Red state or blue, green conventions are on the way

Democrats and Republicans have recently learned that planning the greenest national convention "ever" can be somewhat risky, with consequences including media scrutiny and a degree of public ridicule.

But the media attention that comes with trying to host the greenest national convention is, ironically, one of its benefits, environmentalists say.

Democrats have been recently criticised for a carbon offset challenge that reportedly drew an underwhelming response from most states' delegates, and a food colour programme some called silly. It required each locally produced plate of food served to delegates this week in Denver to have five specific colours, including red, white, blue and purple.

In their quest to have the greenest national convention ever, Democrats and Republicans have both gone further than those in the past. Both vow to leave behind a legacy for future convention planners of how to do it better and greener.

Despite the fun that's been made of some of the greening efforts, both conventions are going to affect future meetings, according to Patty Griffin, president of the Houston-based Green Hotels Association.

"They're setting the pace for every state, county and city meeting," Griffin said. "[Delegates are] going to go back to Omaha and say: 'We've got to do these things too.' There's no line to draw. It's a path, it's a journey and it will not end."

Asked who they thought would do a better job of protecting the environment, 21 per cent of respondents in a poll by the Pew Center for the People and the Press chose Republicans. Sixty-five per cent chose Democrats, giving Democrats a 44 per cent lead on this issue.

Griffin acknowledges the Republicans have some catching up to do.

Melissa Subbotin, spokeswoman for the Republican Convention, characterised the Republican initiatives as conscientious, realistic and environmentally friendly.

The convention will not take "an elitist and out of touch approach," Subbotin said. "We will, however, recycle and perform other practical measures. "

Set to take place in Minneapolis-St Paul from 1 to 4 September, the Republican convention will, among other things, use recycled furnishings and office supplies at its headquarters, energy efficient lighting, and provide bicycles for participants to ride from hotels to the convention site. Paper products are discouraged. Expansion of the Xcel Energy Center infrastructure has been done with modular structural systems made of recycled aluminum, which can be recycled again, GOP planners assert.

The Democrats have experienced some costly delays and embarrassing glitches in planning its green convention, which runs until Thursday.

Participating delegates will pay $12 (£6.50) each to offset their carbon dioxide emissions from travel. Contrary to what has been earlier reported, 57 per cent – 2,895 delegates and alternates in all – rose to the challenge. "We think those are amazing results," said Damon Jones, spokesman for the Democratic Convention.

Other Democrat greening goals include an 85 per cent diversion from landfill at the Pepsi Center and Colorado Convention Center. Organisers said they chose contractors in part for their commitment to sustainable planning principles. Materials used will be measured and tracked, reused or donated to community organisations and schools. Transportation for convention participants and media involves either hybrid or alternative fuel vehicles.

"Regardless of what they say they're going to do, the only real way to measure the greenness of a national convention is to measure what's left behind, " Griffin said.

"Namely, how many tons of waste are left from a meeting that go into a landfill?"

With that in mind, Griffin urges green convention planners to reuse whatever is left behind by giving it to needy organisations. Other suggestions include eliminating waste by planning smaller meals, buying locally grown food and giving as much information as possible to the kitchen in advance. She also advocates buffet-style meals using fewer plates.

"You don't need a plate for every piece of pie," Griffin said.

The Democratic Convention deflects criticism of carbon offsets and strict food requirements by saying they're proud of their track record, and will gladly hold it up to any other.

"If we're going to do this, we want our actions to meet our words, Jones said. "We want to set an example."

But sustainability is just one of many considerations, "a delicate and complex balancing act", that go into planning an event that will draw 40,000 to 50,000 people, Jones said. It's about leaving a legacy in Denver that will attract future conventions and challenge them to model the Democratic Convention and even improve on it.

"We're not saying we're the best, or perfect. But we will do it better than we did before. We wanted to push the envelope… to look beyond the meeting itself to what happens afterwards," Jones said.

Tamara Kennedy-Hill, executive director of the Green Meeting Industry Council, is considering Denver as a potential conference site for the Council's 2010 convention.

Conducting legacy projects in conjunction with convention planning is a trend that goes beyond basic recycling and carbon offsets, Kennedy-Hill asserts.

"Conventions tend to be three to six times more wasteful than normal day-to-day activity at home," she said. "The goal of leaving the place better off than when you came can be applied."

Incorporating environmental principles in convention planning, besides the benefit of engaging attendees, can save convention planners money and reduce the carbon footprint. It leaves a legacy for future generations and it's good for media and press coverage, Kennedy-Hill said.

Complications in planning green conventions can be most challenging at the cognitive level, though. Thinking through a green lens is a relatively new phenomenon for meeting planners, according to Kennedy-Hill. It has to be done at every stage of the planning process, including after the convention is over.

"Because not everyone automatically does this type of thinking, you need to have measurement and evaluation in place to benchmark and improve your performance, just as you would in financial or other evaluation," she said. " You may miss an element the first few times without careful planning, or even with it."

One example of the type of vigilance required, she said, is to make sure that a venue that promises to recycle after the event in a timely manner, actually fulfills that obligation.

National conventions are different from others in terms of planning, according to Kennedy-Hill.

"It would be hard to make a mistake without everyone noticing," she said. " We are not always so forgiving with political conventions."

Environmentalists Griffin and Kennedy-Hill agree that the environmental community, in general, is a sharing and forgiving one where mistakes are allowed.

"Part of all this is learning and accepting mistakes to make improvements in the future," Kennedy-Hill said.

And the payoff?

"Huge," Griffin said, "even if you count the feel-good aspect."

Dana Sanchez is a journalist based in Florida.

This article first appeared at Greenbiz.com