Australia - The Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre (MCEC), the Arena and Convention Centre (ACC) Liverpool and the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC), have joined forces to create a Global Green Alliance.
The initiative, first discussed at the recent International Congress and Convention Association Congress in Florence, aims to promote industry best practice in hosting sustainable events.
“The launch of this new partnership marks an exciting new era for the meetings and events sector as we collaborate in developing eco-friendly venue design features and packaged services,” says director of sales at the MCEC, Anne Jamieson.
Head of sales at the BT Convention Centre, part of ACC Liverpool, Kerrin MacPhie, says event organisers have been under increasing pressure for some time to meet CSR and sustainability targets. “With this new alliance, we will not only offer clients an eco-friendly venue in the UK, but can extend that offer to include partner convention centres across the world that we know will meet their sustainability targets.”
International sales manager for CTICC, Esmare Van Tonder, adds: ‘There is a lot of hype regarding the green agenda, which makes it difficult for organisers to distinguish veneer policies from tangible deliverables that truly have an impact on improving sustainability targets.”
The alliance will focus on developing its combined offer and joint international marketing activities. Over the coming months, the alliance will announce a range of service offerings and other initiatives to further develop industry best practice and enable clients to gain maximum value from holding sustainable events.
All three venues champion their own green merits. The MCEC is the world’s first and only Six Star Green Star environmentally-rated venue, while ACC Liverpool has halved its CO2 emissions and uses 20 per cent less electricity. The CTICC’s My Tree in Africa initiative reduces the centre’s carbon footprint by planting trees in disadvantaged communities.
