Sustainability

Sustainable Brands Environmental Mission Statement

Sustainable Brands is committed to reducing the environmental impact of the Sustainable Brands Conferences, to enlisting our community in the sustainable production of our events, and to improving the sustainability initiatives and performance of our host communities.

 

The Approach

Sustainable event management is the process used to produce an event with concern for the environmental, economic and social implications of event related activities. Sustainability in event management incorporates socially and environmentally responsible decision making into the planning, organization, and implementation of and participation in an event. These processes and decisions also involve key stakeholders including event organizers, venues, vendors, suppliers and attendees. High impact areas for sustainable event management includes:

• Venues & Accommodations

• Food & Beverage

• Exhibitors/Expo (See Exhibitor Sustainability Guidelines)

• Marketing & Public Relations

• Transportation

• Audio Visual & Décor

The event planning team works closely with all vendors and stakeholders involved to follow a sustainable event framework that was developed in accordance with the leading international event industry standards – ISO 20121 Event Sustainability Management Systems and APEX/ASTM Environmentally Sustainable Meeting Standards. Let us share some of our work in this arena and what was planned for SB’17 Detroit:

 

Attendee Sustainability:

As an attendee, there are actions you can take to reduce your impact as well. Follow these Sustainable Attendee Tips.

 

SB’17 Detroit Sustainability Goals

GOAL:	THANKS TO:
Waste Reduction & Diversion Waste is a major contributor to the impact of any event. For Sustainable Brands, we focus on first reducing the waste produced overall, and then work to divert as much of the waste produced from the landfill through recycling, composting, and donation and repurposing. For 2017, Sustainable Brands is working closely with partners in Detroit to sort and divert the waste produced by the event. In addition, we are partnering with TerraCycle to capture and divert “hard to recycle” items that can’t be recycled in a traditional municipal facility. Through these efforts, we hope to divert at least 80% of the waste produced by our event.
Carbon Neutral 100% of the carbon emissions from the event are offset by Nature Bank, including attendee and staff travel and accommodation.
Energy Neutral The energy used during the event will be 100% offset by Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) provided by the South Pole Group.
Water Neutral The water footprint of the event, including attendee travel and accommodation, is balanced through BEF’s Water Restoration Certificates supporting critically dewatered ecosystems across North America.
ISO 20121 Compliance Our goal is to be in compliance with the ISO 20121 Environmental Management System standard, which will be calculated post-event by iCompli
Local Food Sourcing Sustainable Brands and the Centerplate Chef at the Cobo Center are working hard to create a menu which promotes the cuisine and flavors of Detroit and the surrounding region, while prioritizing sustainable purchasing.

 

Highlighted SB’16 San Diego Sustainability Efforts:

We had plenty of efforts in place to reach these goals in the past and would love to share how we did it. Visit our SB’16 San Diego site for more detailed information, and hopefully to learn how to increase the positive impact of your own event(s). If you have any questions at all or if we can help you in your efforts, don’t hesitate to get in touch with Lizzy Hearne.