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DESTINATION FOCUS
importance of the green issue among
event and conference buyers. It spoke to
over 800 key buyers and the results found
that 71 per cent felt that the green issue
is very important within the conference
marketplace, 95 per cent believed it will
be just as important in five years time. Yet
only 10 per cent offset the carbon debt of
their last event and only five per cent were
likely to offset the carbon debt of their
next event. Newer conference and event
spaces are realising the importance of
this demand.
The Edinburgh International Conference
Centre has an initiative called Plan-it
Green to help conference organisers and
meeting planners make their event
friendlier to the environment. The
programme helps organisers to
understand the environmental impact of
holding an event and identify ways to
make it more sustainable, such as the use
CONFERENCE NEWS JUNE 2009
of utility management and waste
reduction.
“Social accountability is definitely high
on the checklist of features that major
meetings coming to EICC require,” says
EICC’s Karen Wood.
Following the launch of a number of new
green initiatives, the venue’s carbon
footprint in 2008 was 1834.15 tonnes of
C02 compared with 2426.95 in 2006. The
EICC estimates this has saved it
£70,000.
Glasgow SECC ensures that 100 per
cent of the energy it purchases is done so
at a green rate, it also has its own on-site
technology for recycling. Where
environmental impact is unavoidable it
tries to leverage this impact with a positive
contribution through its ‘Trees For Life’
commitment, where it plants an acre of
trees for every major conference booked
at the venue. The venue has gained a gold
Scottish resilience
Glasgow SECC’s Ben Goedegebuure speaks about
how the venue is coping in the current climate.
How is SECC’s business bearing up in
light of the current economic situation?
Have any major events cancelled or
radically reduced in size?
We are really proud to say that we have
not experienced any significant
cancellations and the conference side of
our business does not appear to have
been hit hard by the recession. In fact a
few of our events have actually closed
with higher delegate numbers than
expected. I believe the reason for this is
our three market business model. We
cover the whole market from
conferences, concerts and exhibitions,
this gives us a competitive advantage.
Does SECC have any particular strategy
in place to tackle the tough economic
climate?
Customer service is our strategy. We are
trying to be as communicative with our
clients as possible, through every stage.
This includes a fair pricing, budgeting and
invoicing policy, and being clear about
pricing structures up front. Part of this
structure is offering quotes in euros and
dollars which has opened up further
conversations with our international
clients, which is very important just now.
How does SECC compete for
international business and market itself
globally?
We have great relationships with all of
the international associations which
means our position in the international
market is very strong. Because of this we
are able to compete with all the big
convention centres in Paris and Kuala
Lumpur. We have a lot of international
business confirmed up until 2016, but
also due to the recession, lead times are
so much shorter, so recently we have
found we have had to accommodate
events within just two months. This was
the case with the recent cabinet meeting
held here, which was confirmed only a
few months before. This was the first
ever UK cabinet meeting in the city.
award in the Green Tourism Business
Scheme (GTBS): a national sustainable
tourism certification scheme for the UK.
“We are aware of the impact that the
events staged at the venue can have on
the environment so promote best practice
amongst clients, contractors, staff and
suppliers,” says SECC’s Ben
Goedegebuure.
“Operating in a sustainable way is
important for business and for a venue of
our stature,” he adds.
In 2008 more than 130 hotels and
conference centres across Scotland were
recognised by the GTBS. Green may have
been the new black two years ago, but is
the norm in today’s society, which is
welcome news following research by the
GTBS which found four out of five
international conference organisers avoid
booking events in destinations or venues
with poor environmental records.
Ben Goedegebuure
What has been SECC’s greatest recent
challenge and how did it overcome this?
Our greatest challenge has also been our
greatest achievement and this is bringing
together the concept of Team Glasgow. A
service which brings together all service
partners across the region to work
together to attract business here. These
partners include the Glasgow City
Marketing Bureau, the Restaurant
Association and Glasgow Airport. This
really is a strong proposition for Glasgow.
What does the future hold for SECC?
The future is bright for the SECC and the
city of Glasgow. The infrastructure here is
really going places. The Commonwealth
Games is coming here in 2014 which can
only benefit us and is massively exciting.
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