Glenn Hansen on the Wellbeing Network, announced by Maritz Global Events
Amid COP26 and an industry pledge to become net zero by 2050, Maritz Global Events announced, at IMEX America in November, its Wellbeing Network (WBN). WBN focuses on the Five Dimensions of Wellbeing including Personal, Career, Financial, Social and Environmental wellbeing.
Maritz Global Events put together a consortium of five companies offering unique products and services that align with and promote the Five Dimensions of Wellbeing to enhance the guest experience. The agency’s intention is to increase guest satisfaction, believing WBN will foster deeper relationships where guests can connect with one another and make the event feel like a smaller community.
Part of the WBN programme is Environmental Wellbeing. Maritz Global Events joins a growing number of companies that are pronouncing their commitment to sustainability in every aspect of their business. Events are one such aspect. Therefore, in addition to addressing Personal, Career, Financial, Social wellbeing, the agency is looking to assist clients lessen the impact the events industry has on the planet. The company reached out to BPA’s iCompli Sustainability (part of my organisation) to assist clients starting their journey of tracking and documenting the carbon impact of events.
We have observed that corporate climate change strategies are increasingly focused on emissions generated outside direct operations. Companies that are already actively managing GHG emissions generated from their own operations and the electricity they purchase, are now evaluating further emissions.
These Scope 3 emissions cover indirect impacts that occur in an organisation’s value chain – upstream activities like purchased goods, waste generated in operations and business travel, as well as downstream activities like end-of-life treatment of sold products. The GHG Protocol is a standardised framework to measure and manage GHG emissions, and Calculation Guidance delineates 13 distinct categories for reporting Scope 3 emissions.
The process of planning and delivering an event, conference, or trip – from a one-day training seminar to a week-long incentive vacation – is considered, as is the travel of employees and delegates to an event, commonly the largest GHG impact in the event life cycle.
Maritz Global Events wishes to help events clients better understand their impact and eventually commit to the Net Zero by 2050 initiative. They have broken down the BPA iCompli Sustainability Carbon Footprint Measurement Tool into three phases.
- Phase 1 - Discovery & Assessment, organisers are educated on the data points needed to be collected to complete the carbon footprint assessment.
- Phase 2 – Design to Improve the Footprint - consists of coordinating the participants in the process to ensure all the organiser’s information is complete and the carbon footprint calculation is provided. Once the report is received, Maritz Global Events analyse the results and provide guidance to improve performance. The client can then inform their guests about the programme, what activities are contributing most to CO2 emissions and how they can mitigate it.
- Phase 3 - Maritz Global Events works with the organiser to ensure recommendations are implemented effectively and part of a continuous improvement process.
In addition to BPA iCompli Sustainability, other members of WBN include, Soothe, Office Meet Yoga, Young Living and Heka Health. For more advice download the eBook by clicking here.
