It has to be said – at first glance, the conference and events industry in Australia doesn’t seem very environmentally-friendly. For a start, Australia is considered a long-haul destination to most countries, bar New Zealand, which means we’re adding to the greenhouse gas emissions just by flying delegates here for a conference. Not to mention the other stuff that goes on as a result of an event, such as handing out thousands of thick and colourful materials, producing enough heat and lighting to keep a room-full of delegates happy, pouring half-full glasses of abandoned champagne down the drain after guests have gone home, and binning props that aren’t likely to be re-used. These things are all part and parcel for the C&I industry. Or are they?
The truth is successful conferences and events don’t have to fall into the trap of using these resources in excess. There are many ways in which industry members can reduce their impact on Australia’s natural environment without forking out truckloads of cash or changing their business ideals.
And when Australia’s natural environment is one of its prime drawcards for both leisure and business tourism, it’s a no-brainer that it needs to be protected and preserved as a valuable asset.
Environmental sustainability is a hot topic in the industry at present, but what are we Australians actually doing to address climate change, water security and waste reduction?
Well, it may have taken some time, but the Government has finally stepped up to the plate bearing initiatives and programs designed to mitigate the impact we have on the environment. Back in August, Australia’s tourism ministers attending a Tourism Ministers’ Council in Canberra agreed to establish a national Tourism and Climate Change Taskforce to fast track the development of a Tourism Action Plan for Climate Change – an initiative to assess the impact of climate change on tourism, review best practices at home and abroad, and develop adaptation strategies. Small Business and Tourism Minister Fran Bailey, who chaired the council, said the development of the Tourism Action Plan for Climate Change was critical for the future success of tourism.
“Australia hosts some of our planet’s greatest natural assets, such as our 17 World Heritage areas. It’s our duty to protect these tourism icons for future generations,” Ms Bailey said.
The taskforce will include representatives from the tourism industry, states and territories and the Australian Greenhouse Office.
The Government is also promoting its national accreditation program, GreenPower, which aims to increase Australia’s capacity to produce environmentally-friendly renewable electricity by driving demand for alternative energy generation. GreenPower is helping position events as environmentally friendly by reducing greenhouse gas emissions. One of Australia’s most well-known music festivals, Byron Bay’s Splendour in the Grass, reduced its environmental footprint by using GreenPower for its 2006 event. Through using a combination of GreenPower and carbon offset products, the event neutralised all of its internally generated greenhouse emissions, eliminating 313 tonnes of greenhouse gas, the equivalent of taking 70 cars off the road for a year. The event organisers also encouraged festival attendees (more than 17,000 music fans) to adopt more sustainable lifestyles.
Many C&I-related businesses are implementing similar initiatives to reduce their impact on the environment. As an event planner, what can you do to become more environmentally friendly?
The good news is making a positive impact on the environment is simpler than you might think. When faced with the decision to choose a venue or supplier, event planners can make the world of difference by choosing an environmentally-friendly operation over a not-so-green one.
Yet, what are the chances that a planner will choose the green venue or supplier over the other if it’s significantly more expensive, and more possibly challenging to incorporate into an event? Well, you might be surprised. The concept of “going green” is growing in its popularity with corporations around the world. Many companies now seek out event planners who can do the right thing by the environment, going with venues that are environmentally-friendly and using suppliers who are carbon-neutral. Corporations are accepting that to be involved in a carbon offset scheme, such as tree planting, will likely cost them money, but will boost their reputation as an added benefit. And as such, planners are finding themselves considering eco-friendly options more than ever before.
In fact, a poll conducted at the 2006 IMEX exhibition held in Germany found that corporates and meeting planners were only too keen to implement green practices in their events. Consulting buyers in 10 countries in Europe and Scandinavia, the survey on the environment found that 75 per cent of decision makers have taken environmental considerations into account when planning a meeting or incentive program, and that 66 per cent would probably avoid destinations and/or venues known to have a poor environmental record. Many of the respondents had already begun applying green practices to their events, including recycling conference materials, undertaking fund-raising or other support for green causes, and paying for carbon emission offsets to neutralise the greenhouse gas effect of delegate travel.
With all the interest in green-related issues flooding the marketplace, and the range of terminology used to describe sustainability and environmental management, how can you be sure you’re dealing with a venue or supplier that is actually aiding the environment?
For a start, you should ask an operator what it is that they do which warrants them as eco-friendly. Get as much information as you can from them, including their current practices and future plans for reducing their impact on the environment.
