People usually spend work-related and other meetings in a seated position. In addition to minimal movement, participants often have a minimal supply of fresh air. The food consumed during short breaks mostly contains a lot of sugar and fat. The use of disposable plastic cups or cutlery is quite common and there are also many brochures and promotional items distributed, which only end up in the waste bin. All of this unnecessarily burdens the environment.
The new WHO guide entitled Planning healthy and sustainable meetings covers four major areas of a healthy and environmentally friendly lifestyle:
- healthy eating
- physical activity
- tobacco-free environment
- sustainable practices
Download the WHO guide for healthy and sustainable meetings
The guide offers, for example, the following recommendations that can easily be applied in practice.
- Make sure fresh fruit and vegetables are the basis for the refreshments you provide.
- Limit portions to avoid over-eating and reduce food waste.
- Offer whole grain foods (e.g. whole grain bread or whole grain and brown rice pasta).
- Eliminate sugar sweetened drinks and give preference to drinking pure water which may be flavoured with fresh fruit, vegetables or herbs.
- Choose foods with a lower salt content and ask your catering providers to offer herbs, spices and sour flavours (vinegar, lemon or lime juice) instead of salt.
- Allow participants to be more physically active. You can integrate specific physical activities directly into the meeting programme or give participants enough time during breaks to stretch their limbs and restore their ability to concentrate.
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