The COP15 climate change conference in Copenhagen this winter led to an international accord that critics say fell arguably short of expectations.
Participating countries discussed emission reductions and to financial aid for the developing world. And a proposed accord called on industrialized nations to commit to 2020 emissions targets, which seems all well and good, but the agreement isn’t legally enforceable.
Indeed, it may not be a concrete climate change policy that COP15 is remembered for at all, according to tourism officials in Denmark, rather a pioneering model for future events that explains not only how to plan a sustainable conference but how to save money doing it. COP15 welcomed, housed and fed hundreds of thousands of visitors from across the globe while managing to meet Green Key and BS8901 environmental certifications.
Now the agencies involved in planning and executing the COP15 event have agreed to collaborate on an even more applicable project, translating their experiences and conclusions into an international Green Meeting Protocol that may well change the way event professionals look at meetings.
“We hope the protocol helps organizations realize that making events sustainable doesn’t mean that it will cost them more money, in fact they will see from the examples in the protocol that it actually saves money,” said Jonathan Cohen of VisitDenmark. “In this economic situation, that has to make sustainability appealing. If it is appealing, more people will tune into this way of thinking.”
But in order to create a usable document, the COP15’s six organizing agencies—VisitDenmark, Wonderful Copenhagen, the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Copenhagen City Council, MCI and Novo Nordisk—will have to collaborate like never before. And, according to Cohen, that includes the coordination of meetings among “very busy people.” Then again, the consortium has been convening on the subject for well more than year now.
Once complete later this month, the protocol will include three main elements: a COP15 sustainability case study, a procedural outline for attaining BS8901 status (in addition to other applicable certifications) and an overview of best practices for the establishment of large-scale, multi-stakeholder conferences.
Far from attempting to usurp any existing certifications or benchmark tools, the protocol will help planners make informed choices on how and why to use the various established standards and tools. Task force members hope the document will lead to a greater understanding of the differences between available options and propel eco certifications to heightened awareness.
Cohen says the event task force will present the protocol to the U.N. as a framework for sustainable practices in future meetings. And the protocol will be available across the globe to assist in the planning and execution of equally complex events.
“We realize that we could, of course, charge for this report, but our main goal has been to make it accessible for all, and that is what we will do,” Cohen said. “The protocol is an opportunity to deliver a white paper to the U.N. about the importance of the meeting industry and how it takes sustainability as seriously as it does.”
Cohen insists that the protocol isn’t a “Copenhagen or a Danish thing,” but instead an international guide for large events. As the Copenhagen Accord offered a political resolution for curbing climate change, the protocol will establish a basis for sustainability in the meeting industry.
“Just like in society in general, the meeting industry needs to take a more collaborative approach to solving some of the many issues that we face together,” Cohen concluded. “I hope that the protocol marks a turning point in the way that the meeting industry addresses sustainability and the start of much more collaborative efforts by all the stakeholders to tackle these issues together.”
The sustainable meeting protocol will be available in English at VisitDenmark.dk later this month. If there is sufficient demand, German and Spanish editions may follow.
