Southeast Asia's MICE centres get on board the sustainability agenda. Photo Credit: gettyimages/MURAT GOCMEN
From organiser to venue to the supply chain, corporate planners are
sharpening their choices regarding sustainable events, and it goes
beyond just going green. Within the MICE industry, associations and
other players are already taking the lead to drive the United Nations
Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) in their respective
destinations.
We highlight several exhibition and convention venues that are championing sustainable goals in Southeast Asia.
Earlier this year, World Trade Center Metro Manila won
the MICE Venue Award at the 2022 Association of Southeast Asian Nations
Tourism Standards Awards held in Cambodia. The awards recognised
efforts in sustainable tourism services with the aim to promote ASEAN as
a “Quality Single Destination”.
The centre has invested in technology upgrades to automate LED lights
and motion sensors; introduce photocatalyst devices in air handling
units; and install energy recovery ventilators to improve air-supply
quality in its exhibition halls and function rooms. On the back-end, the
centre also maintains noise pollution control and adheres to proper
waste management, including the use of an accredited treatment, storage
and disposal facility for toxic and chemical waste substances.
This year also saw a centre achieve the highest rating for the Events
Industry Council’s Sustainable Event Standards for Venues Platinum
certification. Marina Bay Sands’s notable achievement
makes it the highest-rated venue outside of the US. The centre has made
extensive investments in recycling, waste management and energy
conservation.
In Malaysia, SPICE Penang
made the headlines as the world’s first hybrid solar-powered convention
centre. Besides energy conservation, eco-friendly technology, and its
green rooftop recreational park, it also meets socially inclusive
requirements with its special-needs children’s playground. Additionally,
it is silver-certified by the Green Building Index. Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre
(KLCC) too focuses on aspects of sustainability such as waste
management, energy management and community care. It recently installed a
zero-energy rain water harvesting system, with 80 percent less cost.
2022 saw KLCC entering an industry-first public-private-sector
collaboration with Urbanice Malaysia to develop sustainable business
events guidelines for designing low-waste events. “Our partnership with
Urbanice will also help us improve on our tracking and measurements to
ensure accuracy in reporting. This in turn will allow us to provide a
comprehensive post-event sustainability report to clients and organisers
for future improvements,” says Alan Pryor, General Manager of KLCC.
A new entrant to the market in Thailand is the Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre in
Bangkok, scheduled to open in September this year. It will be the first
LEED silver-certified convention centre in Thailand fitted with systems
and technologies to minimise impact on the environment, from energy,
water, waste to air quality. The 78,500 sqm of event space makes it the
largest MICE facility in central Bangkok that comes with its own
destination shopping mall.
Another venue, the Bangkok International Trade and Exhibition Centre
(BITEC) does its part by partnering with SCG Packaging Public Company
Limited late last year to maximise the usage of environmentally friendly
products and waste materials from events at BITEC. Both centres are
aligned with Thailand’s focus on promoting the Bio-Circular-Green
Economic Model in tourism, the MICE industry’s Thailand Convention and
Exhibition Bureau is promoting best practices in organising
carbon-neutral exhibitions.