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COP26 |
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challenges we all face today , and to invite those that have not done so yet to join .
The Net Zero Carbon Events initiative aims to bring together a wide range of industry stakeholders to jointly communicate the industry ’ s commitment to tackling climate change and driving towards net zero by 2050 and to develop common methodologies for measuring the industry ’ s direct , indirect and supply chain greenhouse gas emissions .
The plans also seek to establish common mechanisms for reporting progress and sharing best practice , arguably the hardest task of them all to actually enforce .
The new initiative arises from the work of an organising task force initiated by JMIC members UFI , AIPC and ICCA joined by representatives of Emerald Expositions ( US ), Freeman ( US ), HKCEC ( China ), Informa ( UK ), Javits Center ( US ), MCI ( Switzerland ), Messe München
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( Germany ), RX ( UK ) and Scottish Event Campus ( UK ) and it was born from a discussion with the UNFCCC secretariat — which is also supporting the initiative .
You can read more at netzerocarbonevents . org , but the aim is to grow the initiative that represents the events industry as a whole and provide a collaborative commitment all can act on .
In a statement that came with the unveiling of the plans , James Rees , JMIC president , said : “ Events drive industries and societies . They shape conversations , foster innovation and
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“ The events industry has a special role to play in tackling climate change . We provide the meeting places and market places to work on solutions to the crimate crisis ” |
generate business . They are key to human collaboration . This holds true for every subject – including sustainability and climate change .
“ The events industry has a special role to play in tackling climate change . We provide the meeting places and marketplaces to work on solutions to the climate crisis . At the same time , we have a responsibility to minimise our impact on climate change . We are inviting organisations from across the events industry – venues , organisers , exhibitors and suppliers – to join this collaborative effort to drive the events sector towards net zero .”
Let us make the case
By way of short conclusion , those producing events in the future will need to do so with fewer materials and – in the short term at least – probably a reduced budget . But this does not mean the quality of events must suffer . We live in an age where almost everything is measured , and it is possible that corporates will trim their edges as much as they can to meet certain targets . Events can often be misunderstood ; they ’ re not corporate jamborees , they are cradles of business , of knowledge exchange and of positive , tangible legacy . Your job is to demonstrate just how vital they are , and that when they are organised by professional event planners , rather than “ young civil servants ”, they are of incredible value .
Do not get distracted by the national and international media circus during COP26 , which in many cases will look to do the event down .
As Greta Thunberg said in September : “ I ’ m not an expert , but we get much more results when we meet in person .”
Let ’ s prove her right .
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