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EFSMI 2010 Presentation
- 1. 1 st European Forum on Sustainability in the Meetings Industry Brugge 27-28 June 2010
- 20. The First European Forum on Sustainability in the Meetings Industry EFSMI 2010 Bruges
- 22. Bruges
Editor's Notes
- My first objective is to define corporate social responsibility, or CSR, also referred to simply as social responsibility, or SR. This is the definition I like to use. It has these three key elements: It recognizes that the long-term interests of the communities in which a business operates are a key to success it recognizes that people, communities and the environment are important, in addition to economics It implies, but does not actually say, that sustainability is important. So, we have long term consideration of people, of the environment and of the economy. All this adds up to sustainability. When we talk about “coming of age” stories, this is the point where it hits me that the meetings, events and tourism industries are coming of age in their recognition of their role in changing our world to a more sustainable future. Coming of age stories aren’t usually easy things; there is always a bit of conflict and soul-searching to come first. In this industry, we don’t just sell a meeting room, or a hotel room, or an LCD projector. We sell experiences. We sell potential – ideas, networks and solutions. Meetings are not just what we buy or sell, but value those meetings produce. And we have the ability to touch thousands of people through these meetings, whether we are speaking at them, hosting them or planning them. Then those people who have been there can take away with them the power of those new ideas to touch even more people. This is the opportunity for social responsibility in our industry – we can touch the world with it.
- A poet asked: “Is it progress if a cannibal uses a fork?” John Elkington applied this theoretical question to capitalism in his book, “Cannibals with Forks” and explored the concept of the triple bottom line of people, planet and profit. The concept differentiates between “shareholders” or those with an economic interest in a company, and “stakeholders”, anyone influenced directly or indirectly by he actions of the organization. “ people” refers to fair practices concerning labour and the community. “ planet” of course refers to sustainable environmental practices. In our industry, this is commonly referred to as “green meetings”.
- ONLY IF THERE IS A QUESTION: OK, bear with me for about twenty seconds – OK, fifteen-- while I give you a primer on atmospheric chemistry – what you always wanted to know but were afraid to ask! When we look at the composition of the air we breathe, approximately 78% is nitrogen, 20.9% oxygen, and about 0.9% argon. None of these are “greenhouse gases”. In fact, if our air was composed on only these gases, we would have no atmosphere and no life at all. It would be a moonscape. The tiny remaining 0.03 percent of gas is mainly carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide, along with ozone and water vapour, is what is called a greenhouse gases. They help radiate heat back to the earth and make it warm enough to support life. The very small amount of these gases makes it much more important to realize how easily the percentage of these gases in the atmosphere can increase, and therefore change the temperature of the earth – what we know as global warming. That is why we measure the “carbon footprint” in units of carbon dioxide.
- It is important to realize that carbon offsets are a conceptual tool only. They do not erase the effects of your actions on your immediate environment. The best thing to do is to REDUCE your emissions in the first place, and consider offsets as a last resort. If you have read the March 2008 issue of The Meeting Professional Magazine, you will have seen an article on the pros and cons of carbon offsets. As with anything you buy, “caveat emptor” or “buyer beware” is good advice. There are a number of organizations offering offsets that are ISO certified. A carbon offset Gold Standard, developed by the World Wildlife Fund, is a good benchmark for credibility. Is anybody here Catholic? Remember the Church selling indulgences in the Middle Ages to erase sins? That is in essence what a carbon offset is.