The UN Climate Change Conference had a sustainable agenda, but it was up to the conference planner and venue to maintain this theme when delivering the event on a global stage.
Committed venue
The tender process meant convention centres had to compete for the right to win this large-scale event.
The Bella Centre in Copenhagen positioned itself as a venue with sustainability at the top of its agenda, setting an ambitious goal to reduce carbon emissions by 20 per cent from 2007 levels.
The centre’s congress and events director Lene Mortensen says: “We had a core team involved from the beginning and presented a strong and ambitious plan right at the tender stage.”
The centre has also invested US$5.5 million in energy and waste management systems, and other recognised sustainability initiatives.
Transport suppliers
With more than 18,000 delegates arriving in the Danish capital for the United Nations conference, transport logistics were always going to be vital to the event’s sustainable success.
Delegates were given a free pass allowing them to travel around the city and to the airport via public transport. Sustainable transport options were not restricted to the road and rail network. Scandinavian carrier SAS has also flagged its green credentials.
Communications director for environment, sustainability and CSR Martin Porsgaard says: “In addition to working towards ISO14001, we want to cut carbon emissions by 20 per cent by 2020. When you take into account our intended growth, this will amount to a 50 per cent reduction per passenger kilometre.”
SAS’s commitment to the event was further aided by a government investment of US$1 million to offset carbon emissions.
Under the UN host agreement, Copenhagen was obliged to offset emissions from local transportation, which amounted to 10 per cent of total emissions. But the Danish government also decided to offset emissions from delegates’ flights by investing in a CSR project in Bangladesh.
“We were only required to compensate for local emissions, but Denmark decided to compensate for all emissions to showcase our commitment to sustainability,” says Jan-Christoph Napierski, head of the COP15 logistic unit of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark.
Hotel incentives
The number of certified green hotels in Copenhagen grew from nine per cent to 53 per cent during the 18 months prior to COP15.
Conference organiser MCI Copenhagen (formerly NHG), which handled accommodation and logistics, offered incentives to properties to reduce their carbon impact, says managing director Lotte Wagner.
“We had to think of a way to incentivise them to become more ‘green’,” she says. “Hotels with green accreditation, such as the Green Key, Green Globe Certificate or Nordic Swan Label, were placed higher on the online reservation page for the conference. The greener the hotel, the more visibility they were given.”
Delegate gifts
The traditional delegate bags loaded with presents from the venue, destination and supplier sponsors were ditched at COP15 and the funding allocation used to fund ‘climate scholars’.
Eleven students from across the world will be enrolled in an all expenses paid MA programme focusing on climate change.
Future template
The Danish Foreign Ministry, Novo Nordisk, Visit Denmark, Wonderful Copenhagen, the Copenhagen Council and MCI Copenhagen have joined forces to document the sustainable meetings practices implemented at COP15.
Consultancy firm MCI Sustainability Service has worked with the partners to produce The Copenhagen Sustainable Meetings Protocol, published later this month.
Wonderful Copenhagen’s managing director Bernhard Jorgensen says: “Copenhagen has set a new, international yardstick for sustainable meetings and conferences. We hope to pave the way for more sustainable international congresses in the UN and Copenhagen.”
The Foreign Ministry will pass the book on to the UN and urge them to ensure future climate conferences and meetings are carried out according to the direction set in Copenhagen.