Making A Difference When You Meet
Business travellers are increasingly mindful of the impact their travel has on our environment. With a strong sense of contributing to saving the planet, they are calling for conference organisers to up their game. Here are a few tips from our conferencing team when planning your conference.
Adding meaning to your conference booking
Spier has partnered with Pack for Purpose, an international project that impacts communities around the world by assisting travellers who want to bring meaningful contributions to each destinations. Spier has selected three projects (an old age home, a community library and primary school) which guests can donate much-needed items to.
The venue’s environmental commitment
It’s important to select a venue that is committed to reducing its environmental footprint. Over the past decade, Spier has reduced municipal water usage by 50% and energy by 30%.
There are over 400 water-saving devices on showers, basins and toilets at Spier. Natural light and ventilation and energy-efficient lighting is used where possible. 100% of organic waste and wastewater as well as more than 98% of solid waste are recycled.
A rigorous monitoring and measurement system means that conference organisers can measure the footprint of each delegate.
Conference packs are great opportunities to communicate the sustainability story to delegates. One could include a solar lamp or indigenous plant as a gift (at Spier these can be obtained from the Tree-preneurs nursery which offers plants nurtured by its network of growers).
On the table, place pens and notebooks of 100% recycled paper for delegate’s use. As Spier leftover stationery can be donated to schoolchildren from surrounding communities.
Instead of plastic bottled water, the venue should offer filtered bottled water which is served in reusable glass bottles.
At break-time
During break-times, select snacks that are healthy both for the planet and body. Spier, for example, offers a variety of teas and organic rooibos as well as filter coffee from Blacksmith, a roastery that motivates for social change and provides a platform for job creation and skills development within the coffee industry. In addition to healthy locally sourced nuts and dried fruit snacks, Spier also offers freshly baked biscuits from the Khayelitsha Cookie Company – a social upliftment project which hires previously unemployed women from that providing skills, training and permanent employment.
Cuisine choices
Ensure that your chosen venue offers sustainable, conference food that is made with seasonal locally sourced and ethically reared ingredients.
Spier offers guests dishes made with ingredients that are sourced from the farm, or nearby, trusted suppliers that share its sustainable ethos. Fresh produce is grown in Spier’s food gardens, without the use of pesticides and artificial fertilisers. Eggs are laid by hens that roam freely in Spier’s pastures.
To prevent overfishing, it’s important to only serve fish that are listed “green” by the South African Sustainable Seafood Initiative (SASSI).
Inspiring excursions
Choose a venue which offers excursions that can inspire delegates to make a positive difference to the environment and its community.
Spier offers a number of activities that showcase its sustainability efforts – delegates can visit the environmentally friendly wastewater treatment plant, or take a tour of the Tree-preneurs nursery. They can also collect eggs from the free-roaming chickens and also learn about organic gardening in the food garden.
Get in touch with our conferencing team here, or on +27 (21) 809 1100.