Host a Green Meeting
Environmentally Friendly Tips & Event Planning at Turning Stone Resort Casino
Across the board, businesses of all sizes are striving to reduce their consumption of natural resources and their overall environmental footprint. No matter what a company does, odds are there’s a set of sustainability goals it seeks to achieve and a continuous effort to determine how to be environmentally responsible.
At Turning Stone, sustainability means eco-friendly practices and event ideas that assure an event planner the carbon footprint of their event has been minimized to the greatest extent possible.
Explore Events at Turning Stone
Sustainability Initiatives at Turning Stone
At Turning Stone, sustainability is in our nature. With deep roots in the traditions of the Oneida Indian Nation, respect for nature and the environment is part of the DNA at New York’s most- awarded resort. Here are just some of the environmentally responsible practices in place to minimize the ecological impact of events:
- Water: Water is rapidly becoming one of the largest topics of conversation in sustainability practices. At Turning Stone, water from the resort’s drainage systems and reclaimed city water are used to irrigate the property’s grounds and golf courses.
- Energy: Ever wonder what it takes to power the fifth-largest tourist attraction in New York? Being good stewards of our natural resources is a responsibility we take seriously. LED lights and photo sensors adjust to natural daylight to conserve electricity. There is also a 5.7-megawatt power plant that generates energy using clean-burning natural gas. Byproducts of that process are reclaimed for heating and cooling.
- Heating and cooling: Special roof coating materials are also used throughout the property to extend the rubber’s life and keep the materials cooler on hot days, reducing the amount of work required from the air conditioning systems.
- Recycling: A robust recycling program prevents nearly 25,000 pounds of linens, more than 900,000 plastic and glass bottles and 57 tons of paper from ending up in landfills every year. More than 20,000 gallons of fat from restaurant fryers goes to producing biofuel each year.
How to Host a Green Event: Sustainable Meeting Guidelines
Green Venue Selection
Much of what goes into a green venue goes on behind the scenes. At Turning Stone Resort Casino, we believe that’s part of what makes a venue like ours truly world-class.
It’s a sense of pride we’re happy to pass on. When marketing your event, prospective attendees will appreciate the venue’s commitment to sustainability, which serves as an extension of your own
Sustainable Event Catering: Eco-Friendly Food & Beverage
While choosing a green venue already puts you great strides ahead in your sustainability goals, one area where sustainable event ideas are becoming more and more creative is catering. At Turning Stone, our chefs and catering team take pride in prioritizing local and seasonal ingredients, reducing the need for long deliveries and optimizing food at its freshest.
You’ll also find that what began as “meat-free Mondays” has become an increasing trend toward whole-food, plant-based diets, which naturally have a greener footprint. In fact, you may have heard of the concept of “greener by default.” This gives guests the option to “opt in” to meat and dairy items while keeping plant-based food the default option. Sure, there are some nights that nothing but a bone-in ribeye hot off the grill will do (TS Steakhouse, anyone?). But when you think about it, “greener by default” options are actually the most inclusive menu you can provide, making meal time equally welcoming for all attendees, including those with gluten, dairy or other sensitivities – as well as vegetarian and vegans.
If plant-based conjures up images of salads and vegetable trays, you may be surprised how even the world’s top chefs are embracing the bounty of the season’s harvest and creating savory, satisfying, crowdpleasing menus that don’t miss the meat.
Waste Reduction for Green Meetings
What’s wonderful about green meetings is that everyone gets to feel like they’re a part of it. In addition to what the venue provides, carry the theme through from invite to thank you with these practical tips from the professional green meeting planners at Turning Stone Resort Casino:
- Digital invitations: App developers have gotten creative with event planning tools, and it’s worth a tour of the app store if you haven’t browsed them lately. And since bulk emails are likely to get blocked by spam filters, these also help ensure your invite doesn’t wind up in the junk folder. Just make sure it’s clear in the subject line who it’s from so attendees don’t feel like the email could be suspicious.
- Online registration: Lean into your web team to set up an online registration portal, and be sure to plan reminders, teasers, savethe-date and follow-up surveys. Break up the page with plenty of subheads, call-outs and bullets to make it skimmer-friendly.
- Dine kind: Request reusable or compostable dinnerware for your catering events.
- Make recycling simple: One of the biggest tips the pros advise for eco-friendly event planning is to make participation simple. This is especially true for compost bins, where one bad egg (literally – eggs and compost bins don’t mix) can ruin a whole load of recycling. Having the tables bussed helps ensure the staff is on point to separate everything appropriately. At socials or cocktail receptions where people may be moving around with food and beverages, you can also consider appointing “compost concierge” staff to take the guesswork out of it by offering to take plates for your attendees. If you’ve ever seen this in action, you will have a true respect for the people who take this practice to a whole new level.
Why Choose Turning Stone Resort for Your Green Meetings
Turning Stone, as part of the Oneida Indian Nation, is a natural choice for anyone who wants to host a green meeting. Large event or small, the Oneida-rooted dedication to preserving environmental integrity at New York’s premier conference and event destination makes sustainable conferencing green by its very nature.
Reach out to one of our expert event coordinators at 888.361.7958 or fill out a Request for Proposal on a sustainable meeting and find out what it means when we say, “Sustainability is in our nature.” We look forward to helping you plan a sustainable meeting you’ll be proud to host
.jpg)
