It Aint Easy Being Green

By Brian Palmer

It really isn’t easy being green.   Most meetings aren’t and those that do assemble large groups consume a remarkable amount of the earth’s resources.  Our industry has and will continue to improve its ability to recognize ways to reduce the negative impacts meetings can have.   

One of the fundamentals of keeping green is a commitment to procure items locally and reduce the need to transport them.  This can include your speakers and here are some ways to do it.

Let me begin by noting the struggles  many have had in their effort to accomplish this.  When your lead criteria is “speaker proximity“ it can become nearly impossible to find the right speaker.   A speaker’s proximity to your event can certainly be one of the criteria though making it the first one can make your search extremely difficult.   

But to waist the time, money  and the natural resources  to bring a group together to hear the "wrong" speaker is the antithesis of "green" and... un-wise.

Here are some places to look…

The internet was made for finding local speakers.   A simple search is apt to yield a great many speakers.

Institutions of higher learning often have a vehicle to portray those on their facility that might speak. 

Speakers Bureaus and their websites tend to sort people by home town as well as topic

The website of the National Speakers Association (www.nsaspeaker.org) can sort speakers by region and cities.   

Some creative searches can yield information about the speakers that will be in your meeting city the same time as you

As with any product or service the usual cautions are in order.  Most listings on websites are part of some sort of marketing effort.  Do your usual due diligence and make certain the speaker can do almost exactly what you want done. 

I confess to a prejudice toward reputable speakers bureaus.  They can present a group of people who meet your criteria  and standards  for you to consider.   

Your effort to hire people locally will leave several dozen gallons and a very large tank.  As this practice continues to grow the negative impact on meetings will diminish.