Under the campaign #everythingiscloser we went to visit the capital of Denmark, Copenhagen in September for 24 hours to discover everything MICE related. Copenhagen is an easy to access city where it’s also easy to get around by foot, bike or public transport. This reflects the Danish way of living, sustainable practices, active way of life and modern infrastructure.
After this short but eventful trip we can honestly say that we are now closer to…
I arrived in Copenhagen for a short 24 Hours press trip with Visit Denmark and was greeted by Erik from Visit Denmark and my colleague Kim who arrived early noon and had some time already to explore the city.
Luckily, it wasn’t my first time in Copenhagen, so the short and condensed time for all the activities we had planned ahead didn’t make me nervous, in contrary; the agenda was packed with new and exciting activities to showcase the latest openings in the city which we were eager to explore the following day.
Back in 2014 I was in Copenhagen for the #BeeSustain Tweet Tour and a few months later the same year I was back for the #MIND fam trip and attended the #Meetovation training. These experiences introduced me to the city’s sustainable strategy, and showcased how local suppliers can support event professionals to get higher ROI on meetings by implementing the Danish Meeting Design. One year later I was back on a private visit to revisit favourite parts of the city.
Three years on, and Copenhagen is still on the forefront of sustainability and creative Danish Meeting Design, with more new venues and developments to explore. Moreover, the city is more connected and everything just got closer.
Currently, two of the biggest industry trends are technology and sustainability. Both are very high on the corporate agenda but planners are still struggling from various reasons to fully implement them. Some of which include not seeing the ROI, no attendee engagement, no budgets, data privacy or just can’t bother.
When we talk about sustainability, first thought that comes to mind is recycling. How can we reduce our waste or save money? When we talk about technology, it’s about data. Why not enough attendees download our event app, why they don’t share enough on social media or sign up for our platform? Data can create compelling case studies backed by analytics to present to sponsors and improve future events.
There is one thing sustainability and technology need but planners are still straggling with – engagement. How can we communicate sustainability to our attendees in a fun and engaging way? How can we use technology to collect data without being too intrusive?
There is simple answer to this question and it’s Pavegen.
What is Pavegen? Launched in 2009 by Laurence Kemball-Cook, an industrial design engineer and graduate of Loughborough University, it’s a flooring system that generates power and data from footsteps. Pavegen tiles can be used in both indoor and outdoor locations and work best where there is high footfall such as retail and transport hubs. The technology is integrated, discreetly, into the existing environment, underfoot. Pavegen units are also available in modular form for use at events, such as exhibitions and marketing campaigns, to demonstrate their commitment to innovation, sustainability and CSR initiatives.
I was first introduced to Pavegen when they had their installation in Canary Wharf few years ago and last year attended Laurence’s presentation at Sustainable Brands London. Keeping in touch with his team I was honoured to be invited to their event on 11th May at BAFTA where they revealed new brand and new product for Pavegen.
Put very simply, Pavegen is a floor that generates energy that generates data and their aim is to connect communities with people-generated energy around the world. The product that has been revealed last week, known as V3, is sleeker and far more efficient, generating over 200 times more power than the first model manufactured in 2009. They powered a football pitch in Brazil and it will be soon installed in Westfield Stratford and Oxford Street in London.
What are the opportunities for event planners using this technology? Pavegen’s new unique triangular design maximises energy output and data capture and can be used at major exhibitions to capture attendee’s footfall. Its high durability and simple deployability allows Pavegen to generate renewable energy where and when it is needed and lastly Pavegen’s flooring is entirely customisable to reflect any brand identity with the ability to seamlessly integrate into any indoor or outdoor location.
Greatest opportunity I personally see for event organisers is that through data applications Pavegen offers, which includes a comprehensive analysis of consumer patterns by continuous footfall tracking and heat mapping, is that it will allow organisers track attendee behaviour, collect data about busiest hours during the exhibition, busiest days, most popular exhibitors and better tailor exhibition’s programme for next event. With the growing concern about privacy, Pavegen has the ability to track footfall anonymously. By gamifying sustainability at events, attendees will engage more with sustainability and event technology.
Lastly, Pavegen and Tribal Planet also announced their collaboration to implement game-changing plans for the Pavegen technology. Jeff Martin, CEO of Tribal Planet presented how the two companies will be creating a digital application, using public venues and access points around the world to monitor the energy generated on each Pavegen tile. The app platform will follow a ‘redeem and donate’ scheme, where the energy generated by each individual’s footsteps provides them with an energy currency that can be redeemed for exclusive experiences and events access, and donated to social causes to deprived areas. From attention based economy to now behaviour based economy, people will be now able to vote with their actions, better understand and value the choices they make.
Sustainability is more than recycling or using renewable energy. Sustainability is about engaging our future generations in the energy saving process, making them learn, engage and understand that process and Pavegen is the only form of renewable energy attendees can engage with at events.
In February I attended an Event Marketing Association (EMA) event about sustainability at the Royal Society of Chemistry. EMA is a not-for-profit industry association for in-house corporate event planners and hosts monthly educational events for its members and it’s the only association I’m a member of.
