On 28 September 2010, Madrid’s La Casa Encendida hosted a one-day seminar on event sustainability, with the participation of different organizations and experts.
Jointly organized by the tourism consultancy firm KOAN, and the foundations CONAMA, ECODES and COPADE, the participants presented a number of carbon compensation, fair trade, sustainable mobility, and social inclusion proposals and schemes.
KOAN’s presentation underlined the value added of sustainable events as a high-impact factor of the corporate image of destinations when competition is stiff in tourism markets, as well as the need for a strong commitment from the public and private sectors as regards the integral sustainability of event destinations.
Furthermore, during the roundtable discussion, moderated by PANGEA Rutas, representatives of the Association of PCOs of Madrid, the European University of Madrid, the Sustainable Life Foundation, and the Environmental Department of Madrid City Council put forward their views. Not only did they express their opinion about the current situation and prospects of sustainable events, but also about the practical tools currently available to organizers and attendees of all types of events and the public in general.
Among the practical contributions as regards education, awareness raising, information and impact evaluation, technicians of Madrid City Council distributed a "Good Environmental Practice Guide for Sporting Events".
