The first-of-its-kind Canadian Business Events Sustainability Plan was introduced to the meetings world a few days ago by Destination Canada. The Plan builds on the existing Sustainable Development Goals of Canada’s cities with actionable programs to meet their individual goals.
Part of the plan is educating and supporting more than 20 domestic partners, already committed to sustainable practices, to implement new programs across international association conferences. Actions proposed in the plan are based on a national destination assessment study which evaluates where Canadian cities stand today in terms of their existing sustainability initiatives in business events and will be used to measure and track change in the future.
Along with the Canadian Business Events Sustainability Plan, a Legacy Impact Study, led by #MEET4IMPACT and Gaining Edge, will mark the benefits on local communities of association events held in the country.
“We want to do this right and we want to hold ourselves accountable,” said De Visscher, Senior Director of Business Development, Economic Sectors, Destination Canada Business Events.. “By establishing a baseline for impact and assessing the Sustainable Development Goals and actions already being taken by our domestic partners – like Tourisme Montréal’s new Harmonious Destination strategy in partnership with Aéroports de Montréal and the GHG Carbone Boréal offset program and Destination Vancouver’s program with Binners’Project which has already enabled the city to divert 75% of the waste generated by business events, out of landfills – we’re creating a marker for change. We all have a responsibility to economically, socially and environmentally benefit the host communities and global ecosystems we visit. We believe the Canadian Business Event Sustainability Plan will empower our team, our partners and our clients to do just that and ultimately foster a regenerative tourism ecosystem that produces positive net benefits for all Canadians.”