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Although not all companies are jumping in with both feet, many are producing green events on a one-time basis, to tie into the launch of an eco-related product or service, to promote an earth-friendly theme, or as a way to test a larger-scale green initiative. Here are 10.

1. For a 450-guest holiday party last December, Annika Dukes, marketing manager for Berkeley, California-based architecture firm Noll & Tam, brought Johanna Walsh of Twirl Management on board to give the annual blowout a greener spin. Guests were encouraged to take local commuter train service to the stop nearest Noll & Tam’s office, where shuttles ferried them the remaining two miles to the party. For many menu items, Walsh tracked down local and organic sources. To cut down on waste, she ordered locally brewed beer in kegs rather than individual bottles, and purchased all nonalcoholic drinks in bulk. Biodegradable plates and flatware as well as reusable china and glass tableware were used, and leftover food was either composted or donated.
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Green Leaders, Going Green, Aveda, New York Fashion Week, Food Bank of New York, Meredith Publishing, Fidelity Investments

EVENT INTELLIGENCE 09.25.08 9:00 AM

Green Leaders: Getting the Whole Team on Board

Angie Pfeifer, assistant vice president of corporate meetings, travel and incentives at Investors Group
Photo: Thomas Fricke for BizBash

This is the last of four profiles of planners who are committed to eco-friendly events.

"I spent a lot of time to understand what running a socially responsible meeting includes,” says Angie Pfeifer, assistant vice president of corporate meetings, travel, and incentives for Investors Group, a Winnipeg, Manitoba-based financial firm. “There’s a lot more time you have to invest up front [for green events].”

Pfeifer plans internal conferences and sales meetings as well as sales incentives, and was recently charged with creating a plan to make the company’s meetings and events sustainable. That includes looking over everything from hotel contracts to banquet menus to vendor credentials to find ways to go green. It’s also her job to delegate specific green-research tasks among the seven-person department: For instance, one staffer might get the task of finding the most cost-effective green printer, while another will create green criteria for hotel RFP forms. MORE >>

Green Leaders, Going Green, Angie Pfeifer, Investors Group

EVENT INTELLIGENCE 09.24.08 9:00 AM

Green Leaders: Shrinking Waste With Style

Melissa Gellman Weiss, vice president of communications at Theory
Photo: Patrick McMullen

This is the third of four profiles of planners who are committed to eco-friendly events.

For Melissa Gellman Weiss, the toughest part of creating eco-friendly events for fashion brand Theory is finding green products that look as high-end as their conventional counterparts.

“The invitation issue is a big one,” says Weiss, vice president of communications for the New York-based apparel company. “There’s nothing more lauded than engraved or letterpress invites. That’s how you denote how important an event is. If I send you an E-vite, it seems less important.” She tries to split the difference by going for recycled paper and soy inks—classier than email, but not as wasteful as traditional printing.

A big part of her green endeavors is trying to break preconceived notions that elegance needs to be synonymous with conspicuous consumption. “The role we’ve tried to play is that of educating people and acting as a paradigm to illustrate some of the little things you can do,” she says. MORE >>

Green Leaders, Going Green, Melissa Gellman Weiss, Theory

EVENT INTELLIGENCE 09.23.08 9:00 AM

Green Leaders: Getting Vendors Involved

Julie Lindsey, director of corporate events at Gap Inc.
Photo:Anthony Lindsey for BizBash

This is the second of four profiles of planners who are committed to eco-friendly events.

Julie Lindsey, director of corporate events at the Gap, started looking for ways to green her meetings and events after realizing it was a topic often discussed but rarely tackled. “I participate in a benchmark group of corporate planners,” she says. “We had identified green meetings as a hot topic and no one had a program around it, so I started pulling articles from every magazine and put them into a binder to show people in our company how we can make events greener.”

Getting fellow planners and even higher-ups at the clothing giant on board wasn’t difficult—but vendors have been another story. “Sometimes we have to push harder because hotels aren’t into it,” Lindsey says. Boutique properties, with their smaller vendor networks and ability to be more flexible in their sourcing, tend to be more receptive than some of the bigger players. “We have to ask them for clearly marked recycling containers, for glasses instead of disposable cups, and for nontoxic housecleaning materials,” she says. MORE >>

Green Leaders, Going Green, Julie Lindsey, Gap Inc.

EVENT INTELLIGENCE 09.22.08 9:00 AM

Green Leaders: Setting an Example

Hollace Davids, senior vice president of special projects at Universal Pictures
Photo: Ramona Rosales for BizBash

This is the first in a series of four profiles of planners who are committed to eco-friendly events.

In 2007, Hollace Davids created an eco-friendly premiere for the Steve Carell comedy Evan Almighty. After the event, though, the senior vice president of special projects at Universal Pictures realized she had the chance to make all of the studio’s events more eco-friendly. “Once we set that precedent we didn’t want to go backwards,” she says. “These high-profile events are excellent opportunities to highlight the fact that going green is doable.”

The 4,000-guest Evan Almighty premiere used recycled paper and soy ink for invitations and other printed materials, and recyclable and biodegradable tableware. Fresh fruit and baby trees in the centerpieces were distributed to guests after the event. Guests also got the chance to purchase a tree that would be planted to offset the carbon footprint of their attendance, and the reusable gift bags included a sheet of eco-friendly tips and a CFL lightbulb, donated by Universal’s parent company, General Electric. MORE >>

Green Leaders, Going Green, Universal Pictures, Hollace Davids

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