5 tips for successful green meetings that are culturally appropriate

This guide by the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) Asia provides practical tips for organizing sustainable meetings in Asian cultural contexts, where reducing resource consumption can sometimes be perceived as a lack of respect or status.

• Organizing green meetings in Asia faces specific cultural challenges, as offering fewer resources or amenities can be interpreted as being "poor" or demonstrating a lack of respect.
• Travel sustainability in Asia is constrained by a lack of alternatives to air travel and the perception of travel as an important activity for government workers. For example, a 230 km trip between Phnom Penh and Ho Chi Minh City takes 5.5 hours by car and 50 minutes by flight, with no train option. To mitigate this, SEI suggests changing travel culture through flexible "claiming systems" that allow for combined trips (e.g., flying from Vientiane to Ho Chi Minh City without returning to a base in Bangkok) and providing minimal per diems aligned with local expenses.
• To reduce the environmental footprint of meeting consumables and combat a throwaway culture—where disposable mugs are often used to emphasize "value"—organizers should make specific requests to venues. Recommended actions include requesting natural light, the absence of plastic bottles, limited disposables, china plates instead of disposable ones, and non-disposable serviettes.
• Meeting materials can be minimized by replacing individual printed agendas with one large agenda and using sustainably produced name tags. The use of event apps can reduce printouts and, in the case of tools like Slido, help facilitate engagement in cultures where participants may find it difficult to ask questions openly.
• Sustainable meetings can integrate local community benefits and culture by avoiding multinational hotels in favor of local surroundings. Suggested activities include walking trips to local markets and holding event dinners in culturally significant places with local food.

APA

Stockholm Environment Institute (2019). 5 tips for successful green meetings that are culturally appropriate. https://www.sei.org/perspectives/5-tips-for-successful-green-meetings-that-are-culturally-appropriate/

Chicago

Stockholm Environment Institute. 5 tips for successful green meetings that are culturally appropriate. 2019. https://www.sei.org/perspectives/5-tips-for-successful-green-meetings-that-are-culturally-appropriate/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Stockholm Environment Institute |title=5 tips for successful green meetings that are culturally appropriate |date=30 September 2019 |url=https://www.sei.org/perspectives/5-tips-for-successful-green-meetings-that-are-culturally-appropriate/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{stockholmenvironmentinstitute2019tips, author = {{Stockholm Environment Institute}}, title = {{5 tips for successful green meetings that are culturally appropriate}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2019}, month = sep, url = {https://www.sei.org/perspectives/5-tips-for-successful-green-meetings-that-are-culturally-appropriate/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }