![\"green](\"https://www.seebtm.com/wp-content/uploads/green-energy.jpg\" "\\"green")
When deciding about the date of the event, it is recommended to choose warmer days to reduce energy consumption for the heating of rooms, as well as congress centers. It is also necessary to avoid summer months, when the energy consumption is linked to air conditioning and cooling systems.
The Olympic Games 2012 were recognized as the “The Greenest Games Ever” in the history of this event. The London Olympics are the first in the history of this event where sustainability was the main focus from the very beginning, so that the main efforts were directed at reducing the ecological footprint.
\nFurther it is necessary to start a web site to follow the event. The portal should provide all necessary information about the event and allow participants to submit electronic applications for the event instead of applications in writing and their sending per post.
\nA practice that is more and more common among organizers is that they avoid printing and sending invitations per post. They rather do it per e-mail. Even when they decide to print invitations, they use recycled paper and soy-based inks.
\nInstead of distributing printed materials, all important information should be secured in the form of electronic presentations. However, if printing is necessary, double-sided printing is advised.
\nPromotional materials in the form of pens, pocket books, T-shirts and gift bags are often an integral part of conferences and other events. In this case too, recycled materials are used more and more often for the aforementioned materials.
\n\n
![\"the-green-program-under30\"](\"https://www.seebtm.com/wp-content/uploads/the-green-program-under30.jpg\" "\\"the-green-program-under30\\"")
The arrival of delegates to the event or the travel to some more distant places should be organized with buses or the participants should be asked to share cars when travelling to the venue, avoiding that everybody uses their own car so as to reduce fuel consumption and the emission of exhaust gases to the minimum.
As to catering services, the selection of local, organic and seasonal food can have great advantages. The purchase of locally grown products is a support to local communities and offers more fresh, seasonal and regional options, without the need to transport these groceries.
\nIt is also important to choose food based on the personal priorities of the participants. If the organizer of a certain event is familiar with the personal priorities of the group participating in that event, he can determine whether a salad will suffice as a meal or whether the participants would rather prefer a complete warm meal, whether they are vegetarians etc.
\nISO 20121:2012 \u2013 Event sustainability management is a standard for a management system designed to help organizations in the meeting industry to improve the sustainability of their activities, products and services related to events by reducing the impact on the environment.
\nServing water in carafes at conferences, instead of using plastic bottles, can save up to 20,000 EUR at one single conference. Also, condiments for food and drinks (spices, milk, pepper, sugar etc.) are to be served in small bowls rather than in single sachets. This also reduces the amount of waste.
\nIt is impossible to imagine serving lunches and dinners with one-time crockery and eating utensils. Glasses, plates and cutlery for one-time use will only be an extra burden to the landfill and such utensils do not create the impression of \u201cfirst-class service\u201d for the guests. According to the Report of the Natural Resources Defense Council, the use of 1,000 one-time plastic tea spoons consumes more than 10 times the energy and natural resources needed for the production of one tea spoon from stainless steel, which can be washed up to 1,000 times.
\n![\"Organic](\"https://www.seebtm.com/wp-content/uploads/Organic-composting-system-The-Harmony-Hotel-Costa-Rica.jpg\" "\\"Organic")
The use of cloth napkins instead of paper napkins also leaves an additional positive impression on the guests and can be used several times.
Bearing in mind how much recyclable waste remains after one smaller event and especially after larger congresses and conferences, it is necessary to sort and recycle all materials.
\nAt all events recycling programs must be established for all materials (paper, plastic, glass, metal) that remain after the completion of the event and containers must be provided for recycling purposes.
\nNon-recyclable materials and other stuff may be donated to local humanitarian organizations.
\nIt is always important to mark the event in a special way and to present ideas, examples and methods used to reduce negative impacts on the environment at that concrete event. In this way the delegates and others will be encouraged to apply at their own events at least one part of what they saw and from broader perspective awareness is raised about the significance of preserving the environment.
\n\nThe post HOW TO REDUCE THE IMPACT OF EVENTS ON THE ENVIRONMENT? appeared first on SEE Business travel & meetings magazine.
