Experient News

July 8, 2008

Experient Builds Event Greening into Standard Practice

Twinsburg, OH –As the industry leader in event planning, Experient has formally integrated green meeting consultation into its standard practice.

Since its annual EnVision leadership meeting in St. Louis this past March, each of the company’s 40 meeting and event managers started the process to offer environmental sustainability practices and recommendations to their clients. Experient manages over 3,300 events a year, so the estimated impact of the program is substantial.

“We believe that we are the only meeting planning company of our size to integrate environmentally sustainable steps into our standard meeting planning practice—to the point where the client would have to opt out of going green, “ said Mike Smith, CMP, strategic account manager and subject matter expert for Experient.  “Imagine the impact we can have on our world by integrating even the smallest green steps into all the events that we manage.”

Experient formulated an Environmental Event Solutions checklist built from the ever-growing body of best practices to use as a launch point for discussions with customers about specific green initiatives. The checklist is included in the event specifications developed by the meeting and event managers. To help quantify the effect of these new steps, Experient is adding a greening section to their post-convention reports. Over time, all Experient clients’ events will be planned according to company-established minimum green guidelines. The actual level of event greening is determined by the client.

“Greening your event smartly will not increase your expenses,” said Dee Blakeney, CMP, vice president of meeting planning for Experient. She explains that beginning to be green doesn’t have to be difficult or expensive, such as working with the hotel to agree to replace toiletries only when the existing ones are empty or utilizing linen and towel reuse programs. “Changes in catering can be as simple as replacing bottled water with conveniently located water coolers and replacing individual sugar and creamer packets with the same condiments purchased in bulk.”

Blakeney adds, “Being environmentally responsible is important on many fronts. As a company we respect the influence we have with our clients in the planning process, and we are willing to put time and energy into training our employees to help our customers make environmentally smart choices.”

The greatest impact is realized when Experient and the client work together from the beginning. Blakeney says, “The start of a fresh cycle is the most effective time to work with a customer to determine what they would like to do and then to query facilities on what they can do. This starts a dialogue for us to negotiate a green solution that works for that particular event.”  

Experient has adopted this Environmental Commitment Statement: Experient is committed to environmental stewardship and implementing sustainable practices as an integral part of our operations. We strive to minimize the environmental impact of our office workplaces and all the events we support, in coordination with our employees, clients and supplier partners.