Boasted to be the “greenest political convention in history”, the Democratic National Convention rolled into Denver, Colorado this past week. The press surrounding the DNC displayed what was a valiant, yet apparently controversial attempt at environmentally responsible practices.
A goal of reducing the amount of trash sent to the landfill by 85% was announced at the onset of the gathering to be achieved by separating all waste into three bins clearly labeled: “landfill”, “recycling” and “compost”. A fantastic idea, and it should have succeeded given the numerous amount of “green team” volunteers, yet no media was granted access to witness any “sorting” that went on behind the scenes, which clearly translates into a disheartening truth that it was lumped together and mindlessly dumped. What greater advertisement for green-washing and a true testament to our laziness is there? The bombardment of green promotional paraphernalia (that was likely trashed as well) included recyclable metal water bottles, organic face cream, trendy vitality drinks and re-usable bags. Hmmm. I was under the impression that the first step of living a more sustainable lifestyle was reducing how much we consume and possess…
Interestingly, conventions that solely cater to professionals in the green sector are just as full of ironic moments of wasteful display. In Los Angeles, I recently attended one of these very gatherings and was faced with the obvious question: exactly how helpful to the sustainability movement are these events? Most involve people flying across the globe to gather in low-efficiency buildings and use more resources than if they were to stay home and make small changes in their personal and professional lives. On the flip side, these events do spread awareness about the products, services and ideas surrounding the sustainability movement and provide an arena for networking and collaboration, so does this offset the damage? If so, how do we begin to calculate that?
Walking down the lanes of booths, I grab one high-quality, laminate paper flyer after another. Usually it’s not double-sided and certainly not made from recycled content. No soy ink or flax paper or renewable anything. There’s usually a bowl of candy made by Nestle and other multi-nationals who scoff at fair trade, use GMO ingredients and could care less about “sustainability” and when I begin to dig deeper with some of the people who represent these “green businesses” I find that not many often really know what living in a sustainable manner means, haven’t read Cradle-to-Cradle, and certainly don’t recognize that consumerism is, in and of itself, not a solution to our environmental problems.
I often preach that sustainability is not about sacrifice, but efficient and effective living and business. If each of these businesses take into account more efficient practices, such as using less paper and GMO candy, and having other means of attracting visitors, it would do much more for the planet.
One thing I know for sure is that the truly green businesses who attend these events, how ever rare they may be, are drawing their networks tighter and tighter and creating a more vibrant and effective green business community. This may possibly outweigh the negatives. Any event claiming to be “green” needs to be a) less frequent/redundant and b) less wasteful. Planners can coordinate efforts with other events to share resources and infrastructure to ensure that they generate the least waste possible.
If you want to attend a green event, or organize one, some of the best I’ve been to where people find real solutions for eco-friendly living and can connect with other businesses with an understanding of the market have been: Green Festivals, Eco Gift Expo, Lightning in a Bottle and Opportunity Green.
Sun, Sep 7, 2008
Eco Friendly, Green, Green Ideas, Green Products, Green Tips