Sustainability has (finally!) become front and centre
It wasn’t long ago that sustainability was a rare conversation at a conference or meeting. Sidelined to a breakout room, or a special interest group discussion.
In the last 12 months, it has been a joy to see sustainability increase in value, become a priority discussion, a movement within organisations, and reach the keynote at a congress.
In Asia Pacific, we are seeing destinations and event organisers embrace sustainability, make climate commitments, and begin their netzero journey.
PCOA Conference December 2023 | Adelaide
In December 2023, we joined the Professional Congress Organisations Association (PCOA) in Adelaide for their annual conference. This event brings together conference organisers from across Australasia for 3 days of sessions, workshops, listening and learning on key topics that the micro-sector are facing.
There were a broad range of speaker sessions including artificial intelligence, indigenous reconciliation, mental health and wellness, insight into Aoteroa Māori tourism, diversity, a range of technical sessions, and of course the keynote on sustainability.
Jessica joined climate scientist Tim Jarvis on the topic Sustainable events: a path towards environmental responsibility. Sharing their knowledge and insights on climate, practicalities of how sustainability can transform into the world of events and conferences, and the important role of working collaboratively to become collective champions.
Later in the day, Jessica joined a panel of event stakeholders sharing their initiatives and experiences on sustainability.
While this may seem rather innocuous, the decision to keynote climate and sustainability would have been unthinkable only a few years ago.
The organising team at PCOA is led by Maxine Tod and Cindy Axisa, supported by a number of committees were keen to change up the programme and deliver an comprehensive agenda that would delve into topics that had been sidelined in years gone by.
Hats off to the PCOA team and committees who were bold and aspirational in 2023. It is refreshing to see an industry conference deliver a programme which not only meets the needs of their members, but also addressed real world issues that event organisers are facing on the daily.
It was a pleasure for us to join the stage with an incredible bunch of thought leaders. We look forward to seeing where PCOA go with their future conferences.
Thank you Maxine for making this possible! We salute you!