Since unveiling the results of its 2008 corporate social responsibility (CSR) audit of the country’s events industry, Tourism Australia’s (TA) Business Events Australia unit has heavily promoted leading sustainability initiatives from around the nation. TA was credited by independent auditor, EC3 Global, within the business and marketing category as part of CEI Asia's 2010 Sustainability Report.

In the past year TA has run briefings to encourage the industry to adopt CSR principles and practices. It also provides a marketing toolkit and ‘Green Checklist’ to assist Australia’s business events companies to manage their operations in an environmentally sustainable way and to plan and deliver sustainable events.

KNOWLEDGE LEVELS
“One of the biggest challenges is working with buyers and sellers who have vastly different levels of knowledge, so we have had to play a leadership role in educating the industry and our partners,” says Joyce DiMascio, head of Business Events Australia. “This role will continue as we try hard to keep issues related to environment and community at the forefront of what we do in marketing Australia as a place where environment and community matter.”

Part of TA’s strategy involves leading by example. Its participation at international events and exhibitions follows the three ‘R’ principles of reduce, reuse and recycle. 

At AIME 2009 the TA stand used eco-friendly paint, carbon emissions were offset, furniture and staff uniforms were recycled from the previous year and lighting was switched to low-voltage LEDs. Organiser Reed Exhibitions recognised these efforts with the Best Environmental Stand Award. “This is a practical way of keeping the adoption of good practices within the reach of all operators big and small,” says DiMascio.

Meanwhile, all partners and suppliers participating in the Dreamtime business and incentives event in October 2009 were chosen for their ability to offer environmentally sustainable itineraries. “Australia’s capacity to deliver CSR incentive programmes for global clients is a key point of difference for us internationally and Dreamtime 2009 showed qualified buyers exactly how Australia could deliver high-quality sustainable incentive activities,” adds DiMascio.

According to participants the sustainability message cut through, with post-event research finding that 72.7 per cent of buyers “strongly agree” or “agree” that Australia has strong CSR credentials compared to other business tourism destinations.

LOCAL VENUES
This flows through to leading Australian convention centres. Both the Gold Coast and Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centres have gained Green Globe Silver Certification while both Adelaide and Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centres (MCEC) were awarded IMEX Green Supplier Awards, presented in partnership with the Green Meeting Industry Council.

MCEC also has a six-star Green Star environmental rating from the Green Building Council of Australia, based on its world-leading sustainable design and daily practices.