (including the LEED-certified Colorado Convention Center) and the sustainability resources and ideas for meetings provided by VISIT DENVER.

A Case Study

One conference I’ve assisted with as a volunteer for many years achieved official zero waste status in 2022 and 2024. The Colorado Governor’s Tourism Conference (Gov Con) hosted by the Colorado Tourism Office (CTO) attracts about 500 attendees and is held in a different destination around the state each fall. I serve on the on-site planning team and will use the 2024 Gov Con in Mt. Crested Butte last September as a case study to illustrate sustainability resources and ideas for meetings and events. Elevation Hotel and Spa served as the host hotel, and venues and additional catering and lodging were booked through Crested Butte Mountain Resort. The 2022 conference was held in Snowmass.

Due to thoughtful planning by the CTO and planner Deb Brannon, owner of Altitude Events in Golden, and collaboration with environmentally conscious attendees, 2024 Gov Con diverted 90.69% of waste from landfills in the form of 681.9 pounds of compost and 221.2 pounds of recycling. Only 84.3 pounds of trash went to the landfill. A survey revealed that 84% of respondents carpooled, drove an electric vehicle, took public transportation, or hiked/walked to Mt. Crested Butte (you can hike to Mt. Crested Butte from Aspen). In addition, 94% used their own water bottles and coffee mugs, 90% limited housekeeping by reusing towels and sheets during their stay, and 80% took notes on a computer or tablet.

To accomplish zero-waste status, the Gov Con planning team and CTO’s sustainability committee made several intentional choices and recommend nine key strategies:

• Plan ahead;
• Chose a sustainable venue;
• Partner with organizations that can provide on-site expertise and support;
• Promote reuse and recycling;
• Minimize food waste;
• Reduce paper use;
• Encourage exhibitors to limit giveaways to meaningful items;
• Support green transportation options; and
• Conduct a post-event survey to learn which sustainable actions attendees adopted.

CTO also partnered with Avon-based Walking Mountains Science Center, which provides education and outreach about recycling and composting while supporting special events with environmental sustainability initiatives. For 2024 Gov Con, the organization’s program manager and interns assisted with composting efforts and provided recycling containers.

As a follow up, CTO presented an hour-long “How to Host a Zero Waste Event” webinar in November to provide proven sustainability resources and ideas for meetings. It was the first in the CTO’s Destination Stewardship in Action series that is designed to support Colorado tourism partners in implementing Destination Stewardship Strategic Plans.

This is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of sustainability solutions. Let us know if you have a case study to share for a future blog.

Photos show 2024 Colorado Governor’s Tourism Conference in Mt. Crested Butte, courtesy Taylor Ahearn/Elevation Resort and Spa. Top photo: Hire local entertainment and utilize an existing stage.

Colorado native Beth Buehler has been editor of Colorado Meetings + Events magazine for 20 years, helped launch Mountain Meetings magazine, and was on the team that introduced Southwest Meetings + Events. She has planned numerous meetings and events and enjoys exploring Colorado.