EVENT GREENING FORUM
BARSA Aviation Summit 2019
At BARSA, we believe that it is our responsibility to protect our national heritage and resources, and sustainable event management is a large part of that. We take the relevant steps in the process of integrating environmental and social responsibility issues into our event planning for the benefit of future generations. – June Crawford, the chief executive officer of BARSA. Background BARSA successfully introduced sustainable event measures, also known as event greening, to its 2018 Summit. The Summit was certified as a Green Event, after achieving a total performance score of 78 per cent. However, ongoing improvements and learning from this event meant that the 2019 Summit’s performance score jumped up to 83.4 per cent . Part of the organisation’s success has been due to its collaborative approach to event greening, rather than trying to do it alone. For example, BARSA joined the Event Greening Forum (EGF) to tap into the organisation’s sustainable event management resources and network – including contracting
an EGF member, event organisers Creative Directions, to help achieve its green vision for the Summit. Ms Crawford added: “We encourage our partners, business associates, guests and visitors to support our efforts, and select products and service providers that share our environmental vision.”
Event greening strategies The following are some of the practices that the BARSA Aviation Summit 2019 implemented to improve its environmental and social impacts. • An Environmental Vision Statement for the Summit was prepared and adopted – an essential and often overlooked step in managing a sustainable event.
40 Business Events Africa November 2019
Overview Event: BARSA Aviation Summit 2019 Client: Board of Airline Representatives South Africa (BARSA) Organiser: Creative Directions Venue: Inanda Club in Sandton, Johannesburg Date: 28 February 2019 Number of delegates: 176
• LED lamps were used to light the venue. • A system was in place to keep doors closed so that the air conditioning could maintain the venue’s temperature without drawing on excessive amounts of energy. • Recycling bins were placed throughout the venue, which resulted in high recovery rates. • Leftover, unserved food was donated to the Resthaven Ministries which operates homes for babies, children and the elderly. www.businesseventsafrica.com
