Next week I am heading off to the Green Meetings Industry Council's Sustainable Meetings Conference in Denver. I am looking forward to what I will be learning about more sustainable meetings and meeting the people who make them happen. In order to give you, our readers, more green coverage we have partnered with the Green Meetings Industry Council to help us stay informed on the hottest topics in sustainability both online in our monthly Green Scene with the GMIC column and in the magazine. This month’s column takes a look at planning and implementing a sustainable meetings strategy. For advice on this sticky subject, we spoke with Oracle’s Vice President of Corporate Marketing, Paul Salinger. (Read the article here).

Being in the Northern California bubble, it’s hard to realize how far we have come and how much more work we have to do. We have been recycling bottles and cans here since I was in grade school and I am still very surprised when I travel somewhere and they don’t even recycle glass (yes glass, this happened two weeks ago!) let alone plastic. People get tired of hearing about green this and sustainability that, but the truth is we still have a long way to go. Many states don’t even have in-depth recycling programs let alone composting initiatives. Most hotels still offer bottled water in guest rooms and regular flow showerheads, faucets and toilets. I have even stayed in a few hotels that changed my towels anyways even though I had requested to re-use them.

This is not to say that there aren’t people, properties, cities and states making huge strides in sustainability, it’s just to say that it’s a constant process. There are always small things that we can do in our daily lives and we can always get better. I admit on most days I drive to work as it’s the most cost-effective option for my commute, but I try to make up for it in other ways. I hope with all of the work that the industry is doing for a more sustainable future that we will just incorporate these measures as part of a standard practice and then we can finally change the green dialogue into routine.

Hope to see you next week in Denver at the Colorado Convention Center!