Sustainability is high on the corporate agenda but are we, event planners, doing enough to drive change and run more sustainable events?
Two fantastic speakers Anna Loveridge, Creative Content Co-ordinator at Positive Impact Events and Sam Wilson, Director and Founder at EcoEvents joined to share their experience and expertise with us.
Anna opened the discussion and said it’s not a one size fits all and it’s very important to look at what you are doing now before you do more, e.g. – do the delegates need a transport to and from the venue, do they use plastic or glass bottles, do they have notepads that are wasted in the end of the event etc.
She added that planners have to be creative and innovative with sustainability, an example is to choose food based on what the venue has to offer for the week rather than asking for particular items.
Good practice is to start by doing the small and “obvious” things, ones that look easy, and with the money saved do things for the long term.
Then we discussed the ISO 20121 accreditation which is an international standard used by 30 countries that specifies the requirements for organisations in the events industry to improve their sustainability practices across different areas, e.g. – waste, legacy, food etc., not all need to be tackled at once.
Sam said it’s important for planners to get to know their corporate policy and request suppliers on key event deliverables. Also it’s important to have this agreement in writing.
Sustainability is not “either or” phenomenon. There is no such thing as a sustainable or green event and this thinking is a barrier to change. It’s about making measurable progress, incorporating the three pillars – social, economic and environmental, including them in the decision making process and making it a process of continual improvement cycle: plan, do, check and act.
Sam presented the event sustainability policy which event planners can follow to be able to prioritise their actions. Start by defining who the key parties are and what matters to them (Internal teams, sponsors, community, participants). Then put plans, programmes and legislations in place and train people in what they need to know about them. Lastly, check what you’re doing, what goes well and what doesn’t and enhance the plan for the next event cycle. By following this process you can prioritise what to focus on first and you don’t need to focus on all at once.
This presentation was followed by an interesting Q & A before further drinks, food and networking.
The catering was served by Harbour & Jones, my favourite caterer in the UK. We had canapés to start with, followed by bowl food.
In this post I am very happy to share with you the highlight of our #BeeSustain Tweet Tour but before I have a very exciting announcement: this week Wonderful Copenhagen Convention Bureau has won the 2014 ICCA Best PR Award at the ICCA Congress in Antalya for their #BeeSustain campaign! The award was based on different criteria, including strong story-telling, high-visibility coverage, brand consistency, PR reaction to a crisis, and PR that showcases success, covering both traditional print and web/social media channels.
That announcement sets the theme for what I want to share with you now, as our #BeeSustain Tweet Tour also had a wonderful story over the three days. I couldn’t think about better title for this post as the one given by ICCA for thier press release: “Wonderful Copenhagen Convention Bureau Tells its Story Best”.
On our first day in Copenhagen we watched the Danish documentary Good Things Await which was released on 3rd of September 2014 and since gained national and international recognition. The movie is about an 80 years old farmer, Niels Stokholm, at the biodynamic Thorshøjgaard farm north of Copenhagen which is owned by a foundation, the Thorshøjgaard Fonden (biodynamic refers to a method of organic farming).
While I don’t want to reveal too much from the movie because I highly recommend you to watch it, the storyline is about sustainable thinking and the importance of being in harmony with the nature. Niels follows his farming principles while the authorities threaten to withdraw his licence over the farm because his way of farming does not comply with their regulations.
The movie was very emotional and educating and we continued discussing it over dinner, before visiting the farm on the following day.
Early morning on the following day we drove to Thorshøjgaard farm to meet Niels. We were hosted at his home, where the movie was also filmed. Niels is now 80 years old, before becoming a farmer in the age of 42, he worked as an engineer, job that brought him to travel the world and he speaks English fluently. He also told us that he became a farmer because of this strong believe to connect the nature and humanity in a sustainable and harmonic way and that he sees himself as one of the few who can really represent and support the farmers in front of governments and authorities.
Later we continued to see his cattle, pigs and sheeps living in their natural environment. The animal herd consists of the original red Danish dairy breed and this breed has a strong immune system and has never been mixed with industrial breeding. It has been appointed for conservation by the National Genetic Resources Committee.
I was very impressed by his energy and enthusiasm and his friendliness to welcome us in his home.
On the third day we visited and had lunch at the Copenhagen Street Food and met with Jesper Møller, the founder. Copenhagen Street Food is a social enterprise and supports the original Danish dairy breed and the Thorshøjgaard farm by donating 5 DKK from every bottle of water sold at the Copenhagen Street Food. In September this year Jesper also donated 400,000 DKK to the Thorshøjgaard foundation to help out to restore damage caused by adverse weather.
The Copenhagen Street Food can be also used as a venue for meetings and events and offers a variety of international food with over 30 food trucks.
While there are many ways to incorporate sustainability and CSR into events, I have learned the following from Niels and Copenhagen Street Food:
I am still thinking about this powerful message and will watch the movie again.
I would love to hear your thoughts on the topic and how you incorporate sustainability and responsible thinking into your events?
All photos © The MICE Blog
