Hope everyone had a great weekend! In honor of Earth Day tomorrow, we wanted to take a few days this week to focus on all things {green} with the intention to hopefully get everyone thinking of how to live a little greener!
Today we are focusing on green events and the impact your decisions can make on the environment when planning weddings & events. The good news is the growing trend of being {green} is prompting more and more resources and suppliers to answer the demand to be more environmentally friendly in their offerings and business practices for events.
Green places
Holding events at venues that support conservation and sustainable practices is extremely important to consider. A great resource to help look for green venues is at BlueGreenMeetings.org. They offer tips and advice for planners on everything from selecting a venue to green marketing. For a quick summary, be sure to check out their 10 Easy Tips for planning.
Locally in the DC area, we have two favorite event venues to book that are practicing a myriad of programs in conservation. We encourage those of you not in the DC area to look for comparable locations in your area with similar programs!
Located in the beautiful rolling hills of Warrenton, Virginia...under an hour from Washington, DC is this beautiful location for green weddings and events that is also environmentally certified.
How they are green
Recycling: Everything from plastic to office paper is recycled. Kitchen scraps are collected for composting.
Purchasing: All items that are purchased must meet a certain standard of post-consumer waste and recycle content. Any chemicals that have to be used on the property are to be non-phosphate, nontoxic, biodegradable, and concentrated liquids. All equipment purchased must be “Energy Star” level.
Lighting: All lighting on the property are compact fluorescent or LED bulbs.
Sustainable Garden: An organic vegetable garden is the source of most dishes featured & served for events. The garden is enriched with their compost program whereby table waste supplies nutrients that help produce thrive.
Employee education: Airlie has a “Green Team” for furthering knowledge about green practices. An internal audit of the property is performed by the team every quarter to ensure that employees are keeping to standards.
The Willard InterContinental Hotel
How they are green
100% wind energy is used to power the hotel
100% removal of hazardous chemicals
100% elimination of oil-based paints
30% of all papers consumed on property are recycled
Eco-friendly chemicals are used for cleaning & in-house laundry
9.3% reduction in energy consumption due to the use of CFL lights
Replacement of bottled water & juices with larger, re-usable pitchers
Serving organic goods & beverages
Using biodegradable & recycled materials wherever possible
Composting of all organic waste generated from events
Be sure to stop by later today for part 2 of green {events} and our second {ritzy bee} giveaway!!!
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