Meetings Africa 2018 demonstrates sustainable principles

MMeetings Africa 2018 continues to drive the importance of sustainability, focusing specifically on the conscious use and preservation of water. The Event Greening Forum (EGF) recently hosted a half-day training session at the Exhibitor Briefing sessions, so to reiterate the lessons learned, please click here to read more. 

It is vital that Meetings Africa follows greening principles. We therefore have encouraged all exhibitors, hosted buyers and delegates to follow this trend by implementing measures that reduce their carbon footprint, as well as energy consumption. The goal is to expand the overall conversation and incite discussions that result in solving some of the main issues that planners and suppliers face daily. This includes identifying and addressing the environmental impact of business events and the promotion of sustainable business initiatives. 

Droughts have plagued the continent, including Sub-Saharan Africa, over the past year, adversely affecting a large percentage of its citizens, farmers, communities and businesses. This year we’re addressing a host of environmental issues, highlighting the precautions and interventions needed in the industry to ensure its future growth. 

Delegates, hosted buyers and exhibitors are encouraged to:

• Offset your carbon footprint by purchasing a tree for only R130 excluding VAT. After the event, the trees will be planted in a local community in partnership with Food & Trees for Africa (FTFA) as part of the Meetings Africa CSI initiative.
• Submit your entries for the Green Stand Awards as the winners will be announced at the welcome dinner on day one of Meetings Africa 2018.
• Reduce energy consumption by choosing energy-efficient technology for your stand such as LED lighting or energy-efficient screens.
• Encourage staff to carpool to reduce their carbon footprint and alleviate traffic congestion.
• Use the Gautrain and shuttle services if travelling from out-of-town.
• If you choose to exhibit with rolled carpeting at your stand, this may be donated to a charity after the show.
• Avoid distributing printed hand-outs and rather share information electronically.
• If offering gifts to people visiting your stands, try to procure locally produced items and, in the process, support the local economy.
• Choose eco-friendly stand designs. If using a shell scheme stand, opt for eco-friendly accessories or the executive package with fabric graphics that be re-used at future events.
• Select indigenous and locally grown plants for your stand. A range of indigenous plants is available, including Yellowwood, Natal Mahogany, Mother-in-law’s Tongue and Chlorophytum.
• Encourage the drinking of free filtered tap water available on the exhibition floor rather than bottled water – a R10 surcharge will be levied on all bottled water. This money will be donated to the Meetings Africa carbon-offset programme, a local co-opt in Cape Town to assist farms affected by the water shortages http://abalimibezekhaya.org.za
• Encourage the use of recycling bins during the show.
• Plan meetings around the show to ensure people remain in one location at the same time. Meetings Africa provides the perfect opportunity to meet, and thereby decrease, the need for any unnecessary travel.