How Green are Your Meetings?

As environmental concerns continue to heighten on a global level,  there is a growing trend among hotels and resorts to “go green.” 

One innovative property, Beaver Hollow, located between Rochester and Buffalo, New York, is literally going “miles” to improve its environmental profile. That’s because this resort is literally miles wide, with 300 acres of property.

From its inception, the resort has been dedicated to preserving the natural beauty of its surroundings. But now it is going a step further.

“We are going green,” declares Kathy Snyder Egan, Executive Vice President of Sales, “and we’re really excited about it!”

The resort is registered through the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System.  Registered properties reduce operating costs and increase asset value,  are healthier and safer for occupants, and reduce harmful greenhouse gas emissions and waste sent to landfills.

Egan says the resort is determined to take advantage of all the ways it can become more environmentally friendly.  Some examples, which many types of properties can easily implement, include:

• Provide guests with paper shredders free upon request .
• Give guests the option of not having sheets and towels washed every day or have toiletries replaced every day.
• Eliminate phosphates from detergents used for washing linens and dishes.
• Provide large coolers of water throughout the resort with glassware (except for outdoor locations) instead of providing bottled water, which generates plastic bottle waste.
• Recommend a local tour company with a commitment to being as green as possible, including offering hybrid vehicles.
• Provide meeting planners with tips for being green with their meetings.

Read more about Beaver Hollow’s innovative energy saving practices.

What is your property doing for the environment?  If you are planning a meeting, is finding a green location a priority? If so, what specifically, do you look for?

Making Name Badges Cool

At many meetings, name badges may seem like a necessary annoyance – people are not always thrilled about sticking them on.  But with a little creativity, name badges can easily become a focal point of the meeting and a great way to promote lively and fun interaction among attendees.

Sue Tinnish of SEAL Inc., who is a popular facilitator, speaker, teambuilder, and trainer, offers these ideas for sprucing up name badges:

Add information to nametags and name tents, such as a favorite childhood game, three numbers that are significant to you, a significant accomplishment during the past year, something positive about you that is not apparent by looking at you, something you could use help with (such as accounting or job leads), and/or something you know quite a bit about.

Reverse the traditional nametag by writing “My Name is NOT. . .”

Add three things about yourself, two of which are true.

Write the nametag in the form of a headline, such as “Sue Tinnish Lands Big Account with XYZ Association.”

Make a fingerprint and decorate it.

Rename your job in layman’s language. For example, an informational system specialist wrote, “Help. Help. Help.”

Set up a “Decorate Your Badge” table with stickers, pins, and other decorations for attendees to personalize their name badges.

Use new technology for name badges such as ntag, SpotMe, or SmartBadge. These name badges can communicate with each other and identify specific people for you using Radio Frequency Identification based on information such as name, company, or even your hobby.

“I can’t tell you the number of times I have seen meetings totally energized by using some of these name badge innovations,” Tinnish says. “People get totally into it and before you know it they are learning things about their colleagues that they never would have known otherwise. It’s just great!”

For more great meeting ideas, visit www.conventionplanit.com and click on the “For Planners Only” section and go to the “Stellar Tips” link. There is no registration required and you can even enter your own Stellar Tip for a chance to win a valuable prize.

Sue Tinnish publishes a monthly newsletter, “Tips for Innovative Meetings and Events.” You are invited to subscribe or find past issues at www.suetinnish.com.

Seven Rules for Laptop Security

Laptop computers are the “mobile office” of meeting planners and other professionals and are the most vulnerable target for information theft today. Every month, thousands of laptops are lost and stolen at airports, taxis and hotels.

Many people believe “It won’t happen to me” and take no protective measures. Before you ignore this problem yourself, consider the case of Qualcomm CEO Irwin Jacobs, who interrupted his presentation to step into the audience to take questions. Upon returning to the podium, his laptop was gone. Several witnesses reported that Irwin stated his laptop had data that could be of great value to foreign governments.

What should you do? Your best solution is to prepare now for theft or loss of your laptop. Sam Carter, CISSP, of the eLearning Corner (www.elearningcorner.com), Gaithersburg, Maryland, who is the information technology consultant to ConventionPlanit.com, offers these seven simple rules to follow:

1.  Back up your data. If you lose your laptop to theft, loss or a malfunctioning hard drive, how long would it take you to recover? Discuss backup options with someone knowledgeable to determine a strategy that is right for you. Remember: Backup data is vulnerable to data theft. Secure your backups appropriately.

2.  Keep unneeded critical data off your laptop. If confidential or sensitive information isn’t necessary on your laptop, then don’t expose yourself or your company to a possible information breach.

3.  Do you have PII (Personally Identifiable Information) on your laptop? Several states require public disclosure if PII information such as Social Security numbers, credit card numbers, or drivers license numbers is lost or stolen. Laws can require notifying every individual who may be affected, as well as informing certain government agencies. Estimates for legal, protective, and security expenses range from $100 to $200 per record. If you do have PII on your laptop, you have sensitive data and should take appropriate steps. Check your state regulations and prepare accordingly.

4.  Password protect your laptop. This will prevent theft of opportunity when your laptop was unattended. Anyone who might benefit from your laptop information can easily copy 60 Gigabytes to an iPod while your laptop is unattended.

5.  Encrypt your laptop hard drive. Password protection of your login will not prevent information loss to a determined thief. Encrypting your hard drive is the only failsafe solution available. Complexity and performance concerns make laptop encryption a last-resort technology but these concerns are of no consequence if your laptop must contain confidential or sensitive information.

6.  Exercise care when using public wireless networks. Public wireless networks carry your information in plain unencrypted form visible to other wireless laptops like a postcard in transit. It is generally safe to browse the internet or check your e-mail on public wireless networks, but user names and passwords sent in clear text are prime targets for wireless thieves.

7.  Never leave your password unattended and unsecured. An unattended laptop is an invitation for theft. Common mistakes include leaving your laptop unattended in a conference room during a break, leaving your laptop easily visible inside a locked car, or leaving your laptop on an airport seat to run for refreshment. When out of your office, never let your laptop leave your sight without proper security measures.