Julia Spangler is a sustainable events consultant and speaker specializing in waste diversion and zero waste events. Her website urges people to make sustainability a part of their events’ success stories and her services include green events, green weddings and helping venues become more sustainable.
Events are mirrors of the organizations and industries they serve, reflecting their values and priorities. Therefore, it’s no surprise that green initiatives have flooded the events industry as more and more companies include sustainability goals and practices in their missions.
The United Nations defines sustainability as meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. However, there has been some murkiness as to what exactly that means with regard to events and what the definition of sustainability is for the events industry.
As the desire for sustainable meetings and events grows, so does the need for sustainable cities in which to hold them. The city of Brussels, Belgium was ranked ninth in the 2009 European Green City Index and now, a decade later, the city is well on its way towards its goal of becoming the “Green city of Europe” by 2024.
After being introduced to environmental science and sustainability in high school, Jessica Glenn knew what she was meant to do with her life. As the Director of Sustainability at Freeman, Glenn is driven to help show organizers produce more environmentally friendly events that also maximize the attendee experience by getting them excited about and invested in sustainability.
Less than a month after Vancouver became the first city in the world to adopt a comprehensive zero waste strategic plan and the first city in Canada to ban plastic straws and polystyrene containers, the city played host to Sustainable Brands, the annual global flagship conference of one of the leading corporate sustainability communities of brand innovators and sustainability professionals working to shape the future of commerce worldwide.
A single plastic straw, which might be used for about 15 minutes, will never fully decompose. That depressing fact has inspired two major players in the exhibitions, meetings and hospitality industries to launch a series of sustainability initiatives designed to give single-use plastic waste the boot.
Full-service event production company, Shepard, has launched a bold set of initiatives to reduce the 600,000 tons of garbage produced by the events industry each year.
Detroit's Cobo Center continues to demonstrate its commitment to sustainability in the events industry by hosting the newly released Sustainable Event Professional Certificate (SEPC) training for employees and event professionals, set for Sept. 11-12.
It goes without saying that environmental and social advocates tend to be incredibly passionate people driven by a burning desire to change the world in a positive way. Mariela McIlwraith is such an individual.
