micebook and isla launched the Power 50 Green Champions at an educational and celebratory event at Barbican in London last week to a crowd of around 120 #eventprofs including many of those featured in the Power 50.

The event kicked off with an inspiring session of inspiring fireside chats between four of the Power 50 expert judges and some of the Green Champions that most inspired and impressed them.

Informa Group’s head of sustainability Ben Wielgus, Exclusive Collection’s operations director David Connell, Marble LDN sustainability coordinator Anastasia Kireeva, and Event Cycle director Chantal Kerr-Sheppard took to the stage to share their stories and successes in the field of sustainability.

The audience then broke into a roundtable workshop session, delivered in partnership with Farnborough International and facilitated by our Power 50 Green Champions, to discuss challenges and solutions around five key themes – clients, suppliers, travel, measurement and certification, and people/social impact.

The audience also heard from some of our micebook partners who are taking sustainability seriously, including Mundus Representation, Hyatt and Explore Edmonton throughout the afternoon, before a fantastic keynote session with Chris Hines in partnership with Speakers Corner.

Hines is an experienced surfer and highly respected communicator and driver of positive change. In 1990, he was founder and Director of Surfers Against Sewage (SAS) until 2000 and from 2001-2007 he was Sustainability Director at the Eden Project. He shared his story of how a bunch of surfers with no campaigning experience, managed to successfully drive positive change at government level and encouraged and inspired the audience to be “intelligent activists” as they continue their sustainability journeys.

The afternoon content sessions were followed by an evening celebration to toast the Power 50 Green Champions in the beautiful green and leafy surrounds of Barbican’s Conservatory.

The Power 50 Green Champions is the first industry initiative dedicated to shining the spotlight on individuals within the UK events industry who are devoting their time, passion and energy to making a positive impact on the planet.

The list features individuals from corporates, agencies, venues and event industry suppliers with companies represented including Worlds Better, The Bulb, Silverstone, Identity, DRPG, Top Banana, Cheerful Twentyfirst, Chorus, 15 Hatfields, emc3, The Venues Collection, Jimmy Garcia Catering, SLX, TTA, Print Hub Global and many more.

Thanks to Blendology for the fantastic sustainable badges, to Antwon at Onetake Shots for our video and Baz Seal for the event photography.