\n", "content_text": "When deciding about the date of the event, it is recommended to choose warmer days to reduce energy consumption for the heating of rooms, as well as congress centers. It is also necessary to avoid summer months, when the energy consumption is linked to air conditioning and cooling systems.\n\nThe Olympic Games 2012 were recognized as the “The Greenest Games Ever” in the history of this event. The London Olympics are the first in the history of this event where sustainability was the main focus from the very beginning, so that the main efforts were directed at reducing the ecological footprint.\n\nFurther it is necessary to start a web site to follow the event. The portal should provide all necessary information about the event and allow participants to submit electronic applications for the event instead of applications in writing and their sending per post.\nA practice that is more and more common among organizers is that they avoid printing and sending invitations per post. They rather do it per e-mail. Even when they decide to print invitations, they use recycled paper and soy-based inks.\nInstead of distributing printed materials, all important information should be secured in the form of electronic presentations. However, if printing is necessary, double-sided printing is advised.\nPromotional materials in the form of pens, pocket books, T-shirts and gift bags are often an integral part of conferences and other events. In this case too, recycled materials are used more and more often for the aforementioned materials.\n \nThe arrival of delegates to the event or the travel to some more distant places should be organized with buses or the participants should be asked to share cars when travelling to the venue, avoiding that everybody uses their own car so as to reduce fuel consumption and the emission of exhaust gases to the minimum.\nAs to catering services, the selection of local, organic and seasonal food can have great advantages. The purchase of locally grown products is a support to local communities and offers more fresh, seasonal and regional options, without the need to transport these groceries.\nIt is also important to choose food based on the personal priorities of the participants. If the organizer of a certain event is familiar with the personal priorities of the group participating in that event, he can determine whether a salad will suffice as a meal or whether the participants would rather prefer a complete warm meal, whether they are vegetarians etc.\n\nISO 20121:2012 \u2013 Event sustainability management is a standard for a management system designed to help organizations in the meeting industry to improve the sustainability of their activities, products and services related to events by reducing the impact on the environment.\n\nServing water in carafes at conferences, instead of using plastic bottles, can save up to 20,000 EUR at one single conference. Also, condiments for food and drinks (spices, milk, pepper, sugar etc.) are to be served in small bowls rather than in single sachets. This also reduces the amount of waste.\nIt is impossible to imagine serving lunches and dinners with one-time crockery and eating utensils. Glasses, plates and cutlery for one-time use will only be an extra burden to the landfill and such utensils do not create the impression of \u201cfirst-class service\u201d for the guests. According to the Report of the Natural Resources Defense Council, the use of 1,000 one-time plastic tea spoons consumes more than 10 times the energy and natural resources needed for the production of one tea spoon from stainless steel, which can be washed up to 1,000 times.\nThe use of cloth napkins instead of paper napkins also leaves an additional positive impression on the guests and can be used several times.\nBearing in mind how much recyclable waste remains after one smaller event and especially after larger congresses and conferences, it is necessary to sort and recycle all materials.\nAt all events recycling programs must be established for all materials (paper, plastic, glass, metal) that remain after the completion of the event and containers must be provided for recycling purposes.\nNon-recyclable materials and other stuff may be donated to local humanitarian organizations.\nIt is always important to mark the event in a special way and to present ideas, examples and methods used to reduce negative impacts on the environment at that concrete event. In this way the delegates and others will be encouraged to apply at their own events at least one part of what they saw and from broader perspective awareness is raised about the significance of preserving the environment.\nS.G.\nThe post HOW TO REDUCE THE IMPACT OF EVENTS ON THE ENVIRONMENT? appeared first on SEE Business travel & meetings magazine.", "date_published": "2013-08-23T09:07:28+02:00", "date_modified": "2015-03-31T16:08:37+02:00", "author": { "name": "koleginica", "url": "https://www.seebtm.com/en/author/koleginica/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/b3c6d7cb70cb062fded94d714e3bdf50?s=512&d=blank&r=g" }, "image": "https://www.seebtm.com/wp-content/uploads/Organic-composting-system-The-Harmony-Hotel-Costa-Rica.jpg", "tags": [ "eco", "ecotourism", "events", "rural surroundings", "urban surroundings", "Hot topics" ] }, { "id": "https://www.seebtm.com/en/city-vs-nature/", "url": "https://www.seebtm.com/en/city-vs-nature/", "title": "CITY vs NATURE", "content_html": "![\"urban](\"https://www.seebtm.com/wp-content/uploads/urban-vs-rural.jpg\" "\\"urban")
The location of event largely depends on the type of event, its theme, as well as the target group.
