AIPC
Time to financially stimulate the transition ?
SUSTAINABLE EVENTS ARE A NEW MINIMAL SERVICE REQUIREMENT , ARGUES VENUE ASSOCIATION AIPC ’ S CEO , SVEN BOSSU
E ach year I ’ m invited to speak at the Executive Master International Association Management in Brussels on the topics of both association management and trends in the world of events and convention centres . As you can imagine , sustainability is higher on the agenda every year .
For some reason , my speaking slot always takes place on a sunny Saturday afternoon , which has one big advantage : no traffic jams on my way to the campus . This year , there were 17 participants from across the globe and I had the pleasure to spend a couple of hours with them .
One report I refer to during my lecture is the Association Benchmarking Report by Naylor . The good news for the AIPC Community is that face-to-face events remain the Number 1 channel of engagement ( 91.5 % compared to 82 % in 2022 ). Attendance at events remains the most important criterion for assessing member engagement ( 92 % in 2023 , compared to 74 % in 2022 ). In terms of key priorities , the focus lies on obtaining more non-dues revenues , communicating member benefits and attracting young professionals .
To my surprise , there is no mention of sustainability in the list of 20 priorities put forward by the associations participating in the survey . This seems somewhat contradictory with the fact that the
Above : Sven Bossu
“ There is no mention of sustainability in the list of 20 priorities put forward by the associations participating in the survey ”
request-for-proposal documents associations send to convention centres contain an increasing number of requirements related to sustainability , varying from food-sourcing to reporting on energy usage .
However , the link between association priorities and making association events sustainable is there . As one of the participants at the Executive Master event said : “ Making face-to-face events sustainable is becoming an expectation , similar to having free Wi-Fi available . If we don ’ t make it happen , our members – especially the younger generation – will no longer attend our events , which is our key source of revenues ”. In my view , this reflects the overall discourse around sustainability : everybody accepts it is the road to go , but if there is a financial stimulation , the transition goes faster .
I want to be absolutely clear : I ’ m not saying the transition will not happen if there is no financial stimulus . There is not a single day without disruptive events resulting from climate change , from floods to wildfires . It ’ s clear that something needs to happen and the good thing is : it is perfectly possible . As research by Israel history professor Yuval Noah Harari has shown : it will take a yearly investment of 2 % above 2020 GDP levels . That is far less than we invested in the 2008 banking crisis or in addressing the impact of the pandemic .
At the same time , the financial stimulus is an opportunity not to be missed , as it makes discussions a lot more straightforward . Convention centres worldwide are going through this process . Moving to LED lights ? Positive return in 3-6 months . Moving to solar ? Predictable energy consumption prices .
So , indeed , sustainable events will become a minimal service level , because it is a win on all fronts and for all stakeholders involved . n
ISSUE 127 / CONFERENCE & MEETINGS WORLD / 9