Presenters: Shannon Kilkenny Owner Enterprising Events & Jeanavive Janssen (Network Girl Consulting)
Shannon Kilkenny challenged participants to make better choices for the environment when planning future events and conferences. She praised MPI for the organization’s support of green initiatives in the industry. Although Kilkenny said she is glad that the industry is finally getting on board, she reminded the audience that it is just the beginning.
Kilkenny introduced co-presenter Jeanavive Janssen, an event planning professional who has successfully promoted green initiatives. Janssen called herself the “self-appointed green advocate” at Event Productions and emphasized the need for individuals to step up and start the process at their own organizations. Kilkenny and Janssen led an interactive session, engaging participants through ongoing dialogue with lively question-and-answer sessions and smaller group discussions. Kilkenny encouraged the participants to analyze their respective organizations and discuss current green initiatives and challenges.
Many participants were eager to share examples of environment-friendly efforts from their own organizations. For example, they cited the following.
- The elimination of Styrofoam cups
- The use of recycle bins for name-badge lanyards
- Reductions in printing with electronic media
- Donating food
- Using water stations instead of water bottles
- Reducing signage
Tags: Green Meetings, Jeanavive Janssen, MPI, News
