BPA iCompli Sustainability, a division of global assurance provider BPA Worldwide, announced it served as technical writer to Singapore’s national standards and accreditation body, Enterprise Singapore, which created a set of Waste Management guidelines and best practices for Singapore’s MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions) and events industry in the form of a Workshop Agreement (WA)*. BPA iCompli Sustainability worked closely with SACEOS (Singapore Association of Convention & Exhibition Organisers & Suppliers) to bring about this new guidance.
While focus continues to shift toward sustainable practices within the Singapore events industry, a single set of accepted practices specific to waste management and Singapore’s MICE industry had not yet been established and adopted. The development of the WA for sustainable MICE guidelines for waste management answers that challenge.
This initiative is a continuation of Singapore Tourism Board’s (STB) and Singapore MICE Sustainability Roadmap announced 1 December 2022. That roadmap sets out clear targets and strategies to raise sustainability practices across Singapore’s MICE industry over the next few years. The roadmap is guided by the Singapore Green Plan 2030 and the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals. Specifically, the Singapore MICE industry is to start tracking waste and carbon emissions by 2023, to reduce waste as aligned with the Singapore Green Plan by 2030 and achieve net-zero emissions by 2050 in line with the national net-zero target.
The waste management WA includes guidelines and best practices for the MICE industry to establish waste management practices that can be verified. It is applicable across the MICE supply chain, including event organizers, venues, event builders, food and beverage providers and exhibitors. The guidelines are applicable to MICE business events with 50 or more persons in attendance. Event types outside of MICE business events can also benefit from these guidelines and best practices.
The WA considers the various supply chain participants – and the respective types of waste they generate – to account for the waste contributions from a MICE business event. It provides guidance to reduce waste by each stakeholder and enables them to establish specific initiatives and performance expectations to meet
the Singapore Green Plan 2030’s goal of a 30% reduction in the amount of waste sent to landfill per capita per day by 2030.
Sukumar Verma, SACEOS Vice President for Industry & Enterprise, Co-Chair of the MICE Sustainability Committee and Managing Director, Informa Markets, said, “MICE players in Singapore are actively incorporating and prioritising focused sustainability initiatives. Our guidelines on waste management are aimed at equipping the local industry with tools and best practice for reducing waste, alongside reusing and recycling. Along with upcoming guidelines for Carbon and Energy Management, our aim is to support the sustainable transformation of the MICE industry, and position Singapore as one of the most sustainable MICE destinations in Asia Pacific, and a choice destination for green events.”
This WA is a provisional standard made available for application over a period of two years. Users of the WA are invited to provide feedback on its technical content, clarity and ease of use. Feedback can be submitted using a form provided in the WA. At the end of the two years, the WA will be reviewed, considering any feedback or other considerations, to further its development as a Technical Reference or Singapore Standard, continue as a WA for further industry trials or be withdrawn.
“We are happy to have assisted Singapore in the development of these important waste management sustainability guidelines and best practices for the meetings and events industry,” noted Glenn Hansen, the technical writer and Executive Strategic Advisor at BPA Worldwide. “With a growing demand for sustainable initiatives throughout Singapore’s MICE and events industry, compliance to Waste Management practices – and independent certification to those guidelines – will give organizations a significant competitive advantage in the marketplace.”
* Footnote: Workshop Agreement is a fast-track document developed to respond to urgent industry need and with wider industry participation. It involves a shorter development time with limited consensus and has a validity period of 2 years after completion.
Author: Adam Parry
Adam is the co-founder and editor of www.eventindustrynews.com Adam, a technology evangelist also organises Event Tech Live, Europe’s only show dedicated to event technology and the Event Technology Awards. Both events take place in November, London.
