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Thinking Before Using: Creating the Ethos of a Sustainable Venue

London’s 15Hatfields was set up as a sustainable venue in 2008, avoiding single-use plastics from day one. The venue needed to find a general manager who could embody this environmentally-minded ethos. Warren Campbell has been helping clients embrace sustainability in Central London ever since. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…

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The Road Ahead of Giving Back: Meetings CSR & Sustainability

The Annual Meetings Market Survey just added two new questions about whether or not corporate social responsibility and environmental sustainability are usually part of event planning. More than half of respondents did not make CSR part of their event, and the environment was top of mind (in RFPs) for only eleven percent. From PCMA…

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Designing Legacy: The Meetings Approach Across Africa

The legacy of events is best pictured as an iceberg, as this website should certainly know! Design Indaba, held annually in Cape Town, is extending the legacy it creates for participating SMMEs through four simulcasts of its conference. Natasha Skoryk looks at the impact of business events on destinations and the meetings industry itself. From the Event…

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Playing with Fyre: Event Disaster to End All Event Disasters

The branded plane that flew the foolhardy to the Fyre Festival in 2017 was just one footnote in the event disaster to end them all. After Fyre’s calamitous collapse, and the organiser’s imprisonment for fraud and $26 million fine, two new TV documentaries dissect every event planner’s worst nightmare. Photo: John Klos. From editor’s blog at Meetings & Incentive Travel…

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ICC Sydney’s Geoff Donaghy: CSR, Legacy and Hosting Sibos

The place of corporate social responsibility, the importance of incorporating legacy, plus the recent hosting of Sibos, are all among the subjects discussed by ICC Sydney CEO and AEG Ogden Director Convention Centres Geoff Donaghy, as his venue prepares for its busiest year ever after a successful run of events in 2018. From Boardroom…

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2018: Climate Change, #MeToo, the War on Plastic and Brexit

As 2018 leaves its footprints on the sands of time, here’s to the past extraordinary year. The last twelve months brought great change to the meetings industry, from the #MeToo movement, to the war on plastic, and to fears about climate change. That’s before even the dreaded “B” word. From Meetings & Incentive Travel…

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Sydney Speaker Series Luncheon 2018: An Iceberg Special Report

Politician, diplomat and educator Baroness Amos has given the keynote at a Sydney Speaker Series luncheon in London. The event was delivered in partnership between Business Events Sydney and ICC Sydney, and was hosted by the High Commission of Australia. The Iceberg itself was invited to attend, and was even able there to interview BESydney CEO Lyn Lewis-Smith….

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IMEX America 2018: Four Industry Trends Across the Show Floor

IMEX America has taken place in Las Vegas. A key focus for this year was corporate social responsibility and sustainability, including another Legacy Wall (pictured), and MPI’s call for planners to be “legacy creators”. Also topical: wellness and support for attendees, and sector collaboration, like IAEE, MPI and SITE’s Global MICE Collaborative. From BizBash…

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The Minneapolis Convention Center: Sustainability for Staff

In 2011 the Minneapolis Convention Center’s leaders talked to their staff about what mattered most to them. Sustainability turned out to be the top priority. The intervening years have seen recycling performance measurement, goal setting and signage improvements, resulting in the current 60 percent recycling rate. The venue is also reducing water usage. From PCMA…

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The Hague & Partners: Awarding North Sea Sustainability Legacies

It’s the job of a convention bureau to promote destination assets. In 2017 The Hague & Partners created an awards programme to highlight innovative local organisations and professionals. This year the scheme was expanded further to showcase sustainability initiatives leveraging The Hague’s location as the only Netherlands city on the sea. From PCMA Convene…

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Grimaldi Forum Monaco: Running Solely on Solar

In June The Iceberg covered the news that Grimaldi Forum Monaco is installing a rooftop photovoltaic power station, the largest in the principality. Now a familiarisation trip has showcased not just the venue’s spaces and architecture, but also its environmental policy and aspirations to run solely on solar. From editor’s blog at Meetpie.com…

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Event Waste: Meetings’ Green Credentials Take Centre Stage

The meetings industry has a huge environmental impact, from the distance delegates fly, to the reams of paper printed and kilowatts of energy used. As green culture takes hold, events with environment-friendly certification already have a market advantage. As expectations rise, this will become a minimum requirement. Views include Iceberg partner IAPCO. From Skift…

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Reusable Conference Coffee Cups: A More Robusta Approach?

Eunomia is running a conference coffee cup scheme at the Recycling & Waste Management Conference in Birmingham’s NEC. All F&B outlets are offering a discount for using a reusable cup, which also can be loaned for a deposit. But does this tackle the symptom rather than the problem? From editor’s blog at Association Meetings International…

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Sustainable Meetings: Single-Use Plastic is No Longer Fantastic

Is time now up for that global event staple, the plastic badge holder? From a registration specialist whose products are all recyclable, to an event caterer transitioning away from bottled mineral water, to a venue banning single-use plastic packaging from hotel and meeting suites, here are three approaches to more sustainable events. From editor’s blog at Meetpie.com…

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ICC Sydney: Supporting Students, Startups and First Nations Businesses

The Iceberg has already reported on ICC Sydney’s support of regional food production. But the venue is also fostering the next generation of talent via student and startup engagement. Through its First Australians Legacy Program, ICC Sydney promotes as well First Nations businesses, offering for its delegates authentic heritage experiences. From Boardroom…

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IMEX Policy Forum Report: Three Sector Challenges

A recent report from the IMEX Policy Forum 2018 (see Research) outlines three areas of concern raised during the event by Gloria Guevara Manzo, the World Tourism and Travel Council President and CEO (pictured at IMEX with Group Chairman Ray Bloom). Her three concerns were: security and safety, crisis preparation and sustainability. From PCMA Convene…

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