Green Tourism Launches Green Meetings Standard for Venues

Green Tourism, an Edinburgh, Scotland-based sustainable certification program, is giving event venues the tools that they need for a sustainable recovery from the pandemic with the launch of its "Green Meetings Standard." Hotels, conference centers and other venues for meetings and events can apply for the accreditation to measure their performance against three pillars of "caring for people, places and our planet."

Independent assessors will examine criteria, which are aligned to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, ranging from energy, water and waste through to catering, procurement and travel, as well as awareness, communication, and community involvement.

The Green Meetings Standard has been designed in response to requests from the industry to help venues prove they are taking their environmental responsibilities seriously, especially in the run-up to the United Nations’ COP26 climate change conference in Glasgow in November.

Fun fact: The Edinburgh International Conference Centre (EICC) has become the first venue to achieve the Green Meetings seal of approval. The EICC also helped Green Tourism develop its original criteria for conference centers back in 2001.

The new initiative builds on Green Tourism’s existing meetings and event venues criteria, which was developed in 2001. Those criteria have been used to help more than 700 venues achieve accreditation, including Central Hall Westminster, the EICC, Manchester International Conference Centre, Olympia London and the Queen Elizabeth II Centre.

Green Tourism was founded in 1997 and has grown to include more than 2,500 members spread across 22 countries. The Edinburgh-based organization has carried out more than 15,000 assessments for its gold, silver and bronze awards.

Andrea Nicholas, chief executive of Green Tourism, noted that, “As well as assessment, the scheme also gives support to venues, so that they can improve their performance continuously and demonstrate the ways in which they are meeting the U.N.’s Sustainable Development Goals.”

Green Tourism worked with the EICC to develop its original criteria for conference centers back in 2001, and the venue became the first to achieve the organization’s accreditation.

The Green Meetings brand will be launched during an online event chaired by Nicholas, with speakers including: Scott Maclean, managing director of Green Tourism; Aaron McKeen, sustainability champion at the EICC; Rory Archibald, head of associations, sectors and marketing at VisitScotland Business Events; and Aileen Crawford, head of conventions at the Glasgow Convention Bureau.

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