FENTON, Mo.—At its recent marquee event, Activate, Maritz brought in the Event Industry CouncilMariela Bazán, Director of Sustainability at EIC’s Center for Sustainability and Social Impact, launches the Sustainable Events Professional Certificate (SEPC) introductory course for 48 members of her team.
The SEPC is an online certification program launched last year for event professionals who want to accelerate sustainability and social impact in their organizations and at their professional events. Graduates receive 12 credit hours toward their CMP candidacy or recertification and 12 CAE credits.
Maritz attendees were able to learn about topics such as carbon neutrality versus net zero; how the trade show industry contributes to carbon emissions and the best ways to balance this at events; low-carbon menu design ideas; sustainable gifting options; and planning diverse content and speakers.
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As an organization, Maritz has taken significant steps to demonstrate its commitment to sustainability. The company is a signatory to the Net Zero Carbon Events Maritz has committed to achieving carbon neutrality by 2050 and recently committed to the Science Based Targets Initiative, a corporate engagement roadmap guiding organizations toward carbon neutrality by 2050. The Maritz team has developed a checklist of sustainability events that it uses when working with clients. Internally, the company has created a sustainability committee that reports to corporate leadership.
“The decision to add the SEPC course to the Activate event reflects the company’s strategic commitment to the overall well-being of its employees and customers,” said Rachael Riggs, CMP, DES, SPEC, managing director of environmental strategy.
“By partnering with industry organizations like the EIC and using their educational tools to support the ongoing training of our staff, we believe it creates an atmosphere of continuous exploration to meet the needs of our customers,” Riggs said. “The SEPC course was designed by the sustainability experts in the industry, and they understand how environmental well-being is linked to the overall well-being of the customers we serve. We want people to leave a trade show feeling inspired, invigorated and supported, and when you show them how to do things sustainably at an event, we believe they will leave home more motivated to be sustainable. It’s a win-win for us.”
Contact Rachael Riggs at Rachael.Riggs@maritz.com