You should also do some background research; query other event planners in the industry who have dealt with the venue or supplier in question to find out whether their promises of protecting the environment ring true.
You can also find out whether the venue or supplier has been officially accredited by one of a handful of programs which benchmark and monitor carbon emissions and environmental management of businesses. One such program is Green Globe, which provides an environmental benchmarking, certification and improvement system that responds directly to the major environmental problems facing the planet, including the greenhouse effect, over-use of freshwater resources and the destruction of biodiversity.
A number of C&I-related venues and services are currently Green Globe benchmarked, including Queensland’s Binna Burra Lodge and Pethers Rainforest Retreat, Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre (SCEC) and Saville 2 Bond Street in Sydney.
The way in which businesses or events move towards achieving environmental sustainability operations will naturally vary across the industry. Some companies see fit to re-write their entire business plan to encompass green practises in their daily operations, whereas others decide to use compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs around the workplace rather than conventional light bulbs.
Here are a few simple ideas that could help you become more environmentally friendly:
• Use 100 per cent recycled paper for events and conferences, and in your workplace.
• Print all conference and events materials double-sided, and use vegetable oil-based inks. Set your own printers and copiers to automatically print double-sided.
• Encourage recycling during conferences and seminars.
• Use conference bags made from recycled materials.
• Harness natural resources to power your event, or use venues which already use these resources, such as geothermal energy, and solar power.
• Ask venues and operators about their sustainable and environmentally-friendly practices.
• Ask that the venue uses green power where possible.
• Choose a venue near public transport options.
• Ask caterers if they separate organic waste for composting, or if they use local produce suppliers.
• Use local suppliers to reduce the need of travelling outside the region to reduce carbon emissions.
• Check the heating and/or air-conditioning of venues/vehicles to ensure it’s functioning correctly.
You may like to go one step further and organise an event which specifically promotes the importance of environmental sustainability, as Spark Events in New Zealand has done. The Blenheim-based event company has launched a crusade against climate change, organising a series of off-road running and walking events around the country. Dubbed the Contact Energy Carbon Crusade, the event will see participants gathering in hubs around the country, including Lake Taupo, Wellington, Christchurch and Auckland, to plant four native trees en-route to their off-road jog to assist in the fight against climate change. The Contact Energy Carbon Crusade movement was officially launched on June 26, and it is tipped that a good portion of C&I industry players will be participating in the series.
Some have been doing it for months, while others have been doing it for decades – they are operators who are not only reducing their greenhouse gas emissions but are also boosting their business because of it. For this, they can only be described as smart.
Australia is home to an array of venues, suppliers and incentive operators who are intelligently looking after the environment and doing well to promote this fact to today’s green-sensitive marketplace.
Here are a few examples of some savvy operaters that are gaining business through using their environmental practices as a unique selling point.
A growing number of event organisers are developing comprehensive programs for green events, including Great Southern E-vents (GSE), headed up by Jeremy Garling who is something of an industry campaigner himself, presenting at several events around Australia, such as RSVP, MEA and ISES, on going green. GSE claims to be the first special events company in Australia to offer their clients “green choice” options. From July 2007, GSE clients have had the option to make their functions completely carbon neutral. In addition, GSE also makes it possible for clients to erase the eco footprint of their events via a simple carbon offset program if and when reduction at an event has not been possible.
Event and tour management company, Tour Hosts is also minding their environmental footprint, implementing measures to keep its office and services environmentally friendly. By keeping mail-outs to a minimum, submitting work appraisals online and upgrading technology such as electronic faxes, Tour Hosts estimates it’s saved more than 40 per cent on paper usage in the past year. The company is also managing a number of environmental-related conferences, including Rainwater and Urban Design 2007 Conference in August this year, and the 10th International Congress of Ecology (INTECOL 10) in August 2009.
Claiming to be the world’s first carbon-neutral audio-visual staging company, Scene Change says that while lights, lasers and big screen video all create magic for audiences, they can also add up to a sizeable carbon footprint. Scene Change’s carbon-neutral program offsets the power consumed by its clients’ shows, plus the carbon outputs from its own business operations. And unlike other commercial carbon programs, its clients won’t be asked to pay a surcharge for their carbon offsets.
One of the largest expos servicing the conference and events industry, Asia Pacific Incentives & Meetings Expo (AIME), has jumped on the green bandwagon, planning to introduce a range of green initiatives in 2008 to encourage delegates to minimise the negative environmental impacts of their activities. Working closely with Reed Travel Exhibitions (RTE) and the Melbourne Exhibition and Convention Centre (MECC), the Melbourne Convention + Visitors Bureau (MCVB) says it will actively reduce the amount of material needed for the expo, and will be recycling everything they can from badges and lanyards to paper, cardboard and glass. Buyers and media will also be provided with USB sticks for downloading material from exhibitors, which means that the AIME media office will be paperless.
