MPI’s Annual Conference Explores Alternative Meeting Strategies
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Over 2,300 meeting and event professionals convened in Houston, Texas from February 2-5, 2008, for the Professional Education Conference – North America (PEC-NA) co-created by Meeting Professionals International (MPI). With the conference themed MeetDifferent, the conference introduced a fresh approach to trade show expos themed “think outside the booth.â€Â
Core to the conference’s Meet Different theme was the presentation and practice of corporate social responsibility and sustainable meeting practices. Additionally, through partnership with Continental Airlines and Sustainable Travel International, attendees were able to calculate the carbon footprint of their booked itinerary and purchase carbon offsets online. The City of Houston purchased Renewable Energy Credits in the name of MPI for energy consumed during the event, and organic cotton supporting sustainable agricultural was used for all registration bags, lanyards, and t-shirts.
Conference attendees lent their support to SEARCH, the homeless service provider in the Houston community, by painting the SEARCH building, power-washing their sidewalks, sorting and organising donated items, and making sack lunches for distribution to Houston’s homeless.
PEC-NA attendees also contributed to The Foundation for Hospital Art PaintFest® where participants painted mural designs on canvas which was donated at no cost to hospitals in need.
