Green meetings are a growing trend at conferences, and DIA’s EuroMeeting is at the forefront of this movement. Using practical, innovative, and often very simple measures successfully reduces our carbon footprint. DIA’s Greening the EuroMeeting project began with the EuroMeeting 2009 in Berlin, and we were delighted and encouraged that 95% of participants who responded to our conference survey were positive about the measures taken to reduce the ecological impact of the EuroMeeting. DIA will continue its Greening the EuroMeeting project for Monaco 2010 and will be practicing the 3Rs: reduce, recycle, and reuse.

The 22nd Annual EuroMeeting will take place at the Grimaldi Forum Convention Centre in Monaco (March 8-10, 2010), and we have chosen a convention center partner that shares our vision of a sustainable EuroMeeting. The infrastructure is already in place at the Grimaldi Forum in areas such as the use of a seawater pumping system to provide energy for the air conditioning system which reduces energy requirements by 20-30%, low energy lighting throughout the building, and motion sensitive taps for water, hand driers, and an eco-efficient flushing system for the toilets.  Remarkably, the Grimaldi Forum has virtually zero emissions of greenhouse gases.

Given that Monaco is only 2 km2, everything is close. Most of the hotels are a short walking distance from the Grimaldi Forum – and if you do want to take a bus (free with your conference badge), they are all  dietered powered (diesel mixed with vegetable oil).  We will be running complimentary shuttle buses to and from Nice Côte d’Azur Airport, thereby reducing the need for car transfers and will also operate a taxi-sharing system at our welcome desks in the airport. DIA offsets the airmiles of staff travelling to the EuroMeeting with a Swiss nonprofit foundation, myclimate – The Climate Protection Partnership (www.myclimate.org), and we encourage all our participants to support our greening initiative by considering offsetting their miles.

During the EuroMeeting, we will offer you an environmentally-friendly conference bag when you collect your badge (which of course, we will recycle at the end of the meeting if you return it to us).  Recycling bins throughout the building will collect paper, cardboard, plastic, packaging containers, glass, and batteries. The meeting will be paperless wherever possible, and all EuroMeeting publications will be printed on FSC-certified paper, which means that they are sourced from well-managed forests and recycled wood. 

Working with our exhibitors is an important part of the EuroMeeting, and we look forward to a successful partnership in 2010. The first Greenest Exhibitor Award was presented at the EuroMeeting in Berlin to Rachel King, CEO of CRF Health, and we are looking forward to increased competition amongst exhibitors to win the 2010 EuroMeeting Green Exhibitor Award.

And our commitment does not just stop there. It extends to food and beverage supply. We will not use styrofoam, paper or plastic cups, plates, or cutlery. By doing this, a conference of 3,000 participants such as the EuroMeeting eliminates more than 1,000 kilos of waste being sent to a landfill. There will be water coolers throughout the building, reducing the need for individual bottles of water. We will use locally grown food wherever possible, which should not prove too challenging in Monaco since it is surrounded by the fertile fields of Provence. Participants will be able to eat as low down the food chain as possible, with some delicious vegetarian menus on offer.

If you have any suggestions or creative ideas on how we could do more, please contact Dermot Ryan, EuroMeeting Manager at dermot.ryan@diauerope.org.