• Home
  • Why Sydney?
  • Conferences
  • Incentives
  • Corporate Meetings
  • Partnerships
  • About Us
  • News
  • Find a Supplier
  • Contact Us
  • Login
  • Shortlist
Business Events Sydney
Search
  • Shortlist
  • Login
  • Contact Us
  • English
  • 中文网站
  • Chinese (simplified)
  • Chinese (traditional)
  • French
  • German
  • Japanese
  • Korean
  • Spanish
  • Turkish
  • Arabic
  • Why Sydney?
  • Conferences
  • Incentives
  • Corporate Meetings
  • Partnerships
  • About Us
  • News
  • Find a Supplier
  • Home
  • BESydney Newsroom
  • Media Releases
  • Sydney recognised as a global sustainability innovator

Sydney recognised as a global sustainability innovator

Thursday 31 October 2019

Company News

Sydney recognised as a global sustainability innovator

Sydney has been recognised on the global stage for its innovative approach to sustainable business events practice and environmental responsibility, winning the Global Destination Sustainability Index (GDS-Index) Innovation in Sustainability Award at the annual ICCA Congress in Houston overnight.

The award was given in recognition of the City of Sydney’s Sustainable Destination Partnership, which features BESydney as an Associate Partner. The judging panel applauded the initiative’s work in the environmental footprinting of the Sydney hospitality sector, and the co-creation of a strategy to achieve a 70% reduction in carbon emissions and divert 90% of its waste by 2030.

The award was accompanied by the announcement that Sydney has risen in the GDS-Index rankings to be named 8th in the world for sustainable business events.

The GDS-Index benchmarks the social and environmental performance of business events industries, across more than 50 cities worldwide. The rapid growth of cities participating is testament to the success of the Index in raising awareness, and subsequently practice, of sustainability standards in host destinations globally. Just 35 cities were participating in 2016 when Sydney became the first Australian city to join the Index.

“Sustainability is becoming an important requirement for our global client base when choosing a host destination, and the City of Sydney’s approach in creating a collaborative framework for our whole industry to work with them is truly visionary,” said BESydney CEO, Lyn Lewis-Smith.

“Being recognised with the GDS-Index Innovation Award is a testament to the benefits of collaboration with all our ‘Team Sydney’ partners, including the City of Sydney and ICC Sydney. This year’s success feels particularly special as BESydney celebrates our 50th anniversary, and I’m excited to continue working with our partners to drive sustainable best practice as more meetings come to our shores,” Ms Lewis-Smith added.

Sydney rated above the global average across the four pillars of the Index, and was noted as a particular leader in destination management performance, achieving a 77% score – well above the global average score of 46%. These results were achieved in a year where the Index raised the bar considerably introducing new, more demanding criteria in consultation with the Global Sustainable Tourism Council, the Social Progress Imperative and the Events Industry Council.

The strong performance was bolstered by the aim to source 50% of Sydney’s electricity from renewable sources by 2030 and achieve net zero emissions by 2050, and by the innovative sustainability initiatives implemented by BESydney’s major partner, ICC Sydney. The City of Sydney was also applauded for being Australia’s first carbon neutral local government.

Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore said, “We created the Sustainable Destination Partnership to work with some of the biggest hotels and tourist attractions in our city to reduce environmental impact and address climate change.”

“Sydney's leading hotels, event centres, cultural institutions and tourism bodies knew that taking action would be a real challenge, given the sector is resource intensive and has a strong demand for energy.”

“This award recognises their success in becoming more sustainable and working to address the most pressing issue of our time. I hope it encourages more businesses and organisations to become involved.”

- ENDS -

View the PDF release

Browse Categories

  • Media Releases
  • Blog
  • BESydney 50th Anniversary
  • Sydney Shines
  • Success Stories
  • Annual Reports
  • Research
  • Brochures
  • Videos
  • Multimedia Gallery

Filter by Tags

Global Incentives
15
Global Conferences
25
Global Corporate Meetings
10
Financial Services
6
Professional Services
5
Technology
8
Other Industry
1
Company News
14
Science
6
Health
7
Engineering
4
Education and Research
5
Industry Sectors
5
Infrastructure
1
Clear Filter

Archive

2022

Jan   Feb   Apr   May   Jun  

2021

Feb   Mar   Apr   May   Jun   Jul   Sep   Oct   Nov   Dec  

2020

Mar   Apr   May   Jun   Aug   Oct   Nov   Dec  

2019

Feb   Mar   Apr   May   Jun   Jul   Aug   Sep   Oct   Nov   Dec  

2018

Jan   Mar   Apr   May   Jun   Aug   Sep   Oct   Nov   Dec  

2017

Jan   Feb   Mar   Apr   May   Jul   Aug   Sep   Oct   Nov  

2016

Feb   Mar   Apr   May   Jun   Jul   Aug   Sep   Oct   Nov   Dec  

2015

Jan   Feb   Mar   Apr   May   Jun   Jul   Aug   Sep   Oct   Nov   Dec  

2014

Apr   Nov   Dec  

2013

Oct  

2012

Sep   Dec  

2011

Jan  
Clear Filter

Previous

Friday 18 October 2019

Impressive results cap off 50th Anniversary year

BESydney has marked its 50th Anniversary year of milestone celebrations with impressive results reported at its 2018/19 Annual General Meeting (AGM) held at Sydney’s Powerhouse Museum last night.

Next

Friday 15 November 2019

Amway’s relationship with Sydney endures:  top APAC distributors to gather in the harbour city

Sydney’s reign as Australia’s top incentive meeting destination continued this week as New South Wales (NSW) Minister for Jobs, Investment, Tourism and Western Sydney, Stuart Ayres announced global health and beauty corporation Amway had awarded the state hosting rights for three of its large-scale APAC gatherings to be held across 2020 and 2021.

More from this category

Value-driven relationships propel BESydney’s results higher

Friday 5 Oct 2018

Value-driven relationships propel BESydney’s results higher

BESydney held its Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Thursday, 4 October. Speaking at the company’s AGM on the eve of the organisation's 50th anniversary, Board Chair The Hon. Bruce Baird AM reflected on a year of remarkable achievements.

Read More
Business Events Sydney delegate survey prize draw 2018 winner announced

Wednesday 15 Aug 2018

Business Events Sydney delegate survey prize draw 2018 winner announced

Business Events Sydney delegate survey prize draw winner.

Read More
LAUNCH Festival – first stop Sydney

Monday 18 Jun 2018

LAUNCH Festival – first stop Sydney

Some of the biggest names in the global startup community touched down in Australia’s entrepreneurial city for the first edition of LAUNCH Festival Sydney. This is the first time the world’s largest startup event has been held outside of San Francisco in its 10-year history.

Read More

WE VALUE YOUR PRIVACY

We use technology such as cookies to personalise content, analyse our traffic and improve the performance of our website so that we can deliver the most relevant communication back to you. If you remain on this site, we understand that you consent to this and have read and agree to the terms of our privacy policy

BESydney @BESydney
  • Planning a domestic meeting?
  • Why Sydney?
  • Global Conferences
  • Global Incentives
  • Global Corporate Meetings
  • Global Partnerships
  • About Us
  • BESydney Newsroom
  • Find a Supplier
  • Contact Us

    Join our Mailing List

    Copyright © Business Events Sydney 2018 Privacy Policy Disclaimer
    Business Events Sydney

    Login

    Global Partners Portal

    Share via Email