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Copenhagen unveils Global Protocol for Sustainable Meetings

As model student in sustainable development, Denmark goes one step further with last week’s launch of the Copenhagen Sustainable Meetings Protocol (CSMP) on World Earth Day (22nd April)

through a live webinar. Issued from the COP 15 thinkings, the CSMP is an advanced level guide for sustainable event management aimed at corporate, governmental and association event organisers and managers of large hotels. “The white book, CSMP, will cement Copenhagen's position as a globally leading sustainable meetings destination”, explained Lars Ramme Nielsen in our columns after COP 15.

Created by a coalition of Danish partners and using COP 15 conference as a case study, it was written and designed by MCI Sustainable Services, with Guy Bigwood and Michael Luehrs. For instance, with COP 15, 100% of 72,374 tons of the event carbon emissions were offset and 53% of hotels in Copenhagen area and the Bella Center were eco-certified. The congress center has also carried out a large ‘greening process’ and reduced its CO2 emission by 20%.

As a flexible framework to organise large meetings in a more sustainable way - strategic, operational, collaborative and administrative processes - CSMP aims to share best practice and leadership strategies and gives new standards to the meetings industry, following the international BS8901, ISO20121 and APEX green meetings standards. This large scale guideline will even be presented to the UN.

Leadership commitment, knowledge and staff motivation should be keywords to help meeting planners elaborate their sustainable strategy. In short, it is important to concentrate on: reducing carbon emissions, improving meetings design, taking interest in the location and size of the venue, generating lifestyle changes, measuring the impact of events, understanding social issues, integrating virtual technology, creating a sustainable culture in companies by educational seminars and benchmarking performance using tool such as MeetGreen.

“It is the firm belief of all partners that the meetings industry must create a more sustainable path, if it is to continue to validate its societal license to operate, deliver value to clients and provide good returns on investment to its stakeholders. The CSMP is our contribution to that”, says Steen Jakobsen, Convention Director at Wonderful Copenhagen Convention Bureau. Let’s analyse the first effects of the protocol on the global meetings industry in a few months’ time.

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