CEI Asia talks with Green Globe-accredited convention centres about the process, measurements and benefits of the certification.

Members of Asia’s business events industry are embarking on the journey towards environmental sustainability accreditation. Many opt for Green Globe accreditation, but what other options are currently available to the MICE industry? Convention venues and operators have many choices when it comes to selecting the accreditation that will secure an organisation proof of its sustainable practice.

“But Green Globe is the only environmental accreditation that is geared towards business events,” says Rohit Maini, operations support manager, Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre (SCEC). “The standards used by Green Globe have been developed through experience, specific to tourism venues and organisations. This enables operators of these facilities to make a comparative evaluation of their environmental performance.”

Green competition
Green Globe requires SCEC to submit key performance data such as energy and water consumption, waste generation figures and CSR initiatives. Venues are compared with other participating convention centres, not with other types of organisations. Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre (the Centre) general manager, Peter Brokenshire, says: “By measuring our results and comparing them with similar organisations, Green Globe helps us to determine and improve our ‘real’ performance within the industry.”

Other accreditations
According to Maini, other accreditations tend to be narrower in scope, aimed specifically at particular product types or environmental aspects. “For example, FSC relates only to wood products, and NABERS (an Australian rating system) measures efficiency of energy and water use in buildings. The only other broad-based environmental accreditation is ISO14001, which is flexible enough to apply to any organisation – but this is not specific to the events industry.”

Certified venues
SCEC and the Centre were the first convention centres in Asia to successfully achieve Green Globe accreditation. Ton van Amerongen, SCEC chief executive, says the venue had implemented environmental improvement programmes prior to seeking Green Globe accreditation. “Eco-wise, the centre’s environmental programme, was launched over four years ago. It strives to reduce the impact of events on the environment.”

The Centre selected Green Globe as a way to demonstrate their commitment to sustainable travel and tourism. Brokenshire says: “Our decision to seek Green Globe accreditation was further spurred by a growing global awareness of conservation and sustainable development. The programme has benefited the Centre, growing our international image by allowing us to use the benchmarking process to improve both our social and environmental performance.”

Continued assessment
The Centre completed another annual assessment in 2008. “In line with the Green Globe Benchmarking Policy, the Centre was measured against sustainability policy, energy consumption, potable water consumption, waste sent to landfill, community commitment, paper products, cleaning products and pesticide products,” Brokenshire says. “It has focused our thinking, which will further improve the efficiency of our operations.”