One area of Australia that is particularly conscious of the role that the environment plays in its appeal to visitors is the Sunshine Coast. The region has commenced a 10-year project designed to enable the area to reach its full potential in terms of sustainable tourism development. Commissioned by Tourism Queensland in partnership with Tourism Sunshine Coast, the project involves the local government areas of Caloundra, Maroochy, Noosa and Cooloola. The key deliverables of the project include a 10-year regional tourism investment and infrastructure plan (RTIIP) for the region including prioritised public infrastructure projects and investment opportunities; and a high level of stakeholder consultation both within and outside the region which is expected to achieve industry and government support.
Several Sunshine Coast properties have adopted a range of environmentally-friendly initiatives. Hyatt Regency Coolum has introduced an irrigation system supplied from reclaimed rainwater, and topped up with recycled water as required, used to water the greens of its golf course. The hotel recycles 90 per cent of its landscape pruning into garden mulch to use around the grounds, and is currently 50 per cent the way through a project of replacing all incandescent lamps throughout the property with fluorescent light bulbs.
The nearby Novotel Twin Waters Resort is also undertaking initiatives to minimise the environmental impact, such as controlling and monitoring water through water-saving devices, using organic weedicides and fertilisers wherever possible, avoiding the use of chemicals in the salt water lagoon and ensuring all rooms have dual-flush cisterns and water-saving shower heads installed.
20 minutes from Noosa, The Studio at Mount Cooroy uses green power, implemented with photovoltaic solar power, solar hot water, water harvesting and autonomous treatment of waste water, to reduce its impact on the environment. Multi-functional local materials embodying low energy were used where possible in the construction of the property, and while native plant species were incorporated in the immediate landscape, the remainder of the site was left untouched to ensure construction didn’t impact the natural landscapes.
Other properties around Queensland are doing their bit too, including the eco-certified Reef HQ Aquarium in Townsville, Billabong Sanctuary which recycles everything from water, cardboard and waste paper to animal faeces and kitchen waste, and Couran Cove Island Resort which produces its own power through gas and diesel technologies.
Further south in NSW, Jemby-Rinjah Eco Lodge claims to be one of the first working examples of large-scale sustainable tourism to exist in Australia and holds Advanced Ecotourism Accreditation under the National Ecotourism Accreditation Program. Located in the Blue Mountains bush, adjacent to the World Heritage-listed National Park, the lodge features energy efficient solar lighting, conservative water usage, recycling programs and healthy food options as part of its ‘Living Lightly’ philosophy.
Novotel Northbeach Wollongong has made several contributions to the environment over the past eight years, introducing a range of programs to reduce water usage, electricity and waste to landfill through its “Gorgeous and Green” campaign. By installing dual flush toilets, water flow restrictors in all sinks and showers, three 5000-litre water tanks to collect rain water for irrigation and another 5000-litre tank to flush the staff toilets and the beach bar toilets, the hotel has managed to reduce its water consumption from 74 million litres in 1998 to 47 million by 2006. The hotel’s electricity consumption has also been reduced by 500,000 Kwh since 1998 with a saving of 329 tonnes of CO2 emissions.
EcoPoint Resorts has two venues in NSW, both in national parks, which endeavour to ensure the natural setting of its conference and function areas remain sustainable.
Capable of catering for up to 300 delegates, the lakefront EcoPoint Myall Shores Resort provides villas that require less lighting, heating and cooling than conventional rooms. Only environmentally-friendly cleaning products are used at the property, which has been awarded Ecotourism Certification acknowledging its efforts to base its experience in nature, minimise its impact on the environment.
Beachfront EcoPoint Murramarang Resort provides electricity-fuelled golf buggies for staff use rather than cars to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. All exterior lighting at the resort are on timers and PE cells, and an extensive recycling program for glass and paper is in place. Even kitchen oil is recycled.
In Victoria, the Melbourne Exhibition and Convention Centre (MECC) is designed to achieve the first six green star environmental rating in the world. Many of the building materials used to construct the centre, due to open in 2009, have been sourced from renewable sustainable industries. A black-water recycling plant will recycle waste water to supply toilets, cooling towers and irrigate landscapes, reducing water consumption by 50 per cent comparative to what would normally be used in a building of the same size.
