The Sustainable Meetings Conference (SMC), taking place April 14-17 at the Hilton Union Square in San Francisco, is shaking things up this year. Now in its ninth year, the Green Meeting Industry Council (GMIC) event has revamped its traditional program to incorporate unconventional speakers, outings, and a much more flexible format. Organizers expect these changes will better engage veteran sustainability planners while speeding up the learning of those who are new to the concept.
The usual format of keynotes and breakout sessions has been “blown up,” according to Paul Salinger, a GMIC board member and one of the main organizers of the conference. While there is still an opening keynote, it’s more of a “moderated discussion” with three sustainability leaders discussing issues facing the industry, followed by a debrief in which audience members connect these concepts directly to event planning.
“The rest of the conference will be short presentations of 20 to 30 minutes maximum, and lots of group collaboration sessions,” says Salinger.
He describes this year’s program as designed around the pillars of active involvement, creative physical set-up, and local inspiration. This last element will be addressed through a dozen “sustainability in action” tours of local San Francisco sites. These range from hotels and a farmer’s market to a catering company. Small groups will visit the location, learn about what they are doing to promote sustainability, and discuss how it can be connected back to meetings.
“The whole goal is to start with a big idea, and through co-creation and elaborate discussions we try to find solutions and answers to the questions by the end of the conference,” says Salinger.
The speakers at the event are meant to broaden the discussion of sustainability as well, moving beyond the minutia, such as removing bottled water or boosting recycling efforts. Among the keynote speakers are Sustainable Brands CEO KoAnn Vikorn Skrzyniarz, Whole World Water Founder Jenifer Willig, and Marina Bay Sands Director of Sustainability Kevin Teng.
“It’s lots of big thinkers to ask provocative questions and give different perspectives, then lots of group time to bring it back into the event world,” says Salinger.
He describes this more expansive approach as a natural maturation for sustainability efforts, and an effective way to engage attendees who have already heard the traditional talking points of green meetings. At the same time, this interactive organization will help “move people along further even if they are at the beginning of their journey,” Salinger says.
There are a few major themes that will be surfacing throughout the conference. Chief among these is the importance of aligning sustainability with business objectives to get executive buy-in. Also, the ongoing question of how to dispose of the waste produced by a large-scale event, whether through recycling efforts or mitigating a meeting’s carbon footprint, will be addressed.
“Fundamentally, the event is about innovation,” says Salinger.