Event is to be congratulated for the amount of space devoted to environmental issues; for example, coverage of the RSPCA, The Big Ask and the Sustainable Future area at the BBC Summer Festival (Event, July).
Fittingly, our procurement colleagues now increasingly seek to incorporate green values within their requests for proposals for business travel, meetings and events, and we must expect this approach to become the norm. The Supranational Hotels brand is also now recommending eco-friendly principles to our membership in 70 countries.
But serious issues remain. How much longer can this industry welcome participants whose travel has not been carbon offset, or the energy repercussions of their event not rendered climate-neutral? Are we doing enough to educate clients about the impact of their bookings? When will it become appropriate to blackball venues and suppliers who refuse to develop environmental strategies, or whose marketing approach is tainted with half-hearted ‘greenwash’ pretence?
We would be mistaken to think that surviving the economic downturn is going to excuse high-impact, travel-related industries such as ours from demonstrating green leadership. Event should continue to alert us to environmental opportunities and obligations.
Niels Pedersen, managing director,
Supranational Hotels
