In a bid to help bookers understand the hidden environmental impact of small- and medium-sized meetings, Greengage has introduced the EVENTsmart Impact Portal.
Currently, fewer than five per cent of these meetings have any form of carbon measurement tracking, meaning the vast majority of business-related meeting emissions are completely invisible to organisations trying to meet carbon reduction goals.
Carbon offsetting has been integrated into the portal through Greengage’s chosen partner, Carbon Footprint.
The portal is the first portfolio-wide event carbon calculator designed specifically for meetings of between two and 100 attendees, but it can measure meetings of any size.
Using the portal, venues can provide clients with a simple online overview of carbon emissions. Or they can upgrade to receive more detailed reports based on location-specific factors.
Clients get access to QR codes to facilitate self-reporting and measurement of the whole event, including elements that are not the venue’s responsibility, such as travel.
It also allows for green transportation planning and community impact measurement.
The new portal will enable bookers to make data-driven decisions; for example, they can understand the carbon footprint of a meeting at the planning stage when there’s still time to consider changing venues to reduce emissions.
Greengage has a growing portfolio of ECOsmart-certified properties, but corporate bookers can incorporate all properties they work with on the portal and measure the carbon footprint of all meetings.
Louise Boyse, Greengage’s Commercial Director, said: “When we talk about sustainable events, the conversation typically revolves around large conferences, trade shows and corporate gatherings. Until now, small meetings have been a massive blind spot that actually have a huge impact on emissions from the meetings and events sector.
“It’s easy to consider boardroom sessions, team catch-up, client presentations and workshops as insignificant, but collectively they represent an enormous carbon footprint that has remained largely unmeasured and unaddressed. With the Impact Portal we can now measure the carbon footprint of each and every meeting and clients can make informed decisions about how to reduce it.”
