Success for IMEX in Frankfurt (2)

exhibitions: IMEX reports: Success for IMEX in Frankfurt (2)

Success for IMEX in Frankfurt (2)

Green awards

Australian suppliers cemented their dominance of the green meetings partner arena by winning both gold and silver awards in this year’s IMEX Green Supplier Award for a second year running.

Adelaide Convention Centre’s innovative efforts to reduce the environmental impact of its operations through planning, implementation and evaluation helped them to win silver last year. In 2010 they went one better to be declared winners of the prestigious IMEX Green Supplier Gold Award.

“Winning the IMEX Green Supplier Gold Award is a fantastic acknowledgment of our success in implementing sustainable practices across all aspects of the Adelaide Convention Centre operation. We have developed a culture of ‘Gold Service, Green Attitude’, which has become a core value for us and helped bring this continued success,” said Alec Gilbert, CEO, Adelaide Convention Centre.

Compatriots from the Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre received the silver award in this category. Alison Gardiner, manager, international convention bidding, commented: “At the Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre we believe that green values are mainstream values and are fundamental to our core business principles. We made a strategic commitment a number of years ago to establish our credentials as a globally responsible organisation and to build a sustainable future for our clients, our staff and our community.”

Switzerland Convention & Incentive Bureau (SCIB) was awarded the Green Exhibitor Award. SCIB implemented an impressive number of carbon reduction measures throughout the show, including its widespread use of Swiss wood in its stand construction. The wood is a renewable resource and net remover of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

All promotional material used at IMEX was printed carbon-neutral. In addition, all Switzerland Tourism staff, including the stand builders, travelled to Frankfurt by train to reduce carbon emissions. For the transport of materials, SCIB also used trucks booked via the “truck market” to avoid empty runs between Switzerland and Germany. All stand material and printed material was organised to require just one transport run. The stand also made the most of low energy lighting, minimal electricity and locally sourced organic food and beverages.

CSR initiative

IMEX 2010 saw the launch of the first ever IMEX Challenge set to take place in Poland this September. This will be the show’s first CSR project.

"As always it is a case of IMEX living out its most important values and putting them into practical action. Come September, 24 people from across the industry will be toiling hard over several days to transform the garden and grounds of a foster home near Warsaw. We plan to run an IMEX Challenge every two years with the express intention of leaving behind a lasting legacy such as an educational or maintenance endowment, in addition to the work the group will carry out on the spot," explained Bloom.

The IMEX Challenge in Poland will involve a group of 24 volunteer participants from the global meetings industry in landscaping the gardens and creating a much-needed play area for a foster home near Warsaw. The chosen foster family is currently responsible for the well-being of seven children, all under 12 years old. The home is operated by charity, Our Home, which is the largest non-governmental organisation in Poland. It was established in 1991 and has become the most important body dealing with the problems of orphaned and neglected children in the country.

Volunteers will work on the challenge for three full days. Each participant has had to cover their full travel costs to Warsaw, although basic accommodation and food will be provided on site.

The volunteers who will be transforming the foster home and garden in September include: Cosimo Bruzzese, director of sales for Briggs Inc; Michael Gordon, associate VP, business development, eventAcuity; Kevin Edmunds, regional director of sales, West Coast Palace Resorts; Olga Navarro, marketing and sales manager, ITB DMC; Miguel Assis, director of sales and Marketing, TLC - Events in Portugal; Dr Isabel Kuhl, editor, Events Magazine; Aoife Delaney, business development manager UK & Ireland, Ovation Global DMC; Freddy Muller, director -charter and incentives, Silversea Cruises; and Natasha Tome, head of marketing, Dubai Convention Bureau. Two IMEX staff have also been chosen to join and support the volunteer team – Faye Bennett, sales manager and Rachel Munro, marketing executive. Jon Bradshaw, IMEX Business Development Director, will lead the group of volunteers.

The Convention Bureau of Poland which is part of the Polish Tourist Organisation; Meeting Designers; Our Home; the Warsaw Convention Bureau and Radisson Blu Hotel Krakow are all supporting the inaugural IMEX Challenge through sponsorship. Further information: http://www.imex-frankfurt.com/imexchallenge.html