A powerful collaboration and partnership in the MICE industry highlighting and helping advance the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, where technology and nature work together for the future of planet and humanity.
Trees4Events by Trees4Travel served as Cvent’s official sustainability partner during the
recent Cvent Accelerate Singapore and Sydney Conferences in July 2024, during the month that also saw the daily average global temperature reach a new record high. Each one-day conference was meticulously planned from the start to ensure sustainable practices minimised the environmental impact of each gathering.
Travel to an event, is very often the largest part of the total emissions - Cvent’s recent Accelerate event in Sydney hosted 341 delegates, of which approximately 90% travelled locally and only 10% took flights. The Singapore conference hosted 523 delegates, of which approximately 96% travelled locally and only 4% flew, so drastically minimising the carbon footprint through careful selection of each event location.
Reducing event swag was also a high priority - many promotional items are often low quality, plastic and quite frankly useless. Research has shown, less than 21% of branded, promotional items are kept on average for a year, more than 50% are given away, and 23% are thrown away, ending up in landfill – and how many more water bottles do we really need!
Trees4Events new ‘tree swag’ was introduced at the Cvent events, allowing exhibitors or event organisers to gift a tree as a climate contribution, where each tree is backed up by an additional investment into renewable energy projects. The ‘tree swag’ is a displayed QR code at events, collecting contact details that immediately emails the recipient – no business cards required – no waste – but an impactful gift contributing to clean energy solutions and reforestation projects that restore ecosystems, biodiversity, supports communities and one that will also absorb carbon emissions.
To further reduce waste or swag, an array of experiences were offered instead, including a ‘wellness zone’ for the Cvent conference delegates, which began with a virtual reality ‘forest and nature bathing’ experience showing the power of the natural world for our wellbeing, followed by massages by local therapists.
The conferences offered MICE professionals the opportunity to not only see upcoming technological advancements but also gave them a moment to reflect on brand values, to share new ideas, best practices and learn about innovative event design that focused on accessible, sustainable, and inclusive experiences.
Trees4Events engaged delegates with tools that displayed individual carbon footprints, educating the audience but also demonstrating how residual emissions can help address sustainability targets through climate contributions into a hybrid climate solution that combines reforestation and renewable energy projects.
Together the two events facilitated the planting of 798 mangrove trees in Mozambique, besides the phenomenal carbon benefits where an acre of mangroves can store 5 to 10 times more carbon than an acre of rainforest, they are also a vital haven for wildlife and an essential resource for nearby communities.
To reach global climate goals and participate in climate justice, event organisers require a clear carbon reduction strategy combined with climate contributions - Trees4Events tools enabled the measurement, management and mitigation of the Cvent conferences carbon footprints. This hybrid approach resulted in reforestation efforts which were accompanied with the reduction of 130,787 of Kgs of Co2 through investments into UN renewable energy projects, addressing 13 of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Comments