Our experience is that our approach rubs o and sustainability becomes interesting and important to planners.
Green Tourism and Scottish Enterprise to give a 50 per cent discount to Glasgow’s hotels to gain green accreditation ahead of the conference. “If ever there was a conference that embodied the importance of face-to-face meetings to drive and deliver societal bene ts, it is COP26,” says Aileen Crawford, head of Glasgow Convention Bureau. “As conference host city, 1,000 locally based volunteers will be engaged with the conference, the delegates, and the key messages, bringing citizens, community and the conference together as a positive legacy of the event.” In 2019, 15 per cent of all conferences in the city were in the eld of sustainability and if delegates are wondering what to do between keynotes, Glasgow’s 90 parks, gardens, and many free museums and galleries are a good place to start.
Gothenburg
a public-private project and testbed called Gothenburg Green City Zone – which is a large geographic zone of the city where we test new technology for both vehicles and infrastructure, the aim is to achieve 100 per cent emission- free transport,” says Katarina orstensson, sustainability strategist &destination development manager, Goteborg & Co. All major venues are eco-certi ed and 92 per cent of the hotel rooms hold an o cial eco-certi cation. Even the Opera House, Concert Hall and the amusement park are eco-certi ed. Gothenburg is often praised for its intimacy and accessibility, enhanced by its public transport system, 95 per cent of which runs on renewable energy. ere are more than 1,000 city rental bikes available at 60 stations across the city. Delegates can also hop on an electric scooter for a carbon- neutral ride. “If the association or the event planner doesn’t initially ask for sustainability, when we explain our ambitions and how we and suppliers work, it’s usually very well received,” adds orstensson. “Our experience is that our approach rubs o and sustainability becomes interesting and important to the planners.”
GOTHENBURG, SWEDEN Gothenburg has earned its number one spot in the GDS-Index through continued investment in sustainability initiatives, a
C40 : Not yet GDS Index : 1st Sustainability strategy : Goteborg & Co. for meetings and Gothenburg City for tourism
cohort of eco-certi ed venues, and an airport with the highest level of Airport Carbon Accreditation. In 2019, Gothenburg was also named a European Capital of Smart Tourism for its commitment to accessibility, sustainability, digitalisation and cultural heritage. But there is still more to be done. “We have
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