Posted by
Barry Siskind
UFI’s Community Manager

Sometimes attending a meeting leaves the participants with more questions than answers, and that’s probably a good thing. At this year’s UFI Sustainable Development Focus Meeting, on December 11th, in Geneva a key session will be dedicated to addressing some of the issues that participants have.

One of the panellists is Glenn Hansen, President and CEO of BPA Worldwide. Glenn is very clear in his assessment of sustainability issues and sustainability management. Following are the many many barriers he considersstill exist for both facilities and organizers.

For venues::

• Lack of senior management support due to the misconception that sustainability is soft, not bottom-lined focused
• Lack of knowledge about where to start
• Difficulty in training staff and getting them onboard
• A misconception that big changes are needed when incremental change is sufficient
• Lack of local infrastructure to support a robust sustainability effort, such as local recycling and local procurement options
• The questions that comes up all too often, “Why should I do it if organizers are not asking for it?”

For Organizers:

• What best practices to adopt
• How changes will be perceived by attendees and exhibitors
• Lack of clear sustainable goals
• Failure to solicit supplier support

With Glenn’s input this session promises to be a highlight of the Focus Meeting.

This UFI Focus Meeting is open to all exhibition professionals. For the full programme and to register online just click here: www.ufi.org/geneva2013