not balanced out until decades later. e shorter the timescale the more quickly the o set will generate avoidance that makes the di erence and reduces that long term damage. Are there any other kind of offsetting projects? SM: ere’s a whole range of projects out there, but you want to look at a project that is permanent so that it won’t be undone. You want it to be additional, so it’s something that needs your funding to make it happen. Is ‘sustainable growth’ a contradiction in terms? GB: If we step away from thinking about growth in economic terms, growth can be social, environmental, and cultural. I want to shift the thinking away from sustainability to regeneration. Because sustainability, to most people, is about doing less bad. It’s about, how do we y a little bit less, reduce our emissions by 10 per cent, or get rid of plastic pens? at doesn’t tackle the systemic issues we have with our world. So, what’s the alternative? GB: We must move to another level, which is rethinking business models or economies, and that is a regenerative business model, where everything we do is starting to heal and recover or replenish our economic, environmental, and social systems. We use a PCO. Isn’t it their job to make sure our events are green? NZ: We’re all in this together, it’s not down to one person. During the pandemic, instead of doing their own due diligence, I saw many planners say, ‘Oh, the venue’s going to take care of that, they’re supplying PPE and sanitising stations. ey’ve got protocols and we’re just following that.” But they needed to take responsibility too, in the same way with sustainability. It’s everybody’s bag. e sustainability director should be enrolling the conference manager and saying, “ is is what we’re doing, we’re working together, how can we support you?” We need to be reporting to stakeholders, involving the vendors, and asking them what’s new in the way of sustainable materials and practices. How can we put pressure on our suppliers to be more sustainable? EAM: Begin with considering who is in your supply chain, how they can help, what you can do to help them, for example, providing them with longer lead times on projects. You need to understand what innovations they’ve got, what sustainable materials they can o er, providing them with briefs and bringing them into that conversation as early as possible so that they have time to nd solutions.
GLOSSARY
Net zero A t r et of completel ne t n the mount of reenhouse ses produced b hum n ct v t , to be ch eved b reduc n em ss ons nd mplement n methods of bsorb n c rbon d ox de from the tmosphere
C rbon neutr l m n or result n n no net rele se of c rbon d ox de nto the tmosphere, espec ll s result of c rbon offsett n
C rbon offsett n The ct on or process of compens t n for c rbon d ox de em ss ons r s n from ndustr l or other hum n ct v t , b p rt c p t n n schemes des ned to m e equ v lent reduct ons of c rbon d ox de n the tmosphere P r s A reement The P r s A reement s n ntern t on l tre t on cl m te ch n e, dopted n 2015 It covers cl m te ch n e m t t on, d pt t on, nd f n nce Sust n ble Development Go ls A collect on of 17 nterl ned lob l o ls des ned to be “bluepr nt to ch eve better nd more sust n ble future for ll” Greenw sh The process of conve n f lse mpress on or prov d n m sle d n nform t on bout sust n b l t pr ct ces
R ce To Zero R ce to Zero s c mp n to r ll le dersh p nd support from bus nesses, c t es, re ons, nvestors for he lth , res l ent, zero c rbon recover 0 %
AMIMAGAZINE.GLOBAL 2022 #1 15
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