Having the ability to evolve a sustainability plan, getting buy-in from leadership and the importance of sharing results, both positive and negative, were some of the insights shared during a recent webinar looking at challenges around sustainability.
These insights were shared by a range of event industry professionals, all of whom were previous winners of the IMEX-EIC Innovation in Sustainability Award, during a recent webinar hosted by the Event Industry Council. Here are six key takeaways:
Sustainability is not a competitive advantage, but a collaborative one
Virginie De Visscher, director, business events at Destination Canada, said this sentiment is behind the government agency’s approach to sustainability. “We want to share our message and raise awareness,” she said.
“The more we share, the more impact we can have. As a national body, we can't lead the charge towards net zero in a more regenerative future on our own. If an event comes to Canada and follows sustainable practices, those practices and what the event has learnt can be carried along to the next destination.”
The more we share, the more impact we can have.
Virginie De Visscher, director, business events, Destination Canada
Sustainability benefits aren’t always immediately visible, so it’s important not to be overwhelmed
“Our plan required a massive buy-in from a broad range of partners, venues and DMOs, CVBs, event suppliers,” said De Vissscher. “Quantifying outcomes is really hard; when we are looking at room nights or costs, finding out the metrics and the ROI stories is a little bit more difficult.”
Visscher added this means that smaller destinations can sometimes feel that they lack resources to act on very ambitious sustainability goals. Her advice is to encourage partners to not feel like they are starting from ground zero, and instead to leverage all the resources that are out there already, and start from there.
Use checklists and be brave enough to announce your results
The panel discussed how sustainability checklists and benchmarks are a good starting point for beginning your sustainability journey as there are many different ones available. It’s also important not just to benchmark, but to continue monitoring your results
“When we first started, we used the ISO 20121 as a checklist for a lot of our clients and internal events,” said Wee Min Ong, vice president of conventions and exhibitions at Marina Bay Sands. “Over time, we have incorporated that with GSTC's checklist, and we have broken up the checklist into four different segments, by trade shows, meetings, dinners and social events. We have checklists [depending on size], for 250 and below, 1,000 and below and 1,000 and above.”
But, as Ong adds, it’s not just about the checklists – accurate reporting and results are vital too. “A lot of our clients stop at that. They said, ‘no, I think we're really bad, we don't want to share bad news’. But if you don't share the news, your stakeholders would not be able to partake in your journey.”
Getting leadership buy-in is vital
The panel highlighted how leaders and decision makers at organisations can often have the preconceived notion that sustainability efforts are going to be really expensive and difficult to implement.
If you don’t share the news, your stakeholders would not be able to partake in your journey.
Wee Min Ong, vice president of conventions and exhibitions, Marina Bay Sands
“Break it down for them into bite-sized pieces of knowledge and information,” said Ong. “Everyone loves a good story so think about packing your respective stories into two-minute videos, TikTok-style or 30-minute videos. Set realistic goals, such as ‘this is where we are, and this is where we want to be in year one, year two, year three, and year four,’ without stressing them out with the whole plan right from the start.’
De Visscher suggested stories that can change the narrative can be helpful. For example, focusing on the risk that comes by not investing in sustainability or showing the financial benefits that can be gained from a sustainability programme.
Leverage what your partner already has
Entry-level sustainability can be implemented at a low cost by partnering with your suppliers – from hotels, to convention centers to caterers, as they will already have some sustainability initiatives in place. Stephanie Jones, managing director, event strategy at the Water Environment Federation, who moderated the discussion, said prioritizing circularity above all else is key too.
“I don’t think we throw anything away anymore,” she said. “Anything that we're building, we're building it with the intent of using it again.”
Education and tapping into team passions are key
Be comfortable with sustainability terms. “What's net zero? What's carbon neutral? You need to understand what the differences are,” said De Visscher. “Find out what motivates your team – everybody has a personal passion, and in our team, we have some people who are very sustainability-focused.”