Launch of Go Greener in Glasgow

Glasgow Convention Bureau launches a new support service for conference organisers looking to host a more sustainable meetings in the city.

The Go Greener in Glasgow initiative brings to life the ambitions of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) through an interactive workshop for meeting planners, Professional Conference Organisers and academic conference Ambassadors looking for practical tips on delivering a sustainable conference, aligned to the UN SDGs.

Aileen Crawford, Head of Conventions said: “The UN Sustainable Development Goals were already a key component of our People Make Glasgow Greener Strategy. The workshop concept builds on our Go Greener toolkit for conference organisers looking to deliver a more sustainable meeting in our city. The interactive format of the workshop allows each conference to make its own decisions on the Goals that best align to their vision and mission and then communicate these sustainable actions to their members, sponsors and stakeholders.”

The Convention Bureau team are keen to do their bit to advocate for sustainable business events, continuously building on the range of free services offered to clients and delegates through the People Make Glasgow Greener strategy. Glasgow Convention Bureau was the first Bureau to gain Green Tourism accreditation and sign up to Tourism Declares a Climate Emergency. In 2016, Glasgow was the first UK city to join the Global Destination Sustainability Index of sustainable tourism and events cities, currently ranking 4th in the world.  All of this positive action in support of sustainable meetings comes at a time when Glasgow gears up to host the UN Conference on Climate Change, COP26, at the Scottish Event Campus later this year.

British Society for Rheumatology: “The UK’s leading rheumatology conference is taking place at the SEC Glasgow in April 2022. As well as the delivering the foremost gathering of leading rheumatology professionals, the BSR are keen to look at how we can run a sustainable event for our members. As well as meeting at the SEC, a Gold Green Tourism accredited venue, we are delighted to be working with the Glasgow Convention Bureau to put into practise some practical tips from their Go Greener toolkit, to help us align our responsible conference planning with the UN Sustainable Development Goals.”

Neil Brownlee, Head of Business Events, VisitScotland said: “The team at VisitScotland is incredibly passionate about the business events community being a driver for change. A lot of the messaging for the new Go Greener in Glasgow initiative resonates with our recently launched Journey to Change campaign.”

“Whilst as an industry we are becoming more thoughtful of our impact on the environment, more needs to be done. This new initiative is an opportunity for planners and organisers to learn from the team in Glasgow on how to implement more sustainable practices for their events. It is also a platform to shine a light on Scotland’s forward thinking in this arena and the great progress that Glasgow, as a city, has made in the sustainability field.”