Dive Brief:
- 1 Hotels has introduced Certified Sustainable Gatherings, a program that gives clients the ability to plan and hold eco-conscious events and meetings.
- The Certified Sustainable Gatherings program assists clients with materials sourcing, single-use plastics reduction and lowering carbon emissions. 1 Hotels, a part of SH Hotels & Resorts, partnered with Foodprint Group to offer third-party sustainability certifications.
- As sustainability mandates are on the rise among corporate meeting planners, more organizers are seeking assurance from hotels that their events and meetings will have minimal environmental impacts.
Dive Insight:
1 Hotels plans to offer Certified Sustainable Gatherings for a variety of event types, including corporate functions, galas, meetings and weddings, while diverting at least 90% of all waste generated throughout an event’s lifecycle.
The company achieved that goal at a range of test events — including everything from dinner parties to corporate events — at which 1 Hotels reused silk floral decor and candles, donated excess food and printed on recyclable paper.
“Pilot events at all properties were wildly successful thanks to 1 Hotels’ highly collaborative process from planning through clean-up and the rigor of our holistic points-based standard,” said Christina Grace, CEO of Foodprint Group, in a statement.
Coordinators of Certified Sustainable Gatherings aid clients in creating low-waste, low-emissions menus; sourcing vendors based on shared values; curating decor with each element’s lifecycle in mind; and communicating the event’s eco-consciousness to attendees.
The program is “a natural extension” of 1 Hotels’ baked-in commitment to sustainability, said Matt Erickson, president of food and beverage at SH Hotels & Resorts, who noted the hotels were “designed to celebrate the local area’s natural environment.”
Within the nearly $800 billion global business travel industry, 92% of business travel professionals say that sustainability is a priority for their organization, according to the Global Business Travel Association.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, eco-conscious events and meetings can be “stepping stones for sustainability in communities, creating local market demand for products and/or services that result in the reduction of toxic materials, waste generation, greenhouse gas emissions, and water and energy consumption.”
Other hotels have begun to offer more environmentally friendly event services. MGM Resorts’ Sustainable Events Program helps clients improve the environmental efficacy of their events, while Hyatt Hotels & Resorts offers energy and water use reduction at events.
