PCMA’S CONVENE 4 CLIMATE WELCOMES FOUNDATIONAL PARTNERS FOR FUTURE YEARS

Destination Canada, Fáilte Ireland, Marina Bay Sands and United Airlines Join PCMA and SANCBE With a Commitment to Action and Transformation for Business Events

BARCELONA, SPAIN – Sherrif Karamat, CAE, President & CEO, PCMA and CEMA today welcomed four new foundational partners to Convene 4 Climate (C4C) during the closing mainstage of the inaugural sustainability conference in Barcelona, Spain. Destination Canada, Fáilte Ireland, Marina Bay Sands and United Airlines join PCMA and The Strategic Alliance of the National Convention Bureaux of Europe (SANCBE) to collectively inspire and transform the global business events industry through the lens of sustainability over the next three years.
Climate change is an existential threat to all industries, especially the global business events community. PCMA, together with the foundational partners are resolute in their beliefs that action is no longer a choice, but an imperative commitment to drive sustainable leadership and advocate for the importance of a sustainable environment.

“Collaboration among our foundational partners, key members of our global value chain, who are responsible and purpose-driven, is an exciting and critical first step to address a pan-industry challenge,” said Karamat. “We all play a critical role in how we reduce our impact on the environment, and even more important, it is our responsibility to contribute to global efforts to mitigate and adapt to climate change.”

The foundational collective is steadfast in redirecting the global business events community from talk to action. C4C will become the industry’s official platform, across multiple channels – workshops, webinars, research, events, certification — allowing for reimagined and innovative operations that ultimately ensure a future for the next generation and beyond.

“Sustainability is an integral part of our business events efforts at Destination Canada, which is why we are a foundational partner of PCMA’s Convene 4 Climate. This work aligns with ours, especially as it relates to the role of partnership and collaboration for success. In 2022, Destination Canada launched a Legacy and Impact Study, acutely aware that business events have impact beyond the tourism benefits. This led to the establishment of the award-winning Canadian Business Events Sustainability Plan, the first of its kind, with strong national representation to propel Canada’s sustainability movement forward,” said Virginie De Visscher, Executive Director, Business Events, at Destination Canada.  “The Sustainability Plan is aimed at improving the economic, socio-cultural and environmental sustainability practices of business events, and in turn leaving a positive impact across destinations throughout Canada. Actionable programs tailored toward the unique Sustainable Development Goals of individual cities are being rolled out to global clients to accelerate the industry’s progress toward net zero targets by 2050. We hope sharing initiatives from communities across Canada in our newly released Sustainability Storybook, will also inspire and challenge business events decision makers, planners and sustainability professionals and host destinations, globally, about being better environmental stewards. “

“We are delighted to be founding partners of Convene 4 Climate. Our global community, working collaboratively, to maximise the handprint of business events while protecting our most precious resources is non-negotiable,” said Paul Mockler, Head of Commercial Development, Fáilte Ireland. “When we collaborate as partners, exchanging knowledge and ideas, we move from conversations to actions, holding each other accountable all the way. Each of us must play our part and become better citizens and environmental stewards, leading by example to ensure we future proof our industry.”

“As one of Singapore’s key tourism players, Marina Bay Sands leads by example, implementing best practices and cutting-edge technologies to be sustainable,” said Meridith Beaujean, Executive Director, Sustainability, Marina Bay Sands. “Since day one, we have taken active steps to integrate sustainability into our business operations and design, as well as the business events held on property. We continue to stay focused on our environmental journey by setting goals in areas such as climate response, water stewardship, recycling and circularity.”

“At United we have set a goal to be net zero by 2050 without the use of voluntary carbon offsets” said Andrea Robertson, Managing Director, United Airlines. “We realize there’s a limit to what a single company can do alone, so one of the key pathways of our environmental strategy is collaborating with stakeholders across our value chain. That’s why the opportunity to collaborate with organizations like PCMA is so critical. We must reach across industries to help advance our sustainability goals.”