Conference Sessions

Recession-Proofing your Travel Program with CSR
Debunk the notion that “going green” always cost more. The current economic downturn presents the right opportunities to implement sustainability practices that can help travel programs deliver additional cost avoidance measures to help a corporation’s bottom line in the short and long term. Learn from a panel of experts in corporate travel management who have implemented best practices from NBTA’s CSR Toolkit to not only cut costs for corporations, but help the environment and communities they impact in the process.
 
Getting Green Done:   Hard Truths from the Front Lines of the Sustainability Revolution
“If sustainability were easy…we’d have done it by now.”  In this session, author and sustainability guru Auden Schendler, will address what it means to implement sustainability in the real world.
 
Why They Won:  Case Studies from the Winners of NBTA’s First Corporate Social Responsibility Awards
NBTA’s CSR committee established the annual awards to recognize a company for its innovative and significant initiatives to take greater social and environmental responsibility while minimizing the global impact of their business travel programs. Join some of the finalists and winners as they share their unique, award-winning corporate travel initiatives.
 
Why They Won:  Case Studies of the Winners from the Greenest Planner Awards
Successful Meetings and MeetingNews recently sponsored a search for the greenest planner. Come hear from winning planners who will share their strategies and techniques on ways to effectively be proactive about green education and green initiatives. Learn what you need to do to be the "greenest" planner from the best in the business!

Green on the Go: An Interview with the Airlines
Moderated by Korean Air, and presented in an interview format, a panel of representatives from Air France, Delta and Continental will answer questions regarding their green initiatives to improve environmental performance of transatlantic and domestic flights.
 
The ROI of Green & the Journey of Getting There
What exactly is the payoff?  Discover what the real costs are of going green and how to leverage them to your benefit and even drive new revenue streams.   

The Greening of Hotels and Venues
This panel presentation with reps from hotels and convention centers will delve into how they are designing, re-positioning and managing their properties in a more sustainable way. Discover how travelers are responding to their green initiatives and hear predictions on the outlook for the future.

Green Meetings Guidelines & Checklist
Everyone is thinking "Green" these days and looking for ways to conserve natural resources and aid the environment. This has transcended beyond simple personal efforts and corporate initiatives and now includes travel agendas as well. Planning Green meetings has become a major initiative for many professional meeting planners and corporate travel departments. But there are still many misconceptions related to conducting more environmentally-friendly meetings. This session will provide a road map that will enable meeting professionals to incorporate green practices into their events.

Building a Responsible Travel Program
Business travel is an environmental issue of which a company does not have full and direct control over all CO2 emissions. However, ‘responsible business travel’ companies do take action within their own organization as well as influence their stakeholders (staff, suppliers and customers) by promoting the adoption of appropriate management programs. This panel presentation will provide you with the steps involved to building a responsible travel program which include: assessment, design, implementation, and sustainability.

The Green Journey: Traveling Smarter by Focusing on Demand & Change Management
These are challenging economic times.  Learn how relatively small changes can help you make smarter economic and environmental decisions. You'll hear about traveler behavior and discover specific recommendations on changes that can improve a company’s ROI.

Case Study: RC's Environmental Policy, Challenges & Successes
Join us for an inside look at Royal Caribbean Cruises' long-term environmental strategy, including goals  that ensure responsible corporate environmental performance. What challenges have they faced?  What are the successes and the return on investment?

The Effects of Global Climate Change on the Business of Travel
What does climate change mean to your business travel strategy and ROI? What does the future hold?  This “state-of-the-state” report will address where we’ve been, what’s currently happening, and where we’re going.

The Marketing of Green Travel:  What's the Right Message?
You've developed your green business travel strategy.  You're ready to implement. You're preparing for the ROI.  But how do you market it for success?  Join these experienced green travel marketers as they delve into the challenges and successes of marketing green travel.  You'll hear from a panel who will share their strategies for what works and what doesn't.

To Offset or Not to Offset – Is it that Simple?
Are carbon offsets right for you? Are they part of the solution? Do you think of carbon offsets as one viable option for addressing global climate change? Discover the benefits of carbon offsetting to your business and how to incorporate it into your sustainable travel strategy. Explore the key criteria to consider when choosing an offset provider that meets your target businesses goals, including credibility, transparency and your ROI.

US Cities: The Challenges of “Green” and Sustainability
Come learn how these U.S. cities are managing the challenges of “green.”  Through case studies, representatives will discuss the status of sustainability in their respective locations, including key areas such as transit, energy, green building, traffic, and government initiatives.  Don’t miss this opportunity to hear how these cities are succeeding.

Going Virtual (and Back):  Where does Virtual Meetings Fit in to Your Plan?  Discover the 5C's of Virtual Value:  Cost, Carbon Savings, Content Generation, Collaboration online and Communication-sustainability beyond the meeting. In this session, we'll discuss building a strategy that captializes on the opportunities afforded by recent leaps in virtual event technologies.  You'll learn about the significant opportunities beyond just the cost and carbon savings that your organization must consider as you make the decision to add virtual elements to your event strategy, a data-driven approach to identify which EVENTS and which ASPECTS of events will be most effectively taken virtual for your organization and how to build the value story (the return your organization realizes) for your virtual event.