SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE OPERATIONS
In our 2019 Meeting Room of the Future Report, when meeting planners were asked what the most important venue elements would be for the future, they ranked social and ethical practices as the second most important element. In this edition of the study, we asked venue operators the same question and they ranked social and ethical practices as the most important element (graph provided on page 6). Growing climate concerns has made the “sustainable lifestyle” an imperative. CGS, a global provider of business applications, enterprise learning and outsourcing services, found in their 2019 Retail and Sustainability Survey that more than two-thirds of respondents consider sustainability when making a purchase. Several other studies, including the Event Industry Council’s 2019 State of Sustainability study have found similar results where consumer’s environmentally conscious choices are extending to almost every industry and they are bringing their preferences along with them to meetings.
Does your venue have in place...
Unsure No
Yes
The ability to manage food waste
A social responsibility policy statement
13% 13%
3%
8%
74%
89%
The ability to donate unused food to local community outreach programs
A program to reduce the consumption of single use plastics
10%
8%
67%
10%
23%
82%
Environmental or sustainability policy statement
5%
15%
80%
Community giving activities for all staff to participate in
5%
21%
74%
The impact that venues can have on their staff, their attendees and their local communities’ social responsibilities is considerable. Inspired by this, IACC’s Better Tomorrow global program was launched earlier this year. IACC sees a post COVID-19 future where being socially conscious and active will be more important as a result of our experiences from the pandemic.
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IACConline.org & IACCmeetings.com
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