Conventa is committed to sustainable transformation

# tags: Conventa , Meetings Industry , Sustainability

The banner of making events increasingly sustainable and environmentally friendly is not new for Conventa's organisers.

In this edition, Conventa measured its carbon footprint, in order to know the effects and implement measures to reduce its impact. Conventa brought together this summer, between the 24th and 25th of August, professionals from the meetings and events industry in Ljubljana, Slovenia. As part of Conventa Week, alongside the Conventa Crossover conference and the Conventa Best Event Award, the event was attended by 145 hosted buyers from 33 countries and 93 exhibitors, such as destinations, convention bureaux, venues, among others.

The event is a strategic product in promoting Slovenia as a MICE destination of excellence and as the 'star' of the region defined by Conventa as New Europe, which encompasses the Balkans, Eastern Europe, Greece and Turkey. Attracting international events is the main goal of the destination, as confirmed by Fredi Fontanov, from the Slovenia Convention Bureau, co-organiser of the event, at the opening conference.

Industry recovery in Ljubljana has been positive and the Slovenian capital even occupies a place in the top 10 in terms of tourism recovery in Europe, according to Petra Stusek, from Ljubljana Tourism, also a co-organiser of the event. And initiatives like Conventa are the perfect platform to reaffirm the destination's potential for business events.

Event generated 275.4 tons of CO2 emissions

And if the location and adequate infrastructure for the meetings and events industry are assets, as highlighted by Karmen Novarlic, from the Slovenian Tourism Board, it is also necessary to take into account the fact that Slovenia is an environmentally friendly country.

“We work a lot on sustainability” in different sectors, including events, added Petra Stusek, from Ljubljana Tourism. “We want to live sustainably”, implementing this way of being on a daily basis. And everyday life involves the events that the city hosts.

It is with this 'green' thought that Conventa takes place and always with the aim to reduce its environmental impacts. Always trying to understand the effects and what can be done afterwards to counteract them, Conventa went ahead this year, in partnership with Climate Partner, with the measurement of the carbon footprint of the event.

And in the 2022 edition, 275.4 tons of CO2 emissions were generated, equivalent to 255 kilos per day per participant – the same as the annual average of carbon emissions of 30 citizens of the European Union, says the organisation. Of these values, 88.2% result from transporting participants to the Conventa; 6.1% from hotel accommodation; 2.5% for the transport of equipment and technical teams; 1.9% from venue, 1.2% from catering (food and beverages), among other factors.

“The next steps are crucial. 275 tons of CO2 are a great starting point for updating our sustainability system and the 5R methodology (Rethink, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Refuse)”, on which the organisation of the event is based, as maintained by Gorazd Čad, co-founder of Conventa , in a statement.

After calculating these values, the organisation will proceed with a detailed analysis of the numbers so that action can be taken, in order to make the next edition of the Convent even more sustainable. The organisation already encourages participants to use alternative means of transport, so that their emissions are reduced. It is also planned to obtain ISO 2021 certification, related to sustainable events, and to hold online training courses dedicated to the same topic.

Event returns in winter

At Conventa, numerous meetings and business meetings were held, between hand-picked exhibitors and hosted buyers – 22.9% of registered professionals were selected. A bet on the quality of the participants, in order to add value to the event.

Alongside the educational and networking sessions, the organization also promoted guided tours to the center of Ljubljana and fam trips, to publicize nine destinations in four countries. “One of the biggest advantages of Conventa is the fam trips, which are the main reason why we welcome the best European event organizers to the event. This is what sets Conventa apart from other fairs”, stressed Miha Kovačič, co-founder of Conventa, in a press release.