Kendall College School of Hospitality Management Assistant Professor Sue Tinnish was a featured speaker at the Green Meeting Industry Council’s (GMIC) Annual Sustainable Meetings Conference last month.
GMIC is a global community dedicated to promoting sustainability in the meetings and events industry through education, research, and establishment of policy and standards.
The GMIC Sustainable Meetings Conference is the premier event for meeting planners, educators and suppliers to address sustainability issues that are redefining the meeting and events industry.
Tinish’s presentation, “Sustainable Meetings Standards,” focused on updating industry professionals on the development of two complimentary industry standards – APEX/ASTM and International Standards Organization (ISO) – and included advice on how organizations can prepare to change their processes to meet new expectations set forth in both standards.
“Sue is a recognized industry leader who has been actively involved in the efforts to create sustainability standards through the Convention Industry Council and ASTM International for events,” said Jeffrey Catrett, dean of the Kendall College School of Hospitality Management.
“Our program and students definitely benefit from her expertise not only in sustainability but also on the practical ways in which it applies to the events’ industry as a whole.”
The Accepted Practices Exchange or APEX standards, commonly referred to as APEX/ASTM, are prescriptive, containing key performance indicators (KPIs), while the ISO standards establish a management system.
APEX covers nine specific areas of the events industry, including transportation, exhibits, destinations, audio visual and production, communication, onsite office, food and beverage, and meeting venues.
Tinish is also the chair of the Technical Advisory Group that orchestrates the United States’ voice in developing industry standards through the International Standards Organization (ISO). This standard focuses on a management system – creating the scope, setting goals, aligning resources and managing the supply chain – to help organizations create sustainable events.
The standard will help companies organize their own activities and select suppliers to manage events in a sustainable manner. The standard is entering its final development and the plan is to finish it in time for the London 2012 Olympics.
Kendall College will host the Green Meeting Industry Council Chicago Chapter meeting at its downtown campus on March 16 from Noon – 1:30 p.m. Sue Tinnish will moderate a panel discussion about sustainable practices in food and beverage featuring Greg Christian, a sustainable food consultant, and Andrew Weithe, associate director of the Green Chicago Restaurant Co-op.
