Green meetings packages are now available for seminars and conferences held at the Club

One of the biggest trends in the events industry is the continued demand for meetings, conferences and events to be more environmentally sustainable. Conference organisers worldwide report that clients are increasingly concerned about the sustainability of all aspects of their operations and are seeking out venues and partners who also take a proactive approach to reduce their carbon footprint.

As an award-winning pioneer of sustainability, the Club embarked on a programme last year to “green” all aspects of its operations. As part of this initiative, Happy Valley Clubhouse and the two Racecourses have launched sustainable meetings packages. In addition to offering customers a comfortable and unique venue with excellent food and beverage, the Club now enables event organisers to minimise the environmental impact of their meetings and conferences.

Green initiatives
The aim of the packages is to integrate environmental and social responsibility into meetings and strive to reduce paper wastage, conserve energy and promote a low-carbon menu.

For the packages, the venues have done away with wasteful water bottles and replaced them with glasses and water jugs. They have also invested in eco-friendly whiteboards and marker pens and said goodbye to paper flipcharts.

Rather than using cut flowers, a series of horse centerpieces will be used as decoration, which has the benefit of adding “a sense of the place” to the event, providing a contrast to bland hotel or conference venues.

Attendees will enjoy comfortable air-conditioning set at an eco-friendly and comfortable level, while the Club’s chefs have prepared menus including sustainable seafood and low-carbon ingredients from local sources for breakfast, lunch and refreshment breaks. At Happy Valley Clubhouse, in order to reinforce the green message to attendees, a short informative video on water resources or global warming can be shown during break time.

The Club looks forward to hosting green meetings, as this is an excellent opportunity to demonstrate how HKJC is aiming to reduce its own carbon footprint, while supporting and encouraging other organisations that wish to become more sustainable.

As an added incentive, Members booking a green meetings package at Happy Valley Clubhouse will receive an incentive of HK$500 for their next private Function Room event at the Clubhouse held before the end of June 2012.