How sustainable is your event venue?
First Published: 22nd April 2024
Today is Earth Day.
Since 1970 Earth Day has been on a mission to mobilise people to take action to protect the planet. It now works with more than 150,000 partners in 192 countries.
The movement champions a range of campaigns that aim to reduce plastics, energy, and waste. Most importantly, they also seek to educate people and inspire them to get involved.
Today and every day
Environmental awareness days are a great reminder that we all need to do our bit to mitigate climate change, reduce waste, and protect the planet. As event organisers, we too have a responsibility.
The meetings and events industries are major contributors to climate change. According to the United Nations Environment Programme, the industry accounts for 2 to 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions. To reduce their environmental impact, conference venues around the world are implementing a variety of sustainable initiatives.
Here at Mice Destination, we are always keen to promote such venues and give event organisers ways to make events more eco-friendly.
Defining sustainable venues
What makes one venue more sustainable than the next? There are many criteria you can use and there are also several accreditations you can look for. To be considered green or sustainable a venue would generally be taking steps to :
· Manage energy usage and water consumption
· Use local produce
· Reduce waste and adopt recycling practices
· Be accessible by public transport or offer greener options
· Employ the latest technology to reduce energy consumption
· Educate staff and visitors on how to be greener
· Publish a corporate responsibility charter
Schemes vary in what they measure. There are some that rate a venue on the list above, whilst others such as BREEAM, for example, rate the efficiency of the physical building.
In this week’s edition, we look at some of the bigger venues that are taking steps to offer a more sustainable solution.
Bella Center – Copenhagen
Bella Centre Copenhagen is Scandinavia’s largest conference and exhibition centre, and it is also one of the most sustainable. Having collaborated with Schneider Electric, The Bella operates as a smart building, whereby the energy usage in specific areas can be monitored and tracked to better understand their energy consumption and therefore adjust accordingly to meet their goals.
· Using 100% renewable energy
· Recycling and composting all waste
· Serving locally-sourced, sustainable food
· Offering carbon-neutral transportation options
Waterfront Congress Centre – STOCKHOLM
Stockholm Waterfront Congress Centre is a conference centre that is committed to sustainability. When you arrange a meeting there, they will help you reduce your company’s carbon footprint by automatically offsetting the carbon footprint of every meeting, at no cost to you.
You can expect:
· A green roof with solar panels
· A rainwater harvesting system
· A natural ventilation system
· A sustainable catering program
Aviva Stadium – Dublin
Aviva Stadium is certified to ISO20121 and operates as a sustainable venue. In taking a sustainable approach to operating the stadium they work on managing three pillars of sustainability:
· Economic Impact
· Environmental Impact
· Social Impact
The Lowry – Manchester
