When meeting planners choose a destination, they don’t just evaluate a city on affordability, weather and location. Even before the COVID-19 (novel coronavirus) pandemic, a city’s ability to reduce its environmental footprint and rate high in safety were becoming an increasingly important factors for meeting planners when determining where conventions and meetings are held. Now, it’s no surprise that planners want to keep their members safe—and are doing so by prioritizing wellness, sustainability and cleanliness when selecting host cities for their upcoming in-person events.
In the last six years, the meetings and convention industry has taken steps to “green” its meetings by holding meetings in sustainable cities that are actively reducing their use of toxic materials and production of greenhouse gas emissions to improve air quality. Now, many cities are taking this to the next level—ensuring that cities are cleaned regularly for increased sustainability efforts and to protect their residents and guests from harmful germs and toxins.
One city that has been taking steps to increase its sustainability and cleanliness is Phoenix. These efforts took off in 2014, when the Downtown Phoenix Inc.'s Clean & Green Team began planting trees, specifically in the 90-square-block, downtown core, that offered more shade to pedestrians. Because the city is compact, walkable and connected to the airport by public transportation, it has successfully transformed it’s downtown area into a sustainable district, making it a popular destination for meetings and events.
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