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February 2012
Meeting industry’s first sustainable standards now available
Professionals in the meeting industry have access to the very first green meetings and event standards in the areas of Audio-Visual, Communication & Marketing Materials, Destinations, Exhibits, Food & Beverage, On-Site Office, and Transportation. The American Society for Testing and Materials International (ASTM) published seven of nine sustainable meeting standards today.
The standards, produced as a partnership between the Convention Industry Council’s Accepted Practices Exchange (APEX) and ASTM, were initially conceptualized by the Green Meetings Industry Council (GMIC) in discussions with the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA). Publication of the standards comes after a period of in intense development since the project was initiated in 2008.
The APEX/ASTM standards are comprised of nine individual “sector” standards, covering all facets of event planning and management. Seven of the nine have been published with the Accommodations standard currently undergoing final balloting through ASTM and the Meeting Venue standard being prepared for publishing: [Read on...]
Restorative Breakfast
The Gauteng Natural Step Network invites you to their next Restorative Breakfast.
The topic for this open forum discussion is: Generation Earth’s feedback on COP 17; The Youth’s role in Climate Change
Presented by: Ella Bella
Ella Bella is a Masters Graduate from the University of the Witwatersrand having received her Masters degree in Education and Dramatic Arts. This outgoing fun loving young woman has been a spokesperson and youth ambassador for the United Nations Environmental programme (UNEP) for the past 3 years. [Read on...]
CMP’s can gain Clock Hour Credits at EGF events
The CMP Network SA are one of the founding members of the Event Greening Forum (EGF) which conforms to the Green Meeting Industry Council (GMIC) as part of CIC.
Both CMPs and future potential CMPs can claim clock hour credits to add to their Continuing Professional Development (CPD) – an excellent reason for attending an EGF event at Meetings Africa. The more industry-related activities CMPs are involved in, the less clock hours will be required for recertification.
Opportunities to earn Clock Hour credits through the EGF include:
Assisting on the EGF stand at Meetings Africa
Four shifts of two hours each have been planned over the three day show at the Sandton Convention Centre (28 February – 1 March 2012).
Reporting on Event Sustainability – presented by Grace Stead
Grace is one of the founding members of the EGF, and she has a 30 minute slot booked to present on this topic. Tuesday 28th February, 4PM at the Presentation Theatre in Hall 1 of the Sandton Convention Centre. Her talk will focus on the recent launch of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Event Sector Supplement and how this can be implemented in South Africa.
The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) is an international framework provides guidance around how to report on triple bottom line principles. The Event Sector Supplement for GRI provides performance indicators for economic, environmental and social issues that relate to the industry. The presentation will provide a brief overview on GRI and focus on the performance indicators specifically developed for the Event Sector Supplement to help guide sustainability reporting for events. For more information on GRI visit www.globalreporting.org
Access if open to all and free of charge.
Greening the CCR Expo at COP17 – presented by Justin Hawes
Justin is also a founding member of the EGF. His talk will follow on from the EGF AGM, which will start at 5PM on Wednesday 29th February at the Presentation Theatre in Hall 1 of the Sandton Convention Centre.
Access if open to all and free of charge.
Please contact EGF administrator Pippa Walker on pippa@eventgreening.co.za for more information.
Valverde Solar Farm Open Day
Valverde Country Hotel (Gauteng), one of the leading venues in the fight against global warming, is hosting an open day on Friday the 9 of March to view their recently finished solar farm. This farm provides all hotel rooms and kitchens with hot water.
Venue: Valverde Country Hotel (click here for directions)
Time: 11am
Refreshments, tea and coffee will be served.
RSVP is essential – please contact Joaquin on Joaquin@valverde.co.za or 0725870362.
Sustainability takes center stage as new reporting guidance is launched
Event organizers can now report on sustainability issues like impacts on communities, natural environments, and local and global economies, thanks to new guidance published today (Tuesday 24 January 2012) by the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI).
The events sector is diverse: its activities range from business meetings, conferences, and exhibitions to sports and cultural festivals – all of which have impacts on the economy, environment and society. These impacts need to be considered, measured and shared in order to improve the sustainability performance of the events industry.
South African Climate Change Response Expo (CCR Expo)
The Event Greening Forum spent almost a month in Durban at the end of last year for some of the build up to COP17, and then to exhibit at the SA CCR Expo next door to COP17. It was an amazing experience. Not only were we involved in one of the most significant environmental events in the world, we also had the opportunity to interact with so many individuals who have an interest in sustainability, and who come from diverse backgrounds in government, business, science and civil society.
Our aim at the exhibition was to promote the EGF as a brand, to grow our membership, and also to assist with the greening of the SA CCR Expo itself which was embracing a number of the event greening practices we are always praising. [Read on...]
Thank you to Sandton Sun Hotel, Reel Gardening and Green Stationery!
The EGF’s achievements are often the result of generous sponsorships. We would like to take this opportunity to thank the following organisations for the recent support they have given us:
The Sandton Sun Hotel has hosted our Management Committee meetings on numerous occasions, at no cost and including delicious coffee and tea.
We especially appreciate the efforts the Sandon Sun has made in terms of becoming a green venue. They are an active member of the Heritage certification programme, a programme which not only provides an environmental rating but also assists with implementing systems to improve upon the rating, as necessary.
The hotel promotes a number of green conference options such as drinking tap water in jugs (rather than bottled water), dimming the lights during tea breaks, serving menus that include seasonal and sustainable ingredients and recycling. View the Sandton Sun’s Green Initiatives document here.
For more information please contact Charle Terblanche on 011 780 5093 or Charle.Terblanche@sandtonsun.com, or visit www.sandtonsun.com.
Reel Gardening was launched by Claire Reid when she invented a novel way to distribute and grow seeds – in strips of biodegradable paper, which are planted directly into the ground and out of which the seeds, encouraged with a dash of fertiliser, grow. This method of growing seeds is not only simple for the gardener, but saves 80% of water in the germination phase. (P.S. Claire was only 16 when she came up with the idea!)
Claire co-branded a large batch of seeds with the Event Greening Forum’s logo, for us to distribute at the South African Climate Change Response Expo to our stand’s visitors and thereby encourage them to offset their trip (or part thereof) to the exhibition by planting something.
For more information on Reel Gardening, please send an email to info@reelgardening.co.za or call 011 782 0661. Alternatively, please visit www.reelgardening.co.za.
Green Stationery has been growing and its product range now extends beyond stationery to include items such as copy paper made from wheat straw, toilet paper and biodegradable food containers. The only thing that has stayed the same is that all products sold through Green Stationery have environmentally friendly credentials.
For the South African Climate Change Response Expo, Green Stationery sponsored the Event Greening Forum with co-branded pens which were made from recyclable paper (all but the pen nib and ink tube, that is).
Please contact Clem Angus for more information on his products – if he doesn’t stock it yet, he most likely will be able to source it for you. His contact details are clem@greenstationery.co.za and 082 449 1781. Or you can visit www.greenstationery.co.za.
