"Sustainability is our vision. Corporate responsibility is our obligation. Green Meetings are our strategy."
That’s how my interview with Tamara Kennedy-Hill, the new Executive Director of the Green
Meeting Industry Council (GMIC) ended. That, and:
“Profit is good—but it’s also about the environment and your impact on the community. Have you left the community you were in better off or worse off?”
That is the way to define the movement to build sustainable events. It is about more than the planet and it is certainly about more than profit. It is about people.
When I asked Kennedy-Hill if she had time to talk with me about GMIC, I have to admit that I didn’t know what to expect. I hadn’t been able to get a handle on the organization, which has been around since late 2003. Her characterization of the organization and its mission surpassed my expectations.
But why didn’t I already know this about GMIC? Why isn't it on the website?
It will be, Kennedy-Hill assured me. The website is undergoing a complete overhaul and will be unveiled soon with better information and resources than before.
According to Kennedy-Hill, the organization is made up of meeting planners and subscribers at both individual and organization levels. If you're an individual without the decision-making power to change your company's environmental policies and practices, don't be deterred by GMIC's Code of Conduct stating, "I hereby agree to adhere to the principles designed to reduce the environmental footprint of the meeting and event industry." The organization still wants you, your ideas and you enthusiasm. Once a member, there are a variety of ways to get involved, whether by volunteering to organize the annual conference or by helping form a local chapter in your area, if demand warrants it.
GMIC is an international organization and recently announced its participation in "Meeting the Future," a steering committee to establish global sustainability standards for the meetings industry. All meetings industry associations are invited to participate in the effort. The committee's findings will be presented at the United Nations Climate Conference in Copenhagen, November 2009.
GMIC is also working on setting standards for certifications--both issued by the organization and by third parties.
Members and non-members have access to a variety of resources put out by the organization. The most useful one out there for non-members I have seen is BlueGreen Meetings. There is also an annual conference in North America and they are considering adding a conference in Europe in the near future.
"GMIC is really in its second phase," Kennedy-Hill said. The first few years, the organization dug in and did a lot of research and policy work. Now, it is time to build its communications strategy, set the industry standards and make sure its resources are put to use.
With an enthusiastic and visionary leader like Kennedy-Hill at the helm, that will not be hard.
For more information on becoming a member, click here.
Great post! I didn't even know GMIC existed.
Posted by: Elaine Ellis | June 24, 2008 at 11:23 AM