Event sustainability is finally moving back up the agenda to become a hot topic in 2019. Events create a lot of waste and leave a large carbon footprint, but with budgets under constant pressure, sustainability has not been a top priority for the past few years for many planners. However, with public awareness around the future of our planet higher than ever thanks to regular coverage in the mainstream media, making events more sustainable is no longer simply a nice thing to do, but the right and responsible thing to do.

We’re planning to bring you a series of articles on the topic including tips on making events more sustainable and the best green venues and destinations to host your events, over the next few months. First up, here’s BCD Travel’s seven steps to getting any sustainability programme off-the-ground:

1. Get executive buy-in. Ensure company leaders incorporate social responsibility into global business strategy.
2. Create a cross-functional sustainability leadership team. To maintain ongoing support, assemble an executive sustainability committee made up of leaders from across the organisation.
3. Engage and educate employees. Employee participation in sustainability doesn’t happen automatically. Use educational programmes to win support.
4. Be global and local. It’s essential to have employees in each country committed to the success of the global programme.
5. Tap into industry best practices. For companies just getting started, begin with the priorities that third-party frameworks, such as ISO 20121, recommended.
6. Be realistic. It takes time and effort to implement a global sustainability programme. Plan a phased approach from the start.
7. Don’t reinvent the wheel. Emulate companies that demonstrate sustainability success. The United Nations Global Sustainability Goals and United Nations Global Compact website offers information on thousands of businesses, including BCD Travel, who are committed to the world’s largest sustainability initiative.

This was published as part of The Green White Paper: Sustainability in Meetings & Events, by BCD Meetings & Events.

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