Conference groups to find it much easier to be green

TRENZ 2010: Mercure hotels across New Zealand will be the first hotel group to offer Carbon Neutral Conferencing by committing to pay the offsets for any meeting held in a Mercure hotel.

Mercure, part of the international Accor hotel group, is the first hotel brand in New Zealand to fully fund offsets on behalf of their meeting clientele. This means the cost of keeping a conference carbon neutral is covered by the hotel, with the greenhouse gases produced during the meeting offset by funding efficient energy projects in New Zealand.

Carbon Neutral Conferencing will be offered in seven Mercure hotels in Auckland, Wellington, Picton/Marlborough Sounds, Queenstown and Dunedin.

Mercure has teamed with the Carbon Reduction Institute (CRI) to administer the carbon offsetting process. The Institute's Carbon Calculator calculates the emissions from the following: energy used to heat, cool and ventilate the venue electricity consumed by lighting and AV equipment used emissions embodied in the food and beverage packages supplied for the event

Once the CRI has determined the amount of carbon emissions created by a conference, it then calculates the amount of credits from emission reduction projects or carbon trading schemes that need to be purchased to offset the conference's emissions.

Initially, the offsets purchased will be used to fund the 'Household Energy Efficient Lighting Project' (HELP), implemented by Energy Mad (a New Zealand based company). Energy Mad has partnered with electricity networks and retail outlets encouraging consumers to purchase the energy-saving Ecobulb at a heavily discounted rate. By installing Ecobulbs to replace incandescent light bulbs, the initiative leads to a direct reduction in fossil fuel electricity generation and reduces consumer's electricity bills and wastage in our landfills.

CRI Projects Director, Andrew Barson welcomed the Mercure commitment: "The Mercure Carbon Neutral Meeting initiative in Mercure Hotels across New Zealand will engage thousands of individuals each year. It shows a true commitment to protecting our impact on the climate by the Accor Hotel Group and now enables companies of all sizes across New Zealand to choose quality meeting and venue services that won't cost the earth."

Accor Vice President New Zealand, Paul Richardson, said that Carbon Neutral Conferencing was part of an integrated environmental commitment by Accor's Mercure hotels.

"The Carbon Neutral Conferencing project is a very clear way of highlighting the commitment by our hotels to reduce our environmental footprint," he said.

"It complements projects such as our Plant for the Planet towel re-use initiative and Accor's global environmental charter, which identifies 65 priority actions surrounding energy and water reduction, waste management and recycling, raising awareness, green purchases, protecting the ozone layer and biodiversity.

"We think this initiative will be widely welcomed in the business community because from all our discussions with companies they are very conscious of their environmental obligations and want a way to minimise their impact." " Mr Richardson said that the carbon offset commitment was an integral part of a new 'Mercure Meetings' package that included three other promises -Healthy Food, Professional and Personal Service, and Technology.

Healthy food equals healthy minds and the nutritional conference room refreshments ensure more positive outcomes for your meetings.

Service is synonymous with the Mercure brand and the guaranteed same day response to conference enquiries together with a dedicated single point of contact throughout the organisational process of your conference ensures an unsurpassed level of service.

Meeting facilities are fully equipped with hi-speed internet access and professional audio visual equipment with flexible meeting room configurations to suit both small and large gatherings.

With the introduction of 'Mercure Meetings', hotels can offer environmentally focused conference groups with the complete meetings solution - a carbon neutral promise complemented by quality facilities and dedicated conference teams in seven hotels across New Zealand.

For further information visit www.mercuremeetings.co.nz