How to do a green meeting in Copenhagen

The ‘green meeting' is a reality in Copenhagen, thanks to its eco-labeled hotels, organic foods, recycled furniture and environmentally friendly transport options. Here is a guide on what to choose:

Transportation
Flying will never be the most environmentally friendly way of transporting yourself, but nevertheless a necessary one. We recommend that you fly to Copenhagen with SAS, who offers costumer's the opportunity to offset carbon-dioxide emissions. To make it even easier for congress organisers SAS has launched a Carbon offset program for International congresses & events as a part of the SAS Official Airline product. Furthermore Scandinavian Airlines has the industry's most efficient fuel saving program with a target of saving 6-7% in 2010(*).

Copenhagen offers a highly advanced and developed public transport infrastructure. The recent Metro - whose first line opened in 2002 - has just been extended to the airport and now connects eastern Copenhagen to the airport in less than 15 minutes. For years an efficient airport train has made it possible to reach the main train station in only 13 minutes.

When using shuttles for transportation you can also go green, for instance the Danish coach company Vikingbus offers some of the most environmentally friendly busses in Europe. Recently Copenhagen introduced an environmental zone that means all heavy traffic will be subject to strict environmental rules in order to enter the inner city. Paaske bus has therefore installed particulate filters on all vehicles that didn't already meet the standards.

Also worth considering is that Copenhagen is one of the most "walkable" cities in the world. Its compact city centre makes walking between meeting venues, hotels, sights, restaurants and shopping areas a matter of minutes. Or do your sightseeing the Copenhagen way - by bike.

Hotels & Venues
The Nordic hotel chain, Scandic, which has six hotels in the Copenhagen area, is one of the vendors who has taken social responsibility a step further. Scandic not only has effective energy usage and serves organic foods. When its sheets, towels and furniture are replaced they are donated to local shelters for the homeless. Since 1996 the hotel chain has worked hard to make its resource usage more efficient. Today a guest staying one night at a Scandic hotel generates 1.5 kilos of CO2 less, uses 35 litres of water less and leaves one kilo waste less than 10 years ago.

As part of the Arp-Hansen Hotel Group's environmental efforts all nine hotels of the Group have qualified for "the green stamp" of The Green Key in recognition of their effectiveness in reducing energy and water consumption; minimising waste; introducing organic produce; and creating a healthy environment in which to work and stay.

The Danish hotel chain Guldsmeden, with three hotels in Copenhagen, is another good choice for the environmentally conscious consumer. In addition to providing an organic breakfast and dinner, the hotel produces its own organic personal care products.
Another hotel worth noting is the Hotel Alexandra, close to the City Hall Square. It is renowned for its classic Danish interiors, furnished with reused pieces by Arne Jacobsen, Nanne Dietzel, Hans J. Wegner and other designers. The hotel has been awarded the Green Key, a certificate given to hotels which fulfil a long list of environmental requirements.

The Danish owned Brøchner hotels is also taking a new approach in the global climate initiative by becoming the world's first CO2-neutral hotel chain. On the basis of their heat- and electricity consumption for 2007, the Danish hotel chain has calculated its collective CO2 emissions and subsequently purchased carbon credits corresponding to this consumption level. Brøchner Hotels will commit to buying carbon credits equivalent to their collective emissions every year from this point forward.

International hotel chains such as Hilton and Radisson SAS have their own environmental certifications. For instance Hilton has recently installed new showerheads and low-energy light-bulbs, resulting in energy-savings of 5 percent and water-savings of 7 percent so far. At FIRST Hotel Skt. Petri they have also chosen to install pallets on water tabs, they use weather forecasts to adjust ventilations and they primarily use local food producers. This is just to mention a few.

The above mentioned hotels all offer meeting facilities with a green profile. Especially Scandic works very consistently with improving their meetings. They recently received an award for their Green Meeting product. The chains largest hotel, Scandic Copenhagen Hotel, can host up to 800 participants.

However, if you are in need of more space Scandinavia's largest congress centre, the Bella Center also upholds a thorough environmental policy. For instance Bella Center has set the ambitous goal to reduce CO2 emissions by 20 percent berfore December 2009.

Dinners
Copenhagen's shining star among organic eateries is the Michelin awarded Restaurant Geranium located in Kongens Have. The restaurant is run by two of Denmark's best chefs, Rasmus Kofoed and Søren Ledet, and uses primarily organic and biodynamic ingredients - including wine.

For those who want to eat at more reasonable prices, you can find many small organic cafes and takeaways throughout the city. Bio M, a small eatery in the Østerbro part of town is a good example - here the food, drink and even the paint on the walls are organic.

Restaurant Cap Horn, by the picturesque canal Nyhavn, was one of the first restaurants to be driven by an organic philosophy. All Cap Horn's basic ingredients, such as eggs, milk and butter, are organic as are all its wine, beer, soft drinks and coffee. The rest of the food is as organic as possible.

Social activities
There are several ways to engage your participants in environmentally friendly activities. Why not enjoy the sights of Copenhagen from the back of a bike? Companies like Copenhagen Tours and City Safari arrange guided tours.

Or enjoy the architectural gems and historical buildings as you glide slowly through Copenhagen's canals in a kayak. Kajakole's tours include stops for refreshments at a cozy café in Christianshavn.

Another possibility is to visit some of the farms e.g. Krogerup Avlsgaard or Fuglebjerggard outside the city offering teambuilding activities and culinary sessions with food and micro brewed beer in organic settings.

Partners
If you are looking for a partner to help arrange your conference while still keeping environmental issues in mind, ICS is a good choice. ICS is environmentally certified and member of the Green Globe, a worldwide organization working for sustainable tourism. Throughout the last year ICS has had an active social responsibility policy emphasizing among other things the reduction of CO2 emissions.

Another obvious choice is MCI who is lead PCO for the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in November 2009. As part of the assignment NHG has committed to evaluate the hotels environmental friendliness and prioritize those hotels with the best environmental profile. Read more...