• Sydney for events
• About Sydney
• Green Sydney
  • Green BESydney members
  • Government initiatives
• Beyond Sydney
• Business Events Calendar

• Home
• Why Sydney
• Green Sydney
• » Green BESydney members

Green members

Many of Business Events Sydney (BESydney)’s members are redesigning the way they do business meetings, to ensure their operations are socially, economically and environmentally sound, and contribute positively to the community.

This reflects a trend in the tourism and events industries towards sustainability and responsibility. In many cases, this is a moral and ethical decision but a number of industry leaders also believe that good corporate social responsibility (CSR) is an economic necessity.

“Contemporary business tourists want to visit a city that places a high value on sustainability,” says Bryan Holliday, Managing Director of BESydney member ICMS Australasia. “There are many competing options for tourists to visit, so being a renewable city would make Sydney even more desirable.”

ICMS Australasia is organising the World Congress of the Renewable City in Sydney for March 2009. The Business Events Council of Australia, another BESydney member, has urged event planners and venues to sponsor carbon-neutral site visits, design low impact exhibition booths and promote eco-friendly venues.

A number of other BESydney members are doing their part. Some of these include Sydney Harbour Marriott that has water-flow restrictors on the showers in all its rooms, energy saving light-globes where possible, and a variable speed drive (VSD) on the cooling tower to control water and electricity. The hotel also recycles its paper, cardboard, glass and toner cartridges.

Meanwhile, professional conference organiser (PCO) WaldronSmith Management (WSM) has developed a program of calculators that enable its clients - as a whole or as individual delegates - to offset the carbon emissions they contribute by attending a conference.

From recycling to carbon offsetting, energy saving and sustainable education, BESydney members are spreading the word and making a real and positive difference to their communities. We’ll continue to tell their stories as they evolve.

Resources

• Read more about the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre's sustainability activities
• Learn more about what Sydney Olympic Park is doing to help the environment