Home Expert Advice Exclusive: Contracting for Sustainability

Exclusive: Contracting for Sustainability

September 26, 2024

Tips from two pros on how to grow your meeting’s sustainability from the earliest RFP and contracting stages.

Sustainability, like all other aspects of a meeting or event, isn’t something that can be thrown in at the last minute. Food and beverage minimization and donation, energy efficiency, waste management and other sustainability efforts should be baked into the program’s design from the very beginning of the planning process, say Amanda Gourgue, Chief Meeting Revolutionist with Meeting Revolution and Rachel Riggs, General Manager, Environmental Strategy, with Maritz.

This means deciding what your event needs to do to adhere to your organization’s overall sustainability goals, then include your event’s sustainability needs during the request for proposal (RFP) and contracting phases to ensure that your venue is equipped to accommodate your sustainability needs.

Prevue recently caught up with Riggs and Gourgue, who were speakers at a recent Prevue webinar called How to Elevate Your Events with Purpose: The Road to Net-Positive Sustainability, to learn more.

Prevue: Why is it important to have sustainability goals and a plan to reach those goals at the very start of the planning process?

Riggs: You need to know what’s important for your event so you can build it into your RFP, because it all starts with the design of the event. Ask your stakeholders what it means for them for this to be a lower impact event. Eighty percent of Fortune 500 companies have carbon targets they need to meet, which may vary depending on the time of year the event is held. That’s the place to start.

Then, for example, if it’s important that the venue has a LEED certification, you need to ask about certifications up front in your RFP because that’s not something they can just make happen later in the process. If you need a certification proving they use 100% renewable energy and will be able to reduce your event’s carbon emissions because of it, you need to ask up front. If you want to ensure that your leftover food is donated and what can’t be donated is composted or shipped off for agricultural use, put that in your RFP — you can’t just hand that over to the banquets team at the last minute because they can’t just pull it out of their hats. There’s a process to all of this, and you need to manage that from the start.

Ideally, we would know the specific sustainability data points we will need at the close of the contract — food and beverage, energy consumption for meeting spaces and guest rooms, accommodations, etc. I would put those data requirements in my RFP and include a clause in the contract that the venue is required to provide these data points. And include the format you need that data in, because they may not be used to providing it in the format you need. Maritz has developed a carbon footprint measuring tool that is very granular that we use with clients to get a baseline, then work with the team to reduce their event’s carbon footprint, which we measure later to be able show to the reduction.

Whatever your data needs are, they need to be in the RFP because you shouldn’t even consider a venue that can’t accommodate your event’s sustainability needs.

Gourgue: I believe everything in a contract is negotiable, but it needs to be a win-win for both parties. There are so many options for event venues that it is important to find the best fit. I think it comes down to your goals, which should have been clearly stated in your RFP.

Prevue: What is reasonable to ask of the venue in terms of sustainability when it comes to food and beverage?

Riggs: Some hotel chains offer menus of the day, which are often low-emissions–based and so will check all the right boxes. I recommend asking the hotel at the contract phase what it can do to help lower emissions from a food and beverage perspective. Can they lean into locally sourced, more plant-based foods, etc.? You need to start that conversation at the beginning.

Gourgue: Reasonable asks would be using China, glasses and cloth napkins. Most already do this already. Other reasonable asks would be to not pre-fill water, juice, iced tea, coffee or whatever beverages that are served. Instead, serve them in pitchers. Serve condiments, spreads and jams in bulk containers to minimize waste.

Riggs: The water waste from pre-fills is incredible, as is the food waste from pre-set salads and desserts. I would put a requirement to pre-fill in the banquet event order. Remember, this is not only good for the environment — having people serving people also keeps the event at a more human level.

Prevue: What’s the best way to ensure the venue will donate any leftover food in the contract? How do you counter if the venue says it would be illegal for them to donate leftover food?

Gourgue: The RFP has to say that donating leftover food is essential. I also quote the law [the 2023 federal Food Donation Improvement Act, which enhances the 1996 Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act] in the RFP. If there is pushback, find out why. It is an opportunity to educate and collaborate. To ensure that the venue donates, it takes trust, partnership and a plan.

Some ways to help a venue so you can donate leftover food is to get a third-party food rescue organization to assist, the event planner could research local food banks and/or local homeless shelter and work with them, or depending on where the event is being held, the OLIO app could be used.

Riggs: Because food that has already been served on a buffet can’t be donated for human consumption, you could put in the contract that the venue staggers the buffet servings rather than put it all out at once. Some venues have in-house or third-party composting or can donate leftovers not fit for human consumption to a local farm, but again, there needs to already be a process in place for that.

Prevue: What can you hold the venue accountable to when it comes to energy-efficiency clauses, and how do you ensure they reach the performance levels you set out in the contract?

Gourgue: This is a good time to mention that I’m not a lawyer, but I do enjoy negotiating contracts. To have a good clause, it needs to be measurable so someone can be held accountable. Energy efficiency-related clauses tend to be more challenging to enforce because the contracting group is normally sharing the space with another group.

However, let’s work with the example of in-room energy savings program. You could put in the contract that the meeting room will stay at a certain temperature when occupied vs unoccupied. Perhaps, when unoccupied, venue employees are instructed to shut the blinds, minimize heating/air conditioning, and turn off all lights. However, there would need to be compensation for if those items aren’t done. I have never added an energy-efficiency clause to my contracts, but I typically pick venues who already have programs in place, and I know it is part of their core values.

Prevue: Other than energy and F&B-related items, are there other areas in which sustainability measures can be included in the contract with the venue?

Gourgue: Definitely! I think the linen and towel reuse program should be in the contract. What the hotel program is and what happens if it isn’t followed? Same with the in-room and venue recycling program. This recycling program should also talk about amenities — what happens with leftover soaps, shampoos, lotions, etc.? I also ensure that the cleaning products are all sustainable.

Depending upon how sustainable the venue is, they might already be tracking their waste and that is something else that could be requested via the contract. I know of some companies that won’t provide the final payment unless counts are provided to them within 30 days of the event.

Outside of the venue itself, transportation and general services contractors are two great opportunities to make an impact. Those have such large carbon footprints and being sustainably minded can make a big difference.

Prevue: How else can meeting and event professionals work with venues to encourage more sustainable behaviors from their attendees?

Gourgue: Venues want to maximize every dollar possible with a group, so let’s encourage good behaviors by asking what they already are doing. For example, Marriott and IHG Hotels & Resorts offer reward points for those who opt out of housekeeping services, and many hotels have introduced green initiatives such as using renewable energy sources, reducing water consumption through efficient fixtures, and implementing recycling programs.

Venues encourage guests to participate in these initiatives by providing incentives like discounts, complimentary services, or donations to environmental causes. Some venues provide special amenities, such as providing bicycles for guests who choose to not use a car. For example, the Peninsula Hotel in Beverly Hills rewards those who drive electric vehicles by offering complimentary valet parking and charging.

Some hotels use technology to encourage sustainability, like smart thermostats that adjust room temperature when guests are away or apps that track a guest’s eco-friendly actions. Venues can reward guests with amenities such as discounts or late check-out for declining a change of linen and towels, using air-conditioning less intensively, or removing single-use plastic from their room.