CHICAGO — An increasingly popular strategy among trade show organizers, event venues and industry suppliers focused on sustainability is carbon offsetting.the practice of purchasing offset credits that are used toto transmita net climate benefit from one entity to another.
There are many reputable carbon offset organisations; however, the trade show sector has recently been challenged by a report from UK newspaper The The Guardian reveals that rainforest carbon credits approved by the world’s leading supplier, Verra, and bought by major companies to offset their environmental impact, are “90% worthless”. In other words: buyer beware.
A growing number of hotels, venues, convention and tourism bureaus (CVBs) and event organisers are adopting offsetting as a strategy to reduce the environmental impact of trade show travel. IMEXIMEX, which, among dozens of other sustainability initiatives, requires all attendees to offset their carbon emissions while traveling. Sustainability was a key selection criterion for its Frankfurt transportation provider, Hanse Modial GmbH, which planted 1,000 trees as part of its Travel & Tree program. Exhibitors at the show followed suit, with Hilton International planting 1,400 trees in the Hessian Forest, one for each venue. In recognition of the organization’s efforts, IMEX won the TSE Gold 100 Show with the Grand Prix for Most Appreciated Green Initiatives at last year’s Gold 100 Awards & Summit.
In addition to their various operational carbon reduction initiatives, some hotel chains are promoting booking platforms that allow guests to offset their hotel stays. One such platform, Alight, allows participants to offset their stays at several participating hotel brands, including IHG and Fairmont, directly at checkout.
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CVBs are also in the compensation game. An example is Visit Denverwhich features the Eco-Friendly Travel CO2e Emissions Calculator that allows individuals and event planners to estimate their carbon footprint, including air travel, ground transportation, hotel stays, and offers the ability to purchase carbon offsets.
A new and unique type of offset combines social and environmental causes. Known as SocialOffset, It allows event organizers to purchase offsets when they hold their events in states that have passed laws, including environmental laws, that they disagree with, which will hopefully serve to deter attendees from boycotting their events. Visit Salt Lake, Visit Austin And Visit Seattle are among its partners. Events that have purchased offsets from its two environmental organizations (Citizens’ Environmental Coalition and Wildlands Network) include Plant Health 23 and the Global Security Exchange.
“By selecting one of our six causes, including environmental sustainability, the sponsoring event organizer allows its attendees and exhibitors to let it be known that these causes are important,” said Elena Gerstmann, Doctorate, FASAE, CAE, President and CEO from SocialOffset, “We know that travel has a negative impact on our climate and local environment, which is why SocialOffset works with events to raise donations and then donates 100% of the money to selected charities.”
WhatCarbon offsets can be a valuable tool, but an event planner’s job doesn’t stop there.. “In too many cases, offsets can sometimes give a false sense of security or even distract teams from the real reduction strategies, which are our ultimate goal,” Eric Wallinger, Director of Sustainability at MeetGreensaid.
He encourages organisers to include emissions impact projections as key criteria when selecting and booking destinations. “Given the significant role that travel plays in the carbon footprint of our events, often accounting for over 90-95% of the total carbon footprint, achieving reductions in these emissions is often at the heart of venue selection and requires us to think more carefully about where our event will be held in relation to the majority of its attendees.”
Contact Eric Wallinger at eric@meetgreen.com; Elena Gerstmann at Elena@SocialOffset.org