The organizers\u2019 personal preferences vary; some like the city and urban locations, while others prefer a rural surroundings. The ratio is 50:40 in favor of the city. The remaining 10% consider urban and rural locations equally suitable, and use either or a combination of both.
\nIn practice, when we put personal preferences aside, the percent of events organized in urban surroundings is even greater, or more precisely, 60% of the participants in the survey said that was the case.
\nThe reasons are mostly of a practical nature, less pressure on working people in terms of the time needed to arrive to and return from dislocated events, easier and \u201cquicker\u201d organization, better connections, easier logistics. For foreign participants, airport proximity and short transfer times are important reasons for choosing a city location. In addition they can see cultural and historical landmarks of a city and do some shopping.
\nThe reasons given by those who prefer to organize events in rural locations, which account for 30% of the surveyed participants, include getting away from the daily pressure faced by business people. Bringing event participants to a location away from the hustle and bustle ![\"rural\"](\"https://www.seebtm.com/wp-content/uploads/rural.jpg\" "\\"rural\\"")
of the city and from their work and duties makes them more relaxed and focused on the event, and makes it easier for them to socialize and get to know each other. Another advantage of rural surroundings is that it present something new and different than the city, with various possibilities typical of natural surroundings or a specific local area.
\u201cThe idea is to create an imperceptible transition from business to leisure and entertainment, without burdening the participants with information and ensuring that they will be willing to continue working after an excursion. Setting an event in natural surroundings is an attractive idea but accessibility can be a problem. This gives cities an advantage, especially capital cities and locations close to airports, because it makes the transfer of foreign participants so much easier\u201d, says An\u0111elka Mili\u0107, Project West Balkan.
\nUr\u0161ula Kova\u010d from Post of Slovenia, as winning combination points out advantages of a combined event surroundings – accommodation in the city, facilitated by good air travel connections and the general urban infrastructure, with additional activities in a nearby natural environment, in the form of short field trips .
\n![\"Beautiful-urban-woman\"](\"https://www.seebtm.com/wp-content/uploads/Beautiful-urban-woman.jpg\" "\\"Beautiful-urban-woman\\"")
After a seminar, the additional activities most frequently organized are tours of landmarks and interesting places at the location where the seminar is taking place.
In regard to extracurricular activities, some of the surveyed participants readily shared with us some of the activities they either organized or taken part in which left a particular impression on them.
\nMirna Arapovi\u0107 of Ledo from Croatia thinks smaller communities offer a variety of interesting things which event participants would probably not have a chance of visiting or seeing if they came on their own. Experience has shown that local areas with local customs are very interesting. As one of the many interesting activities she has organized, Mrs. Arapovi\u0107 singles out a visit to a private estate engaged in pottery. The entire group of visitors was given a short course on working with clay and then tried to make pots and jugs, taking turns spinning the wheel and enjoying one of the oldest crafts in the world. Two weeks after, they received their handiwork by post as a keepsake. Another interesting aspect of this event, says Mrs. Arapovi\u0107, is that the group consisted more or less entirely of men.
\nSpomenka Miljkovi\u0107 of the Ministry of Education and Culture of Republic of ![\"Business](\"https://www.seebtm.com/wp-content/uploads/Business-Outdoor-Training.jpg\" "\\"Business")
Srpska remembers a business meeting held outdoors in a national park \u2013 right in the middle of a forest.
Nata\u0161a Jakovljevi\u0107 of Apatinska pivara listed some of the activities they organize, in nearly all forms of rural environments. They have organized competitions with transparent blowup balls, which the participants had to walk over to get from point A to point B. At the sea coast, Mrs. Jakovljevi\u0107 singles out \u201cGames without Borders\u201d, while on the mountain they organized the \u201cWinter Olympics\u201d involving, amongst other things, snow sliding on car-tires, pan sliders, and carton.
\nNevertheless, 40% of the surveyed participants see rural environments as a likely trend in future, primarily due to various aspects and facilities which the city cannot offer, and due to the need to get away from the daily routine. The likelihood that urban environments will prevail in the future was indicated by 35% participants, while 25% feel that both alternatives will be equally popular, with cities being chosen for conferences and business gatherings, and rural environments for team building activities.
\n\nThe post CITY vs NATURE appeared first on SEE Business travel & meetings magazine.
