GREENMEETINGS AND EVENTS CONFERENCE 2013 19
like to win over the industry as supporters of the energy transition – it has to be affordable and irreversible , and result in energy being generated exclusively from renewable sources .
Prof . Dr . Dr . h . c . mult . Klaus Töpfer
In his keynote speech , Prof . Klaus Töpfer , former Federal Minister of the Environment , called for a wholehearted approach to the issue :
“ I urgently caution you that we are just indulging in “ greenwashing ” if there is no substance behind our efforts . Evidence is required – more and more event organisers regard that as an important aspect ,” according to the expert on climate change , renewable energies and environmental protection . The Meeting & EventBarometer 2012 also confirms that : according to it , 86 percent of event planners are convinced that the significance of “ green meetings ” will remain the same or will even increase in future .
Töpfer also spoke about the unresolved conflict between real meetings and virtual contact options . In that context , he rejected the idea that electronic media might be able to replace face-to-face meetings and instead categorised the former as a valuable supplement that could conserve resources in individual cases .
“ The remarks of Federal Minister of the Environment Almaier welcoming the participants and the keynote speech of Prof . Töpfer were quite clearly the highlights of the programme of this year ’ s greenmeetings und events conference ,” stated Matthias Schultze , Managing Director of the GCB . “ The second edition of the event has already attracted a great deal of attention from the political sector – that demonstrates the importance that is attached to the event industry and the theme of sustainability .”
Joachim König , President of the EVVC : “ Especially the various perspectives that were reflected in the presentations at the conference provided valuable and inspiring ideas from which the entire industry will benefit in conjunction with development of sustainable event planning .”
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