Green to Save Green Tips 51 - 60

You don’t need to sacrifice profits to go green with your small business. In fact, going green might save your business some money! In this Green to Save Green series, I’m challenging readers to make 101 environmental changes over the next 1001 days.

Here are Tips 51 - 60 - all about conferences, meetings, and training. For the rest of your challenge tips, head to this post. If you’re making any (or all!) of these changes with your small business, let me know by leaving a comment!

Tip #51: Find the most centralized location possible. Everyone will save on travel costs, and you’ll also be using less fuel. In addition, some people who might have had to fly can carpool instead.

Tip #52: Make green speakers a part of the event. You have to pay for guest speakers anyway, so why not offer a presentation on going green? If it fits into the theme of the conference, training day, or meeting, it can help all the people present learn even more go-green tips. Look for local men and women making environmental choices with their businesses.

Tip #53: Hold the conference in the hotel. That way, people won’t need to drive to a conference center for the day. If the hotel isn’t equipped to hold your event, try to find a place that is walkable, offer a bus for transport, or give your conference-goers information about the public transportation available.

Tip #54: Have one long event instead of multiple short events. For example, if all of your office branches come together for training days, do this once a year in a three-day event instead of three days spread throughout the year. You’ll save money on travel, which is good for the wallet and the environment.

Tip #55: Consider traveling speakers instead of a large event. If you’re considering an event for you whole office to come together and listen to a guest speaker or someone training on new office tools, consider instead paying for the speaker to travel instead of all of the employees to travel. Of course, you have to find a willing presenter, but sending one person over a combined 200 miles in a week might be cheaper than sending 200 employees 50 miles once. It’s greener too, since fewer people will be traveling.

Tip #56: Forget the schedules. It can cost a lot of money to print schedules, and even if you do so on recycled paper, most people barely look at them before throwing them away. Instead, print large schedules and post them generously throughout the conference space. This won’t work for large events over the course of many days, but is a good solution for smaller events.

Tip #57: Consider video conferencing instead. If you meet regularly with other branches of your office, consider instead purchasing video conferencing equipment. It might be a large up-front cost, but over time, you’ll make that money back, since you’ll no longer have to pay for traveling. Here are some places where you can purchase video conferencing equipment:

• • IVCi: http://www.ivci.com/
  • Tandberg: http://www.tandberg.com/
  • Global Media: http://www.globalmedia.com/

United Visual, where you can also purchase video conferencing equipment, also have a buying guide here: http://unitedvisual.com/2tips/2tvcf101.asp.

Tip #58: Donate your leftovers. If you’re going to have food at your event, there will most definitely be leftovers. Try to use organic products when you can, but no matter what, think of a menu in terms of leftovers. You will feel good about the charitable donation AND it might have tax benefits (as your accountant). At the very least, the food won’t be going to waste, and you won’t have to pay to trash it. The Second Harvest program is an easy way to donate.

Tip #59: Allow guests to RSVP online. Create a webpage for the event on your company website and instead of asking participants to mail in an RSVP card, allow them to do it online. You’ll save money (and resources) on return postage and envelopes.

Tip #60: Remember that not everyone has to go to every event. If you’ve been invited to an event (rather than are the ones hosting it), keep in mind that not everyone has to go. After all, does it really make sense for your intern or secretary to go to a marketing conference? Better yet, send just one or two people and have them report back to everyone else. Everyone can take turns getting days off to go. The less people who attend, the more money you’ll save and the better it is for the environment.

Come back tomorrow for a continuation of this list, or head to this post to read more! Don’t forget to leave a comment if you’re implementing any of these changes in your own life!