Smart venues
The venue converts its leftover food waste into biogas,
which is funnelled back into its power supply
The world’s most
sustainable
destination
EVA-lution
Where the RAI is focused on smoothing the user
experience once delegates arrive at the venue,
Suntec in Singapore has a slightly different approach.
It aims to connect potential customers and delegates to
the venue remotely, with a couple of smart technology
initiatives.
Suntec is pioneering a new AI chatbot named
EVA (Essential Virtual Assistant), to provide
information to attendees via the venue website. The
technology soft launched in February.
Shalinee Bernadette, Marketing Manager at
Suntec Singapore, says the AI is currently in the
process of being educated by venue staff, and that it
aims to reach ‘graduate’ level in 2021. She adds: “EVA
will help develop the amount of choice, clarity and
convenience we can offer customers. It will be available
24/7 to deliver information in a transparent and
interactive manner, helping to streamline the venue’s
business and customer service.”
As well as EVA, Suntec has developed an
in-house platform called HybriD, which allows
organisers to visualise the venue before arriving.
It provides a 360-degree, 3D representation of a space,
in different set-ups and capacities, and accessible on
any digital device.
Bernadette says the platform “allows individuals
on the planning committee to get a clear
understanding of the event layout, as well as its
potential look and feel. This makes the planning
process simpler and more streamlined, and
empowers more effective decision-making. It means
site visits are faster and easier.”
The Svenska Massan koncernen
(Swedish Exhibition and Congress
Centre) in Gothenburg, Sweden, is a
venue with a slightly different
definition of ‘smart’.
The venue, which is connected to
adjacent hotel Gothia Towers, has been
ranked the most sustainable
destination in the world the last three
years running, according to the Global
Destination Sustainability Index.
It operates with an ‘all-in-one’
policy, which aims to house all aspects
of an event under one roof. This is to
reduce the amount of travel required
between sites, while providing
delegates with an extra level of
convenience.
Svenska Massan koncernen runs on
100% renewable electricity, provided
by wind power in Gothenburg. In
addition, the venue converts its leftover
food waste into biogas, which is
funnelled back into its power supply.
ISSUE 100
Nils Sjöberg, Communications
Manager at Svenska Massan
koncernen, says: “We want to offer a
climate-neutral venue, and renewable
energy is a pre-requisite for achieving
this objective. We also work to steadily
reduce energy consumption by
continuously optimising our real
estate, lighting, ventilation, heating
and cooling, as part of the overall
energy goal.”
The venue has a number of other
sustainable initiatives, too. Sjöberg
says: “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.”
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