Meralco Dev't Center: A 'green' meeting place

MANILA, Philippines - More and more companies are conducting green events or green conventions, and one of the early proponents of green conventions is the Meralco Development Center (MMLDC), which initiated environment-friendly practices as early as 2000. MMLDC unveils “Green Meetings,” unique meeting and conference packages that provide clients an entirely new experience of 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,” said Agnes Fidelino, MMLDC managing director. “Therefore, as the top training center in the country, we are introducing Green Meetings to meet the needs of our clients.”

The center’s natural ambience and structure promotes energy efficiency. MMLDC’s function rooms have large windows that allow natural light to pass through, thus minimizing the need to switch on lights during daytime meetings. The skylight 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 clients are attending seminars or meetings. 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 require 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.

Clients also have the option of holding al fresco lunches, dinners or meetings since trees and gardens surround the center. They can also request paperless meetings, which are now becoming a trend all over the world, or donate their excess training materials to MMLDC’s mission programs to Antipolo public schools.

The Green Meetings package also extends to clients’ dietary needs. MMLDC’s chef can create a low-carbon diet menu that focuses on healthy food made from locally available ingredients.

A zero-waste facility since 2000, MMLDC has implemented waste segregation through biodegradable and non-biodegradable containers, with a Materials Recovery facility and a composting pit and green garden. Aside from continued certification on ISO 14001:2004 (Environmental Management System), MMLDC was also conferred the title of “Grandmaster” and hailed “Champion in Reduction” at the 2010 Zero Basura Olympics (ZBO) for its earth-friendly operations and practices.

To know more about MMLDC’s Green Meetings packages, call 632-8111 or e-mail mmldc.marketing@mmldc.org. MMLDC is located along Sumulong Highway in Antipolo, an hour’s drive from Makati and 45 minutes from Quezon City. Visit the website at www.mmldc.org.