Sustainability
launch of a Net Zero Roadmap , which included a status quo overview of climate actions , a review of the direct lessons learned from the past 18 months , and action frameworks for specific industries to help accelerate climate commitments and emissions reduction . The creation of environmental research within this plan aims to supply the entire industry with data to measure its carbon footprint and enact change .
Julia Simpson , president and CEO of WTTC , said : “ The launch of our Net Zero Roadmap and development of sector wide data to measure our success are major steps to show how travel and tourism is playing its part in addressing climate change .” WTTC will launch its Net Zero Roadmap for the travel and tourism sector at COP26 in Glasgow .
This leadership from the meetings industry , and other neighbouring sectors , aims to assist and put pressure on stakeholders across the sector to adapt their operations or be left behind . With associations committing their name to such pledges , organisations will be compelled to make changes within their own operations .
Organisations ’ sustainability strategies are becoming ever more stringent , and business deals have become increasingly contingent on their partners and suppliers doing the same . At International Confex , 1-2 September , Glenn Mainwaring , business development professional at the Barbican Centre , said his venue ’ s sustainability policy was truly a sales tool . He noted that the Barbican Centre ’ s green strategy not only attracted business for the venue , but also blocked deals being made with partner organisations who do not have appropriate sustainability protocols in place . Therefore , as we go further down this road , comprehensive sustainability strategies are no longer just ethically appropriate , but economically imperative .
Followers or leaders ? However , for some , the JMIC pledge has not gone far enough to lead the industry towards a sustainable carbon neutral future . Fiona Pelham , CEO of Positive Impact , a non-profit which aims to drive sustainable education , engagement , and collaboration within the event sector , challenges the current state of the industry ’ s sustainable leadership .
When asked by CMW about what stage the events industry is at in its road to tackling climate change , Pelham said : “ Our progress so far is not enough . There is the potential for a new narrative on the impact of events in the world … however before any new narrative is possible , we have to address , without greenwash , the carbon impact our sector has .”
Pelham commented : “ The JMIC pledge says it will ‘ drive towards net zero by 2050 ’ which will be a move backwards for a growing number of ( organisations ) within the sector . The cross-sector engagement for what JMIC have put forward has been weak ( the initiative is only supported by some of the many event associations ), and the sector should see it as a danger that a few companies have shaped something that claims to represent the entire industry .”
When asked about COP26 , Pelham concluded : “ COP26 is an opportunity for the event sector to be recognised as a sector taking action in line with UN programmes . After COP26 , the majority of businesses and governments will have carbon commitments , so COP26 signals the start of the ‘ followers ’ rather than the leaders .”
Pelham asks CMW readers : “ Will the event sector be a follower , with minimal commitment decided by a select group of companies , or a leader with transparent measurement , reporting , and inclusive engagement ?”
The industry is at a crossroads . A period of adjustments , planning , discussions , and pledges have commenced . While these actions alone will not make our industry a ‘ leader ’, it is a necessary step in the right direction . COP26 is a critical opportunity not just in the meetings industry but for our global community to understand the immediacy of the threat and the necessary wide ranging structural changes that need to be made , now .
Discussion and debate are important , but it ’ s time for our industry to go beyond rhetoric and convert this into tangible results . Therefore , to truly argue that the industry has woken up to the impending dangers of climate change , real actions must be seen , not just heard .
22 / CONFERENCE & MEETINGS WORLD / ISSUE 115