Conference guidelines are for use in organizing EECOM events. They are also available for others to use and borrow as they see fit in the interest of encouraging as many people as possible to work towards greener conferences and meetings. The approach for using these guidelines is as follows:

• The guidelines will be forwarded to conference organizers with the request that they do their best to meet them as soon as the organizers are identified. It is not necessarily expected that the organizers will meet all of the guidelines, rather that they will do their best and make decisions based on local circumstances. This is to be an on-going educational process for everyone involved.
• After the conference the organizers are to submit a report that should include the completed checklist and how they did in efforts to meet the guidelines. For guidelines that the conference did not meet, the report should explain why they were not met. The report should make recommendations for revisions in the guidelines such as proposing new additions or suggesting the elimination of some existing criteria for future conference organizers. This report is an environmental statement for the conference much as there is a final financial report. Please submit the report to the EECOM c/o Natalie Swayze . Feedback is encouraged so that this process can be improved over time.
• Conference organizers are encouraged to distribute these guidelines to other key organizations involved in the conference such as those providing meals and accommodations in keeping with the spirit and expectations of the above process.

These guidelines were largely drawn from a meeting on this topic at the 1999 EECOM conference and a broader document entitled the "Green Meeting Guide" which is posted on the Environment Canada web site at www.ec.gc.ca. They were compiled and edited by Alan Warner and most recently revised as of January 2001.

Click here for the printable Green Conference checklist