At the opening of the “Greening the Presidency - Greening Events” Conference http://www.greening-events.at, Environment Minister Josef Pröll emphasised that Austria would make a key contribution towards preparing the EU for the future.
“At European level, this will involve conducting and bringing to a successful conclusion negotiations on a new and ambitious sustainable development strategy for the EU”, stated Minister Pröll. The Environment Ministry http://www.lebensministerium.at is organising the conference, which began yesterday (Tuesday, 17 January).
“To help plan the high-level meetings and informal councils, the Environment Ministry prepared guidelines on the environmentally friendly organisation of events, which will be available to all ministries during the Austrian EU Presidency and beyond”, said the Minister. The guidelines contain specific recommendations and practical instructions on various areas of application and are designed to support employees in all departments who are responsible for organising events. “Events which are planned, organised and carried out in accordance with sustainability criteria can to a large extent prevent negative consequences for the environment”, explained the Minister. “We must convey the idea of sustainability to citizens clearly and precisely and persuade them to commit themselves to this important concept”, the Minister continued.
Greening events take into account the three dimensions of sustainable development: the ecological, socio-cultural and economic. Furthermore, they create long-term benefit in that they protect the environment, take the regional economy into account, highlight social and cultural aspects and serve public and media awareness. The Environment Ministry's guidelines contain 20 recommendations for implementing environmental and sustainable-development principles.
Green events protect the environment by introducing environmental management during the preparation phase, utilising energy-saving potential, using renewable energy sources and integrating waste avoidance and recycling systems. The use of ecologically produced and fair trade products also helps protect the environment. Greening events also means minimising the level of greenhouse gases caused by the event itself – including those caused by participants travelling to the event – or making provision for compensatory measures. Environment-friendly construction measures should be applied when erecting buildings or installations. Training and awareness-raising measures for implementing sustainable development must be prepared for employees organising events.
Green events take the regional economy into account by using the products and services available in the local region, avoiding long-term subsequent costs for the local population, using the infrastructure created for the event efficiently over the long term and making accompanying plans for use of the site that will remain valid for years to come. Furthermore, the positive presentation of the region in which the event is being held or the event site and their economic advantages has positive effects.
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