Ecolabel: Green Meetings & Events

GREEN MEETINGS & EVENTS | ECOLABEL 62

Messe Wien Exhibition & Congress Center is a licensee of the Austrian Ecolabel for Green Meetings & Green Events.

The option of certifying your show as a Green Meeting or Green Event helps us to raise the bar to the next level in terms of economies, ecology and social responsibility. We’re not just here to do our best for customers – we’re also particularly committed to caring for the environment. As a large business hub in Vienna we must also accept responsibility for the future. Let’s take on this responsibility together as we turn your event ‘green’.

A ‘Green’ certificate shows that you’re a pioneer. It has the added benefit of an image boost for your event and your brand in the eyes of participants, customers, sponsors and the local population.

How do I get my Green Meeting certified?

If you are organising a conference, meeting or other event and would like it to be certified according to the Austrian Ecolabel criteria, a number of conditions must be met.

In addition to complying with the mandatory criteria, a minimum number of optional criteria must be satisfied. These optional criteria can be freely chosen, and each one contributes a certain number of points. The requirements of the UZ62 Guideline are considered fulfilled if the mandatory criteria are complied with, and the minimum points required for the type of event in question is reached by complying with optional criteria.

Certification process

1. Assessment of whether the event is suitable for certification (Guideline section 1.1).
2. Written agreement/consent from a licensee (Messe Wien) for certification of the event.
3. From this point onwards the following words may be used in conjunction with the event: “We are working to host the event in accordance with criteria for the Austrian Ecolabel for Green Meetings and Green Events.”
4. Planning the meeting in accordance with green meeting criteria; provision of all relevant evidence by the organiser and its entry into the Green Meetings database by the licensee (Messe Wien).
5. Once all of the necessary criteria have been met, the following words may be used when advertising the event:
   This event meets the criteria for the Austrian Ecolabel for Green Meetings & Green Events.

In the following areas, the following obligatory (minimum requirements) must still be satisfied. In order to achieve the total number of points required for certification, and specified additional criteria should also be met.

BECAUSE AT MESSE WIEN MANY OF THE STATED CRITERIA ARE ALREADY FULFILLED BY THE EXHIBITION & CONGRESS CENTER.

• Environmental protection and mobility (support for environmentally friendly arrival and departure of participants, mobility at side events, bike stands)
• Venue (location, accessibility, environmental standards)
• Accommodation (short distances by road or on foot, ecolabel accommodation)
• Purchasing, material and waste management (waste management plan, reusable packaging, ecologically sound printing options, paperless events, recyclable decorations, no give-aways)
• Catering (regional, seasonal, organic)
• Exhibitors, stand building (contractual agreement on implementation of required environmental standards)
• Power & water (electricity from renewable energies, energy efficient event technology, environmentally friendly cleaning)
• Social responsibility (consideration of gender and other aspects of diversity, accessibility, inclusion of all involved parties in the planning process)
• Communication (information to all participants, suppliers and employees regarding environmental sustainability)

The stated must-do and should-do criteria have the support of the Consumer Protection Association (VKI) and the Ministry for Life, thus guaranteeing that your event receives official, state inspected certification.

Please remember: an early decision to hold a Green Meeting/Event makes the planning phase significantly easier!

Downloads

Green Meetings & Green Events | Checklist for organizers

Green Meetings & Green Events | Eco-label Guideline UZ 62

If you are interested and would like detailed information on how simple it is to stage your event as a Green Meeting & Green Event – please contact us:

Ms. Susanne Zehntner
T: +43 1 72720 2301
M: susanne.zehntner@rxglobal.com