BCD M&E, together with Advito, has launched an ISO certified carbon emissions calculator for meetings and events.

The tool was developed in response to clients’ needs to factor sustainability into their event strategies and will enable them to make the environmental impact of their meetings and events a central element of their planning process.

The calculator allows meeting planners and travel managers to input a wide range of data in the pre-event planning stage to understand the impact of their choices and the levers they can adjust to decrease emissions.

It provides a way to drive more conscious decisions when choosing a destination, venue, and other event design elements, but also to consider non-emissions related impacts like plastic use, water waste and more. It will influence decision makers to choose more sustainable options and the insights gleaned from the calculator will educate organisers and attendees on key sustainability issues.

Advito’s Sustainable Collaboration Practice Lead, Julien Etchanchu, led the development of the calculator based on the consultancy’s ISO certified carbon emissions scale, GATE4.

“We know that the industry standard for measuring emissions across all four travel categories isn’t granular enough to capture the true environmental impact of a meeting or event. So, we developed our M&E calculator to ensure clients are getting a true picture of their footprint,” said Etchanchu.

“The ISO certification means that the emissions figures can be included in annual financial reporting as recognised carbon calculations, and that the methodologies are accurate, robust, and compliant with internationally recognised GHG measurement and reporting standards.”

Charlene Rabideau, managing director of North America for BCD M&E, added: “Sustainability has been the biggest topic in the meetings and events industry for the past year. We are thrilled to be able to offer our clients the industry’s most robust emissions calculator that considers traditional elements, like the venue, giveaways, and food, but also measures the most important contributor to overall emissions – where attendees are coming from and how they are getting there.

“We want to give meeting planners the tools they need to look at things like economy vs. business class flights for attendees, airport transfer options, and even the percentage of vegetarian meals, to help significantly reduce the emissions impact of their programmes.”