Every one of us has a responsibility when it comes to safeguarding the welfare of the environment. As primary users of the earth’s resources, we leave long-lasting, if not permanent, damages through our practices and habits, even if they are sometimes what we think as “standard” or “acceptable” norm.

The least we could do is to minimize the effects of these actions through eco-friendly actions. We can start with simple things like reducing our use of paper, especially one that comes from virgin pulp sourced by forests, which came to an all-time high of 354 million tons by 2005 in a report by World Rainforest Management. At the same time, we should also encourage others to go “green” whether at home or at work.

Even the corporate world has definitely caught the “green” fever as more and more companies are going environment-friendly in their own offices. For many managers, incorporating green practices into their work environments are beneficial not only to establish their reputation as good corporate citizens, it also reduces unnecessary expenses, which translates to savings. According to Guy Bigwood, author of the blog “Less Conversation More Action,” green practices and long-term sustainability should not take the back seat to profitability. “Initiatives like these are example of the sort of innovations which bring needed improvement to reducing our impacts on our natural resources.”

In fact, green events and convention planning (also known as green conventions) is now an established trend within the global tourism and convention industry. Several cities in the United States and Europe now have convention centers or venues designed using green building principles and practices.

The Philippines is not lagging behind in these trends as more and more companies are conducting green events or green conventions. In fact, one of the earlier proponents of green conventions is the Meralco Development Center (MMLDC), which initiated environment-friendly practices as early as 2000. MMLDC is one with these companies in their Earth-friendly endeavors as it unveils ‘Green Meetings’ — unique meeting & conference packages that provide clients an entirely new experience to environmental awareness.

“There are thousands of meetings and conferences held each year with millions of participants – and research has shown that the meetings industry is uniquely positioned to reduce its environmental impact on a truly meaningful scale. Therefore, as the top training center in the country, we are introducing ‘Green Meetings’ to meet the needs of our clients,” said Agnes Fidelino, MMLDC managing director.

Primarily, it is very appropriate for MMLDC to offer its ‘Green Meetings’ packages. The center’s natural ambiance and structure promotes energy efficiency. MMLDC’s function rooms have large windows that allow natural lighting to pass through, thus minimizing the need to switch on the lights during day-time meetings. The skylighting for roofing is very useful in cutting down electricity costs so are the split-type air-conditioning units. The use of energy cards in guest rooms also helps minimize electricity wastage while the clients are attending seminars or meetings, or simply, whenever they’re out. An electric jeep that shuttles guests to different areas of the Center has been around for many years. Posters and signs that espouse environmental concern are prominently displayed throughout the center.

“MMLDC also makes use of materials that are earth-friendly and like those that requires minimal packaging, thus promoting waste reduction such as wrapper-free candies. We use sugar and creamer bowls instead of sachets, pitchers instead of water bottles, paper bags instead of styro packaging, and soap and shampoo dispensers instead of individual bottles,” said Agnes.

These little actions may be insignificant but since MMLDC hosts thousands of participants who flock throughout the year, the impact is more evident. MMLDC does not only save in expenses — it also eases the burden on the environment.