Insight: Issue 110 | 02 Nov

It’s Now or November

November has come, and boy have we got a Guy Fawkes-load of events news for you this week – chock-full of crackers, whizz-bangers and some downright fiery headlines.

Here’s how the story goes; The road to sustainability; AEV: no place for plastic; Action plan aims to boost green credentials of Glasgow’s tourism and conventions sectors; AGF announces 15th annual green events & innovations conference; and Network of Women In Events launches ‘Level Up’, a new mentoring programme

The road to sustainability

As this year’s COP27 approaches, so does the 30th anniversary of the adoption of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

In a Conference News blog, Michael Begley, managing director of venuedirectory.com, assesses the current sustainability landscape and the work that still needs to be done to achieve the 1.5C goal. Bringing together 6,000 visitors from over 10 countries, this year’s Sharm El-Sheik event is expected to be a huge driver for action, and a milestone in determining progress.

Using examples of action already taken by venuedirectory.com, as well as venues and associations throughout the UK, Begley lays out the steps of how events professionals can advance their progress towards sustainability.

Here’s a quick round up of a couple of key points:

Supporting ‘green wayfinding’

As the demand for ‘green’ venues grows, it’s important that planners and event profs are supported in their search for sustainable options. To make that process easier, Venue Directory has introduced a Carbon neutral logo alongside venue profiles as part of their database, meaning they know they’ll be getting what they’re looking for.

The journey to carbon neutral

With a more than 400 organisation strong commitment to The Net Zero Carbon Events initiative, it’s clear that the challenging road to net zero is a collective one. However, huge progress is already being made. Participating venues like Wyboston Lakes Resort have employed the use of 100% green energy, and Begley’s own company has partnered with Trees4Travel in an effort to cut down carbon emissions though tree growing and UN-certified carbon credits.

Have a ganders at the blog for more…

AEV: no place for plastic

Single use plastics?!? Absolutely not.

Thanks to an amendment to the UK Internal Market Act in August, the final loophole in Scotland’s battle for single-use abolishment has been achieved. It’s now illegal to manufacture, sell or distribute single-use plastic items, but unfortunately this isn’t the same for the rest of the UK. The events has come on leaps and bounds in the last couple of decades in terms of plastic reduction, but there’s still a hefty amount of work to be done. In an article by Exhibition News, AEV projects manager Alden Arnold suggests that signification (and urgent) action needs to be taken collectively in order to reduce plastic consumption and pollution.

The good news is Scotland is leading the charge, and as far as how the industry can play its part, venues around the nation have already implemented progressive solutions.

As well as the introduction of it’s own energy centre that uses an anaerobic plant in order to generate gas that heats the venue and it’s on-site hotels, P&J Live in Aberdeen has been a forerunner in its efforts to achieve carbon zero.

Louise Stewart, Managing Director (Interim) at P&J Live give us the details;

“We are a paperless venue, utilising digital screens in place of fliers and poster sites, with digital tickets replacing the more traditional and less sustainable practice of printed tickets.”

Action plan aims to boost green credentials of Glasgow’s tourism and conventions sectors

The Sustainable Tourism and Conventions Action Plan, launched to help boost the Glasgow’s green credentials and support its visitor economy, is a go-go. In it’s commitment to becoming one of Europe’s most sustainable, the city is looking to go all-out sustainable, with it’s sights set on becoming the UK’s first Carbon Neutral City by 2030.

Glasgow Life is working closely with stakeholders, industry partners and services, and has set out it’s intent to implement the plan through three strategic areas;

• Building a sustainable tourism sector – supporting industry to be more sustainable through training, accreditation and signposting to resources
• Developing Glasgow’s sustainable city offer – working with internal teams and external stakeholders to strengthen the sectors’ sustainable credentials and adapting processes to champion green change
• Showcasing Glasgow as a sustainable city destination – translating the green conversation actions which are meaningful, free or low cost; celebrating and promoting successes in the industry.

Rob Dickson, VisitScotland Director of Industry & Destination Development, is positive the plan will drive progress:

“Encouraging and enabling industry partners to support responsible tourism and conventions will further strengthen Glasgow’s credentials as a great sustainable destination. That’s crucial in enabling the city to attract leisure and business visitors and events and delivering economic growth, whilst addressing the climate crisis.”

Sounds like a plan – let’s do this thing.

AGF announces 15th annual green events & innovations conference

Sustainability stalwart the Green Events and Innovations Conference (GEI 15), is taking place at London’s Royal Lancaster Hotel next February 28th.

The event’s 15th edition will see a programme of industry leaders, experts and organisations leading strategic senior-level commitments, ’how to’ case studies and workshops for operational implementation. The AGF and ILMC run conference will go deep into some issues such as; transport, energy, equality and inclusivity, climate justice, reducing and calculating emissions and design and materials usage for circularity.

Of the event, AGF CEO Claire O’Neill says:

“With many aspiring to a zero-carbon future, how the live sector moves towards a greener business model is now a critical issue. We look forward to welcoming the industry once again to GEI to reflect on the years progress, approach the difficult questions, and steer in the right direction for the year ahead.”

Network of Women In Events launches ‘Level Up’, a new mentoring programme

Meet ‘Level Up’ – a 6 month mentoring scheme that will pair women early to mid-career with those in senior roles in the industry launched by Network of Women In Events (NOWIE).

With pairings tailor-made to relevant factors such as area of work, specialism and employment status, the scheme looks to promote networking and create tangible opportunities in the industry.

Speaking on ‘Level Up’, Cat Kevern, Chair of NOWIE, says:

“We’ve been working on this behind the scenes for some months now and we’re hugely grateful in particular to Freya Gill-Stevens and Carolina Jalles who have pulled so much of it together. At NOWIE, we believe passionately in women supporting women and we have many members who have pushed boundaries and forged paths for the generations behind them. Level Up will allow us to make the most of the examples set by these exceptional women.”

Well, that’s the sitch for now. Catch y’all next time for some more top tier events gossip.