By changing all incandescent light globes to compact fluorescent, and reducing the volume of water needed to clean the spas in the rooms, Stamford Plaza Melbourne achieved a12 per cent reduction in energy usage per guest room over the last year. The hotel will soon be benchmarked against similar hotels around the world once it’s registered as part of Green Globe.
In WA, several eco-friendly projects are in the planning phase or under construction, including the $5 million eco-beach project near Broome and stage two of the Karijini Eco Retreat including the Savannah Campground development, both in Australia’s northwest. Also the $12 million Abrolhos Islands Tourist Accommodation development on Australia’s Coral Coast is now well underway.
About 20 minutes from Perth’s CBD, the Esplanade Hotel Fremantle is this year celebrating its 10th anniversary of its “Green Journey” – a series of initiatives undertaken to become an environmentally-friendly property – and recently secured 9.6 hectares of rainforest in Ecuador to offset its remaining carbon emissions, arguably making it the first carbon neutral hotel in WA.
One of Australia’s first climate neutral events companies, think creative events has launched a new service to educate and encourage clients to consider carbon neutralising their upcoming event. The Melbourne-based operation, headed up by founder and executive producer Ant Hampel, has introduced ‘think planet’, a process whereby think creative events consults with Sydney-based company, Climate Friendly to audit an upcoming event and develop a range of solutions to offset carbon emissions. The client is presented with a range of solutions to create a carbon neutral event, and then has the choice of making their event completely carbon neutral, partially neutral or not at all neutral.
“The only way to prevent climate change is to start making changes. Our solution is to be a leader in the industry and help inform people and businesses so they may follow in our footsteps,” Mr Hampel says.
“The events industry produces large amounts of product, paper and non-recyclable waste. How much waste produced is dependant on the size and type of event. However producing waste is no longer respectable and clients can’t afford their brand image to replicate arrogance towards global warming.
“At present we’re working with a property development company who is very interested in utilising think planet for their upcoming event. think planet is a wonderful opportunity for the client to get positive recognition for their participation in effective social responsibility.”
Catering company, freshcatering has been considering the environment since its establishment in 1999.
“We’ve always been environmentally concerned and a step ahead in terms of social responsibility,” managing director, Peter McCloskey says. “And in recent times this has become increasingly important to our clients who are now demanding that we are environmentally responsible.”
fresh doesn’t just recycle rubbish and use water-efficient dishwashers, but also limits its fresh produce purchasing to selected organic fruit and vegetables, Toby’s Estate’s fair-trade coffee and tea, and fish and seafood products from sustainable fish suppliers.
“All of our catering is prepared fresh in our kitchens, reducing the excess packaging of individually wrapped or pre-packaged food items,” he says.
fresh also encourages clients to use crockery and glassware where possible and where disposables are required they use environmentally-friendly disposable products.
But while fresh is reducing its impact on the environment, its costs are accelerated at the same time.
“Costs are increased in areas such as rubbish removal, additional labour to separate rubbish, and environmentally-friendly products are generally more expensive. However freshcatering has become efficient in other areas in order to afford the additional costs of being environmentally friendly.”
Mr McCloskey plans to continue efforts to reduce the caterer’s impact on the environment, but acknowledges that finding environmentally-responsible suppliers who offer quality produce at a competitive price could be a key challenge for fresh in the future.
If you’re finding it tough to organise an event within a green venue using environmentally-friendly suppliers, but still want to incorporate a green element to your event, you could consider the following option.
Powerhouse Museum in Sydney has introduced its first permanent exhibition on sustainability, called EcoLogic: creating a sustainable future. It highlights how our lifestyles and industries can change to avoid damage to ecosystems and provides innovative ways to redirect our economy and society towards sustainability.
Snatch up the opportunity to educate delegates on the important relationship between the environment, economy and society through inviting them to view an exhibition such as this.
Viewing of the exhibition is often incorporated into events at Powerhouse Museum, says events sales manager of Powerhouse Museum, Fiona Bennett.
“Clients that hold a dinner in the museum have the option of exhibition viewing as part of their pre-dinner drinks,” she says.
“Clients holding a conference or meeting in the museum have often scheduled time during the meeting to allow delegates the opportunity to have a walkthrough of the exhibition. We can arrange a curator tour of the exhibition, and the exhibition curator is also available to give a presentation about the exhibition during the conference or dinner.”
Ms Bennett says the exhibition has proven very popular of late, and some organisations have even purchased the associated exhibition book as a gift for delegates and staff.
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