On 2-3 October 2024, the first edition of a brand-new conference, dedicated to finding innovative solutions in the meetings industry that will meet the critical challenges of climate change, was held in Barcelona. Convene 4 Climate was organised by the Strategic Alliance of the National Convention Bureaux of Europe (SANCBE) and the Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA).
The organisers prepared a list of participants to invite from Europe and the United States to allow people representing the entire value chain of business events to meet in one place. In order to help create a sustainable future, the new conference brought together 120 participants from various meeting industry sectors, climate technology experts and professionals from related industries.
Among the participants were: Paula Fanderowska, Vice President of Krakow5020 nominated in 2022 for the “Rise and Raise Others” award granted by the UN Women (the UN recognised her efforts to promote sustainable development in the tourism sector), and Aneta Książek, head of the Poland Convention Bureau, which represents Poland in the forum of the Strategic Alliance of the National Convention Bureaux of Europe.
Attendees took part in a programme designed for intensive interaction, combining exploration of climate projects with solution-based workshops.
The conference
The conference began with a community mixer on Wednesday evening at the European headquarters of NTT Data at the Artificial Intelligence Centre of Excellence – the most sustainable office in Europe – where participants of Convene 4 Climate took turns in an exploration of four climate technology projects. One of the presented projects was an initiative of the Strategic Alliance of the National Convention Bureaux of Europe under the name Sustainable Hub for Events, or SHE for short. SHE is an AI-based tool, powered by new and relevant content, designed to become an extensive library of practical resources to empower meeting industry professionals in creating sustainable events. By sharing our knowledge, we contribute to creating a greener and more responsible meeting and event industry.
Poland Convention Bureau is responsible for providing SHE with Polish data. Among the documents uploaded to the platform there will be “Decarbonisation Strategy. From WHY to Offset”, a document recently developed by members of Kraków Network, an initiative managed by Krakow5020, the operator of ICE Kraków, as well as the publication “Green Events in Wrocław” prepared by the Convention Bureau – Wrocław team.
The next day, the conference was hosted in the space of the Barcelona International Convention Centre (CCIB). Four experts presented the key challenges for achieving the ESG objectives:
- “Why we are here.” — Paul Dickinson, cofounder and managing partner of consultancy company Transition Value Partners
- “Who we need.” — Montse Guàrdia Güell, chief people and culture officer of electronics company IDEADED and president of the UPC (Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya) Board of Trustees
- “What are the barriers to be broken?” — Michael Nau, director of sales and sustainability, Lufthansa
- “How to design our way out.” — Vojtech Vosecky, founder, The Circular Economist
The presentations were an introduction to interactive workshops that took place later that day. The participants were split into four groups in which they were to develop the tactics needed to guarantee a sustainable future for the meetings industry.
“The main goal of Convene 4 Climate was to bring together the forces of leaders from Europe and America, who worked on the diagnosis and counteracting of climate challenges during the workshops. The overriding goal was to develop tactics leading to the transformation of our sector toward sustainable development. I am glad that Paula Fanderowska and myself took an active part in this work, showing our commitment and good practices in reducing the carbon footprint of the meetings industry in Poland”, said Aneta Książek.
The workshop part for suppliers, organisers and convention bureaux ended with the presentation of creative solutions, which can be implemented as new projects under the auspices of PCMA. All innovative solutions will be included in the report published as a tangible proof that these solutions come directly from the industry which is a special driver of the transformation toward climate neutrality.
Find out more: Convene 4 Climate
