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January 2023

SENFC now has a YouTube Channel

Our Next SENFC Events

Thursday,

February 2nd, 2023

@ 4:00pm ET

SENFC Virtual Networking: "All Things Gardening - Share your Favorite Sustainable Tips!" 

Thursday,

March 2nd, 2023

@ 4:00pm ET

SENFC Virtual Networking: "All About Sustainable Hospitality Suites - Share your Favorite Sustainable Tips!"

Join an SENFC committee and become engaged in re-imagining meetings and events, and inspiring the industry to adopt sustainable practices.  

Volunteers are at the core of SENFC and they are truly empowered when they come together and work as committees. Contact us if you would like to become more involved.

The Zero Food Waste Committee will be meeting (Zoom) at noon on Friday, January 20th.  Please join us!

The Sustainable Events Network, Florida & Caribbean

is a 501(c)(3) non-profit public charity and can accept tax deductible donations

Click HERE to learn more...

Amazon Aware includes apparel, home, beauty, and more—all thoughtfully designed and made from materials such as recycled polyester, organic cotton, and bio-based ingredients.

A Win for Recycling 

Plastic wrapping and film are difficult to reuse but in Indian River County they can be recycled into incredible equipment like decking, outdoor furniture, and playground items. Coastal Connections, a SENFC Partner, works with small local businesses to help them recycle this unique single-use product to clean up our landfill and create a more sustainable community.

In December 2022, our WRAP recycling team reached a new record, recycling almost 500 lbs of plastic film in one month. In total, this program has helped local small businesses recycle 3,352 lbs of single-use plastic film. We have also welcomed 5 new volunteers into this program and with new businesses joining the program every month, we cannot wait to see what type of impact we will make together next year.

SENFC New & Renewing Corporate Members

Deidre Everdij - COTC Events

Rachel Lazarus - COTC Events

Chad Midnight - Aqueduct Water Systems

Soyoung Park - FAU

Jennifer Perez - COTC Events

Barbara Pierra  COTC Events

Stella Quintero - FAU

Dr. Peter Ricci - FAU

Ye Zhang - FAU

SENFC New &

Renewing Individual Members

Maddy Christenson - Hazelnut

Grace Klopp - GLP Films

Steffi Kordy - Cocoon Incentives

Anastasia Mikhalochkina - Lean Orb Co

Jodi Quillet - Health First

We deeply regret the passing of Dr. Dan Cormany, SENFC member and friend. 

"Dr. Dan Cormany was a huge champion of sustainable practices in the events industry and a valued member of the Sustainable Events Network, Florida & Caribbean, particularly through his participation on the Education Committee.  His commitment to mentoring his students and encouraging their participation in our industry's professional organizations knew no bounds.  More often than not, he could be seen at industry networking events accompanying various students, making sure they were introduced to everyone in attendance.  To say that Dan's input and presence will be missed is an understatement; we were lucky to have him in South Florida. May his legacy live on through the many event professionals he helped cultivate through his teaching and involvement in the industry."

Joanna Berens,

President & Zero Food Waste Chair, SENFC 

Learn More at the two Partner Meetings

Tuesday, January 24th, 2023 - 1:00 pm ET

Thursday, February 9th, 2023 - 4:00 pm ET

If you haven't already, please sign up for one, each designed to:

     - Walk you through the Communication Toolkit & Partner Portal

     - Simplify planning for the week

Click on one of the dates to register for the Info Session:January 24 10 am PT/1pm ET or  February 9  1 pm PT/4pm ET

Additionally, please follow Food Waste Prevention Week @FoodWastePreventionWeek on Instagram and Facebook; SavetheFoodWeek on Twitter.

SENFC Featured Corporate Members

FAU's Special Offer to SENFC Members for their Executive Education Certificate in Hospitality and Tourism Management 

Florida Atlantic University is once again offering its online Executive Education Certificate in Hospitality and Tourism Management including a sustainability curriculum.  And SENFC members are encouraged to register for a $50 scholarship. The public rate is $199.00 but as a SENFC member you will pay $149.00.  It is open for 2.5 months and to date, has had a rating of 9.85 out of 10 on feedback! 

This popular course among industry professionals has has been widely acclaimed by employers and employees to revitalize best practices, gain engagement and create leadership skills. Dr. Peter Ricci, Director of the Hospitality & Tourism Management Program at FAU states, "We try to be broad-based across items that are impacting the industry right now, of interest to the global workforce, and to attract heavy leaders for dialogue as we build the content."

For more information on the course go to FAU Executive Education, but to be eligible for the SENFC scholarship, be sure to contact Dr Ricci prior to registering .

