June 2019
Sustainability
13
Events as agents of change
Later on day one, William Thomson and
Guy Bigwood both spoke on the topic of
sustainability. Thomson is a professional
speaker who has worked in a variety of
roles across the industry, and Bigwood
is the managing director of the Global
Destination Sustainability Index.
Thomson suggested events need to
be considered as part of the community
in which they take place, and take
into account their human as well as
environmental cost. “The events industry,
almost by design, is not sustainable,” he
said. “The growth, the goodie bags, the
international travel…”
The Edinburgh Fringe Festival was held
up as an example of an event which has
grown to a potentially unsustainable size.
Thomson said the event has developed an
increasing reliance on unpaid volunteers,
and that locals were at risk of feeling they
were subjected to the festival, rather than
feeling that they were hosting it.
Bigwood then went on to discuss
Gothenburg’s ranking as the most
sustainable destination in the world for
the past three years. The Svenska Massan
koncernen runs on 100% renewable
electricity provided by wind power in
Gothenburg, and has received eco-
certification from Green Key and ISO
20121.
It also makes use of a number of
sustainable initiatives. The venue converts
its leftover food waste into biogas, which
powers its kitchens. It also has an ‘all-in-
one’ concept to its design, with the Gothia
Towers hotel directly connected to the
exhibition and conference spaces. This is
“The Svenska Massan
koncernen runs on
100% renewable
electricity, provided
by wind power in
Gothenburg”
to reduce the amount of travel required
between sites, while providing delegates
with an extra level of convenience.
The venue’s communications manager
Nils Sjöberg adds: “All [the SECC’s]
shipments are climate-compensated, and
we offer climate-compensated transport
options to our customers to help them
minimise their carbon footprint.
“We endeavour to use only products
bearing an EU Eco-Label in our daily
operations, such as the EU Flower,
Nordic Swan or Good Environmental
Choice labels. In addition, we support
organisations and projects working locally
towards worthy causes that could also have
a global impact, such as the Gothenburg
Rescue Mission and a research project
at Chalmers University to reduce micro-
plastics in our waters.”
Bigwood said initiatives such as this
are key to the industry leaving a positive
impact upon the planet. “We need to
reimagine events as agents of change,” he
said. “The first step is to create sustainable
policies, and include them in your requests
for proposals. Get it involved from the
beginning. Then, we need to try and make
sustainability fun wherever possible. Make
it inspiring, not a lecture.”