Your meetings are looking more like conferences -- more complex schedules, social events and entertainment. But while corporate meetings are becoming increasingly multifaceted, reducing the waste that accompanies them is a major focus. It’s no longer “trendy” to go green -- it’s simply the norm. Pressure to design eco-friendly events come from host organizations, attendees, and corporate meeting planners. From a business strategy perspective, going green is extremely attractive. Not only is there a more favorable outlook on companies who go green, but there are also increased cost savings and profitability and support from government policies. Host organizations want to take advantage of the excellent PR and the reduced cost, attendees want to feel like they’re taking care of the planet, and corporate meeting planners want to put on events that appeal to both their organizations and to their attendees... plus, going green is way more efficient! You’ve been using meeting apps for awhile now. You know that they are an incredible way to reduce paper waste and shipping/printing costs. So what more can you do with your corporate meeting app to showcase your organization’s commitment to the environment?

Highlight the eco-friendly elements of your meeting

Have an official green plan and work to make it better each time. Explain to your audience how you are improving! Call attention to your efforts to reduce waste within the app:

• If you’re collecting data about the impact your eco-efforts have made, create an infographic and share it within your corporate meeting app.
• Let everyone know what is reusable, recyclable, and compostable at your keynote lunch.
• Organize a group walk to the offsite cocktail hour, rather than a cab ride.
• Include green “hotspots” on the venue map in your corporate meeting app. Where are the water coolers, recycling/composting bins, mass transit, nametag collection bins? Mark them with a green icon so they stand out!

Try a virtual goodie bag

Ditch paper bag stuffers and use your meeting app to deliver guests to a virtual bag. In this day and age, sponsors expect digital connections with your audience. Not only will delivering goodies to your audience digitally make compelling offers more easily accessible, but you can also use this opportunity to generate some cash to help pay for the event! Additionally, providing these goodies in a digital format means that your attendees are less likely to lose them because they’ll be able to access them online or via mobile.

Take your corporate meeting app 100% green

It can seem hard to give up printing altogether. But for many meetings, a mobile app is all that’s needed. It takes less time to build and publish an app than to lay out and print agendas, maps and travel details. And the best way to show your commitment to the environment is to remove paper entirely.

Keep the conversation going

Use the feedback tool in your meeting app to ask guests how you can improve your green program for next time. Ready to start building your own corporate meeting app? Click below!