And Learn how to be a sustainability enthusiast and advocate

SENFC now has a YouTube Channel

Calendar of Events

January 20, 2023 (12:00pm ET) - SENFC Zero Food Waste Committee Meeting.  If you are interested in participating in this committee, join the meeting at https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81976087754?pwd=cUgzSnRrQ2s1Rzk2eHNZTFhFdkJjUT09 

February 2, 2023 (4:00pm ET) - SENFC Virtual Networking on Sustainability  "All Things Home Gardening - Share Your Favorite Tips!"  Register

March 2, 2023 (4:00pm ET) - SENFC Virtual Networking on Sustainability  "Sustainable Hospitality Suites - Share Your Favorite Tips!"  Register

March 30, 2023 - Global Meetings Industry Day (GMID) Learn more

April 10-16, 2023 - Food Waste Prevention Week  Learn more

April 22, 2023 - Earth Day  Learn more

A Sneak Preview into the gamification at Food Waste Prevention Week (April 10-16, 2023) as discussed at the SENFC Virtual Networking on January 5th, 2023. 

How well do you know Sustainability?

1. Can leftover event food be donated to a local charity? 

2. What percentage of all freshwater that is consumed goes to produce that we don’t eat?

3. In the State of Florida what percentage of foodbank recipients also purchase inexpensive and unhealthy food in order to have enough to eat? 

4. Which of the following accounts for the largest carbon footprint when it comes to food? A. Processing; B. Transportation; C. Cooking; D. Waste disposal

5. Where can you find a great government resource for how to reduce food waste?

6. A drinking straw was once found stuck in a turtle’s nose. True of False

7. In what country can the largest fresh water source on Earth be found?

8. What percentage of plate waste is perfectly edible?

9. 63 million tons of food is wasted annually in the U.S.  What percentage of food waste comes from the hospitality industry?

10. Food waste produces more of this than any other trash in the landfill?  

11. What percentage of the landfill is food waste?

12. How many pounds of carbon dioxide does 10 pounds of food waste emit from the landfill?

13. How long can it take a fruit or vegetable to decompose in the landfill?

14. On average, how many tons of food is wasted each year globally? 

 per year

15.  80% of food waste is generated by what percentage of people?

Answers: 1. Yes; 2. 25%; 3. 78%; 4. A; 5. www.fda.gov/food/consumers/tips-reduce-food-waste; 6. False (it was electrical water insulation); 7. Canada (Great Lakes, shared with USA); 8. 88% https://internationalfoodwastecoalition.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Infographic-engage-consumers.pdf; 9. 40%; 10. Methane gas; 11. Over 50%; 12. 9; 13. Up to 25 years; 14. 1.3 billion tons; 15. 15%

New Green Lodging Trends Report Takes Close Look at Global Best Practices

Based in Singapore, Greenview has just released its 83-page Green Lodging Trends Report (GLTR), the leading global benchmarking study on sustainability best practices in hotels. The 27,000-hotel in 54 countries dataset was made possible due to the participation of many companies—ranging from Aimbridge Hospitality to Xenia Hotels & Resorts. 

Hotel Sustainability Basics—GLTR incorporates 12 fundamental sustainability practices from the Hotel Sustainability Basics Framework. These practices, identified under the leadership of the World Travel & Tourism Council, are endorsed by hospitality companies around the world. GLTR includes 75 best practices, 17 of which align with the Basics Framework. Within each section of the report, practices may fall under topic areas such as Common Practices, Establishes Practices, Emerging Practices, and Innovative Practices.

Highlights from this section of the report:

• Close to 80 percent of hotels offer guests opportunities to support or participate in its environmental and social initiatives.
• Globally, 66 percent of hotels have eliminated the use of plastic straws.
• Almost one in two hotels have replaced mini plastic toiletry bottles with bulk dispensers or non-plastic alternatives.
• A total of 40.7 percent of all hotels have replaced plastic water bottles offered to guests and staff with sustainable alternatives such as reuse models, reusable options or non-plastic alternatives.

Throughout the report, Greenview provides country rankings for a particular initiative—having a sustainability team on the property, for example. In this case, the Netherlands tops the list at 90 percent. Interestingly, throughout the report there are 19 rankings, but the U.S. only landed on four of the ranking lists.

SENFC Board Meets in Vero Beach

to set 2023 Goals

The SENFC Board of Directors met for an in-person retreat on January 14th in Vero Beach and enjoyed a jam-packed pre-meeting day of tours and dinner, coordinated by local board member, Sue Flak of Indian River County.  Board members enjoyed a tour of the St. Lucie Materials Recovery and Sorting Facility and the Main County Landfill followed by dinner at the historic and eclectic Waldo's on Vero Beach.  The productive board meeting was held at the lovely Hampton Inn Downtown Vero Beach after which the board split into two teams and filled up their shopping carts at the United Against Poverty supermarket in order to stock the fridge and shelves at the Fellsmere Community Fridge.

Why We Can't Stop Talking About Greenwashing

from Greenbiz and an article by Joel Makower