\n", "content_text": "The location of event largely depends on the type of event, its theme, as well as the target group.\nThe organizers\u2019 personal preferences vary; some like the city and urban locations, while others prefer a rural surroundings. The ratio is 50:40 in favor of the city. The remaining 10% consider urban and rural locations equally suitable, and use either or a combination of both.\nIn practice, when we put personal preferences aside, the percent of events organized in urban surroundings is even greater, or more precisely, 60% of the participants in the survey said that was the case.\nThe reasons are mostly of a practical nature, less pressure on working people in terms of the time needed to arrive to and return from dislocated events, easier and \u201cquicker\u201d organization, better connections, easier logistics. For foreign participants, airport proximity and short transfer times are important reasons for choosing a city location. In addition they can see cultural and historical landmarks of a city and do some shopping.\nThe reasons given by those who prefer to organize events in rural locations, which account for 30% of the surveyed participants, include getting away from the daily pressure faced by business people. Bringing event participants to a location away from the hustle and bustle of the city and from their work and duties makes them more relaxed and focused on the event, and makes it easier for them to socialize and get to know each other. Another advantage of rural surroundings is that it present something new and different than the city, with various possibilities typical of natural surroundings or a specific local area.\n\u201cThe idea is to create an imperceptible transition from business to leisure and entertainment, without burdening the participants with information and ensuring that they will be willing to continue working after an excursion. Setting an event in natural surroundings is an attractive idea but accessibility can be a problem. This gives cities an advantage, especially capital cities and locations close to airports, because it makes the transfer of foreign participants so much easier\u201d, says An\u0111elka Mili\u0107, Project West Balkan.\nUr\u0161ula Kova\u010d from Post of Slovenia, as winning combination points out advantages of a combined event surroundings – accommodation in the city, facilitated by good air travel connections and the general urban infrastructure, with additional activities in a nearby natural environment, in the form of short field trips .\nAfter a seminar, the additional activities most frequently organized are tours of landmarks and interesting places at the location where the seminar is taking place.\nIn regard to extracurricular activities, some of the surveyed participants readily shared with us some of the activities they either organized or taken part in which left a particular impression on them.\nMirna Arapovi\u0107 of Ledo from Croatia thinks smaller communities offer a variety of interesting things which event participants would probably not have a chance of visiting or seeing if they came on their own. Experience has shown that local areas with local customs are very interesting. As one of the many interesting activities she has organized, Mrs. Arapovi\u0107 singles out a visit to a private estate engaged in pottery. The entire group of visitors was given a short course on working with clay and then tried to make pots and jugs, taking turns spinning the wheel and enjoying one of the oldest crafts in the world. Two weeks after, they received their handiwork by post as a keepsake. Another interesting aspect of this event, says Mrs. Arapovi\u0107, is that the group consisted more or less entirely of men.\nSpomenka Miljkovi\u0107 of the Ministry of Education and Culture of Republic of Srpska remembers a business meeting held outdoors in a national park \u2013 right in the middle of a forest.\nNata\u0161a Jakovljevi\u0107 of Apatinska pivara listed some of the activities they organize, in nearly all forms of rural environments. They have organized competitions with transparent blowup balls, which the participants had to walk over to get from point A to point B. At the sea coast, Mrs. Jakovljevi\u0107 singles out \u201cGames without Borders\u201d, while on the mountain they organized the \u201cWinter Olympics\u201d involving, amongst other things, snow sliding on car-tires, pan sliders, and carton.\nNevertheless, 40% of the surveyed participants see rural environments as a likely trend in future, primarily due to various aspects and facilities which the city cannot offer, and due to the need to get away from the daily routine. The likelihood that urban environments will prevail in the future was indicated by 35% participants, while 25% feel that both alternatives will be equally popular, with cities being chosen for conferences and business gatherings, and rural environments for team building activities.\nM.M.\nThe post CITY vs NATURE appeared first on SEE Business travel & meetings magazine.", "date_published": "2013-08-15T09:06:46+02:00", "date_modified": "2015-03-30T13:57:08+02:00", "author": { "name": "Miona Milic", "url": "https://www.seebtm.com/en/author/miona/", "avatar": "https://www.seebtm.com/wp-content/uploads/IMG-20240224-WA0003-e1728981138373.jpg" }, "image": "https://www.seebtm.com/wp-content/uploads/Business-Outdoor-Training.jpg", "tags": [ "city", "nature", "rural surroundings", "urban surroundings", "Trends" ] } ] }