“We are taking a completely different but quite ambitious approach for 2024,” Lo Bue-Said told delegates in Benidorm for the consortium’s annual conference on Monday (22 May).
“Our conferences will all be about giving back, it will embed volunteering, going out into the local communities, it will really start to make us think about as a force for good.”
The chief executive’s comments came as Advantage released 10 sustainability pledges for its events moving forward. These range from using bamboo or RPET (recycled polyethylene terephthalate) lanyards and sustainable name cards to banning single-use plastic and offsetting the CO2 impact of events.
To better support members in their sustainability journey, the consortium has developed a Sustainability Member Steering Group to develop and input into an ESG strategy.
During her speech, Lo Bue-Said also confirmed a series of partnerships with different sustainability firms, including Greengage Solutions.
Founded in 2019 by Andrew Perrolls, Greengage Solutions offers sustainability accreditations to companies around the world, especially those in the travel and tourism sector.
Perrolls urged delegates to take a long, hard look at their businesses and devise a deliverable sustainability plan. According to the founder, businesses should engage both employees and partners in their sustainability journey – reducing, reusing and recycling where possible.
“When you’ve done all of that, you should have a really good story to tell,” Perrolls told agents. “So tell it, customers want to know what you’re doing.”
The sustainability expert concluded his session telling the audience to be cheerful as they are doing “something positive to help the planet” while satisfying stakeholders and remaining competitive.
