Green is good—not just for the environment, but also for venues looking to set themselves apart in their marketing. As more brands and companies look to partner with eco-friendly vendors, different types of sites are gathering attention for their sustainability initiatives.
A PCO when organizing a conference, needs to put in place tried-and-tested event strategies, as well as keeping in mind the environment in which they are operating and its relevant trends.
The current trends in the South African conference industry:
• greening
• videoconferencing for smaller meetings
• less-expensive accommodation options
• changing programme structures
• decrease in delegate numbers
These trends can be attributed to increased attention to sustainability and greening, as well as the impact of the financial crisis and subsequent recession. While the South African setting is unique, conferencing is globalised and it is always important to evaluate international trends. As a developing economy, South Africa will always be subject to global economic factors.
It has become standard operating procedure for PCOs to institute a conference-greening policy. Local and international trends support this and with an increasing number of clients now demanding a green event, PCOs need a practical green policy in place to secure work.
And a “green venue” is a great place to start!
African Agenda has been pleased to note that many South African conference venues have significantly increased their sustainability by instituting on-site recycling facilities, limiting the use of bottled water, and implementing automated light and temperature controls to reduce electricity usage.
Despite this, there will always be a need for face-to-face conferences, especially for association conferences and annual conventions, which demand the benefit of face-to-face interaction networking opportunities, have exhibition requirements, and must meet the constitutional requirements of AGMs.
Another aspect of conferencing affected by the financial crisis is accommodation and an increase in the demand for cheaper accommodation options has certainly been seen. Many companies have implemented travel restrictions and policies regarding accommodation choices:
PCOs need to respond to this and widen the accommodation offering to include less expensive alternatives for self-funded delegates.
South Africa is home to a number of fully sustainable hotels and venues, and using these
Valverde Eco Hotel, Johannesburg
Valverde literally means ‘green valley’ in Spanish and Italian, and they have implemented the following:
Grey water recycling plant, solar geysers and recycling of kitchen waste to make own compost as well as recycling of paper, glass and cans.
Water saving devices and eco friendly chemicals from washing powders and cleaning products are in place and they also support local and organic farming by purchasing as much of their produce from local organic farmers.worm tea
Energy efficient lighting has installed on all outside areas, and next phase projects include energy efficient lighting in the rooms and function halls, and an organic vegetable farm.
Contact: info@valverde.co.za or Tel +27 (0)10 591 6840
The Oyster Box, Durban
The Oyster Box Hotel, located on the beach in Umhlanga, may not look very environmentally friendly but in fact when the hotel was re-built a lot of effort went into ensuring the hotel was as green as possible. The hotel makes use of sustainable water and electricity techniques while a number of smaller practices are performed at the hotel including recycling and the planting of indigenous vegetation.
Contact: oysterboxhotel.com, wayne@oysterbox.co.za, Tel +27315145203
Hotel Verde, Cape Town
This new hotel is set to open in July 2013 at the Cape Town International Airport is one of Africa’s greenest hotel projects. Hotel Verde is set to have an amazing array of green elements including wind turbines, a vegetated green roof, an electric airport shuttle, a grey water recycling plant, occupancy sensors in the rooms and a regenerative drive on the elevators.
Contact: hotelverde.com, info@hotelverde.com, Tel +27213851181
