Insight: Issue 95 (08 June)

Fear not gallant event profs…

shake off those back to work blues and jump for joy – we’ve got a platinum standard round up coming your way.

In this week’s bulletin, we have;
Net Zero Carbon Events names SEC gold sponsor; EICC taking Convention Edinburgh reins and secures Hyatt as Haymarket hotel partner; Exhibition industry needs to promote its positive impact on UK trade, says the NEC; How to Achieve Longevity in the Event Industry with an Operational Foundation That Lasts; and Brella partners with One Tree Planted for a future of sustainable events.

Net Zero Carbon Events names SEC gold sponsor

The sustainability creds just keep rolling in for Glasgow’s SEC – The Net Zero Carbon Events initiative has named the venue as its latest gold sponsor.

The announcement took place at the Glasgow IMEX’s People and Planet area, and was welcomed by Kai Hattendorf, managing director, UFI, who represented members of the Joint Meetings Industry Council (JMIC), one of the founding partners of the initiative, and Kathleen Warden, director of conference sales at the SEC, who was also behind the inception of the initiative.

Commenting on the announcement, Hattendorf said: “Reaching a Net Zero Carbon events industry is a massive task, and therefore it is important to have leading players from across the industry driving implementation. Having hosted COP26, the SEC has already given the industry a great example of forward-thinking action and we value their active support.”

EICC taking Convention Edinburgh reins and secures Hyatt as Haymarket hotel partner

The Edinburgh International Conference Centre (EICC) has announced it has now taken on the management and operation of Convention Edinburgh, which promotes the city as a meeting, conference, event and incentive destination, and which was temporarily closed in May 2020.

The agreement with City of Edinburgh Council will see the EICC run Convention Edinburgh, to help drive the city’s business events sector, for an initial 18-month period, which can be extended.

EICC chief executive Marshall Dallas said the city’s business events sector has been “on the back foot” without the formal backing of a convention bureau since May 2020. “Today’s announcement puts us in a positive position to help create a thriving future for Edinburgh as a business events destination – which in turn brings great benefit to the local economy and our array of city partners,” he added.

Exhibition industry needs to promote its positive impact on UK trade, says the NEC

The NEC said its key focus in the coming months will be to promote the role of exhibitions in supporting business growth across domestic and international markets.

“We need to highlight the volume of trade which takes place at exhibitions,” said Ian Taylor, managing director, conventions and exhibitions, NEC Group.

“In terms of homegrown UK businesses, hundreds of millions of pounds are exchanged. Our experience of the pandemic taught us a valuable lesson; we haven’t explained the business impact of exhibitions to the public in the way we need to. We are a physical marketplace, a positive force for UK PLC.”

Business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng, who will open the inaugural Manufacturing and Engineering Week at the NEC this week, said: “I commend NEC Birmingham, and the whole of the UK exhibition industry, for their tireless work putting great British businesses rightfully in the spotlight.

“The UK is a world leader across industries from aerospace and health technology, to finance and IT, and telling those success stories to the world helps businesses to grow and create jobs across the country.”

How to Achieve Longevity in the Event Industry with an Operational Foundation That Lasts

We all know that this events gig is a tough one, so Special Events have kindly penned an article outlining three fundamental areas for achieving longevity in the industry.

To grow a business that is here to stay, you must establish a solid operational foundation. Everything else—your website, social media, or sales approach—can wait, as there’s no use building on top of an unstable base.

Find out more here.

Brella partners with One Tree Planted for a future of sustainable events

And finally….more good news on the carbon neutral front. On June 2, 2022, event supplier Brella announced its partnership with the nonprofit organization One Tree Planted in a joint effort to combat deforestation and counteract the tons of yearly carbon emissions caused by the event industry.

Studies have shown the average in-person event wastes between 15%-20% of the food it produces, while a 3-day conference for 1,000 attendees not only can create up to 5670kg of waste but can also lead to 530 metric tons of CO2 emissions.

Virtual events are commonly seen as a greener alternative to in-person conferences. However, event experts at Brella know that while technology can boost events to new heights, it will never fully replace the thrill of wandering a beautiful venue and experiencing an event with all our senses.

“We understand the value of onsite gatherings and we can hardly wait to see all the amazing in-person events this 2022 will bring,” Ville Vanhala comments. “However, we also want to shift to greener practices and counteract the negative impact this industry has on our planet with bolder and louder actions.”

Brella’s partnership with One Tree Planted is designed to involve Brella’s users in global reforestation one meeting at a time: for every 10 meetings scheduled through Brella’s networking tool, the company will plant 1 mangrove in Southeast Asia.

Until next time dudes…..

As always – #EventsWithUkraine