HOW SUSTAINABLE CAN PHYSICAL EVENTS BE ?
LEADERSHIP
HOW SUSTAINABLE CAN PHYSICAL EVENTS BE ?
With sustainability arguably the number-one priority for organisations , businesses and governments as we emerge from the pandemic , it ’ s inevitable companies will be looking to streamline business travel , opt for carbon offsetting and choose events with sustainable practices in place .
“ Green certifications and credentials are highly sought-after when booking or planning executive travel or picking MICE venues ,” explains Singapore-based Mel Shah , Vice-President , dmg events , and as such “ all organisers need to look at their carbon footprint and measurable plans to manage climate mitigation ”.
So , what exactly are venues and organisers doing to meet corporate sustainable demand ?
According to a Status of Sustainability report released in July ( UFI , Explori ), while sustainability remains a strong priority for exhibitions and their participants , a lot still needs to be done . “ Across all segments , there is a feeling that the rate of transition towards sustainability is around halfway between ‘ only starting the transition ’ and ‘ very advanced ’, and in general , exhibition participants rate the efforts of the industry as ‘ average ’, in this regard ,” says Kai Hattendorf , CEO , UFI .
But some companies are ahead of the game . Radisson Hotel Group is the only hotel company with 100 % carbon neutral meetings and events worldwide at no cost to the client . “ It means we neutralise the footprint of all our meeting and event spaces worldwide ,” says Inge Hujibrechts , Global Senior Vice President Sustainability , Security and Corporate Communications at the Radisson Hotel Group .
“ First , we aim to reduce the meeting location ’ s footprint to a maximum and then , we offset the remaining footprint . For instance , in the Radisson Blu Hotel Basel , they ' ve made significant investments in environmental technology such as solar panels for water heating , efficient cooling & heating , building controls , etc .
“ The meeting footprint is therefore lower , but we still offset it with recognised quality projects that have both an environmental and a social impact . We are transparent because we provide the report to the meeting organiser , outlining exactly how much CO2 we have offset for their meeting . If you want to reach carbon neutrality , it ' s all about energy consumption reduction , green energy , and offsetting .”
And at global exhibitions and events firm , dmg events , “ we are working hard internally and with our partners to achieve a carbon-neutral status on all of our events with a number of mitigation and offset plans ”, explains Shah , adding that carbon offsetting is a further practice dmg events is invested in and is “ working with energy industry colleagues to produce carbon offsetted events ”.
Watch this sustainable space .
40 October 2021