Singapore launches first-ever GSTC MICE Criteria

Singapore is not letting up on its efforts to become a sustainable urban destination, launching the sustainable MICE destination roadmap in 4Q 2022 and becoming the first country to attain the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC)’s Destination Criteria earlier this year as part of its 2030 Green Plan.

And now, Singapore's sustainability push is kicking into higher gear as the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) will join hands with the GSTC to develop a new criteria for MICE and Attractions to serve as the global sustainability standards for both industries.

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“Such internationally-recognised standards are important, as they help destinations and tourism businesses understand if their sustainability efforts are on the right track," Keith Tan, STB chief executive, speaking at the annual Tourism Industry Conference on Wednesday. "We look forward to working closely with GSTC and our industry associations to provide a Singapore perspective and help the tourism sector contribute to a greener world.”

Randy Durband, CEO of GSTC added, “The development of GSTC MICE Criteria will provide a globally-created and globally-applicable set of sustainability standards that serves as a platform for universal approaches to measurement, monitoring, reporting, and various forms of external verification needed to drive positive impacts from good practices.”

How will the GSTC MICE Criteria be developed?

The GSTC MICE Criteria will be developed with the inputs of industry stakeholders including Singapore Association of Convention & Exhibition Organisers & Suppliers (SACEOS), to provide feedback, consultation, and industry expertise for the draft criteria and to encourage industry adoption of the developed criteria when ready, said Yap Chin Siang, deputy chief executive at STB. 

Meanwhile, the GSTC has formed a MICE Criteria Development Advisory Group, which comprises up to 10 organisations from both the public and private sectors with established track record in hosting MICE events. 

The main objective of this group is to offer their expert opinion and comments to the GSTC Technical Team while GSTC will retain full oversight and control of the criteria development process. The Advisory Group will also encourage the MICE industry to take part in the public consultation and feasibility assessment phases of the Criteria Development process.

The whole process of development and revision will be overseen by the International Standards Committee (ISC) of the GSTC. The development and content of the ‘Terms of Reference’ (TOR) endeavour to comply with the requirements of the ISEAL Standard-Setting Code of Good Practice.

The beginning of a sustainability journey

"We have an ambition not just to set local standards but to lead the way forward, so we also want our standards to also be internationally recognised in some form," said STB's Yap.

These standards are set to be established by end-2023, and more details about the various kinds of schemes and assistance available to support industry efforts to kickstart their sustainability journey will be unveiled, he added. 

Chief executive Tan also added that the STB will also embark on a study to measure the baseline carbon footprint of the tourism sector before setting targets in line with Singapore’s enhanced international climate commitment to achieve net zero emissions by 2050.

"Being certified is just the beginning," said Alvin Tan, Singapore Minister of State for Trade and Industry. "We will continue to steward Singapore to become a sustainable urban destination by 2030."