Each year, Meetings Africa hosts Green Stand and Green Hotel Awards to recognize and reward its most sustainable exhibitors and partner hotels. This is in line with South African Tourism’s (SA Tourism) goal to host the event sustainably, and is also why only Green Awards are given out at the show.
The Event Greening Forum, a non-profit organisation promoting sustainable event practices, assists SA Tourism with the judging process, supplying the judging criteria and independent judges.
This year saw some familiar green champions receiving awards, as well as a number of newcomers. They are:
Green Stand Award (small stands)
- Winner – Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC)
- Runner up – ONOMO Hotels
CTICC and ONOMO both exhibited with their re-usable (and re-used) stands. An effort was made to share marketing collateral digitally, rather than with printed handouts. The CTICC had also taken old branding and repurposed it into gift bags for the visitors to their stand.
Green Stand Award (medium stands)
- Winner – Uganda Convention Bureau
- Runner up – the forum
Both exhibitors has opted to use a mix of raw wood and re-usable stretch fabric for their stands. The Uganda Convention Bureau’s stand also featured potted plants rather than cut flowers.
Green Stand Award (large stands)
- Winner – Century City Conference Centre and Hotel
- Runner up – Cape Town and Western Cape Convention Bureau (WESGRO)
The WESGRO stand was constructed entirely out of Xanita Board, an eco-friendly material, while Century City’s stand was made from repurposed materials from its Meetings Africa exhibits for the last five years and which is stored in Johannesburg between shows.
Green Hotel Awards
- Winner – The Maslow Hotel
- Runner up – Sandton Sun Hotel
This year, the judges did surprise visits to all partner hotels, and were impressed with the knowledge the hotel staff displayed about the waste management systems in place, as well as how the properties save water and strive for energy efficiency. The Maslow Hotel scored additional points for its worm farm for food waste, and its onsite food garden which supplies the kitchen with fresh produce.
Grace Stead, a sustainability consultant and one of the Green Stand Award judges, said, “Over the years we have definitely seen a growing awareness and willingness to act on sustainable issues. We want to encourage everyone to keep up the good work.”
She added that, where there is scope for improvement, is for exhibitors to reduce the amount of printed materials on their stands, and to look for opportunities to involve their local communities when it comes to gifting.
