The Events Industry Council (EIC), in partnership with IMEX launched a new industry award this year, the Innovation in Sustainability Award, and it selected Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group as the inaugural winner.
According to the EIC, the Innovation in Sustainability Award was designed to recognize event professionals who are driving sustainability forward through innovation, collaboration and idea sharing.
Carlson Rezidor was recognized for doing this with their Blu Planet water conservation project.
“The Green Meeting Industry Council (GMIC), now the Events Industry Council’s Sustainability Committee, has had a long tradition of celebrating sustainability in our industry through the IMEX-GMIC awards,” said EIC CEO Karen Kotowski, CAE, CMP. “We are excited to continue this tradition with IMEX.”
EIC said Carlson Rezidor demonstrated both collaboration and innovation, taking a multifaceted approach to address water conservation and sanitation issues. Carlson Rezidor has been a signatory of the UN Global Compact since 2009 and was the first hotel brand to sign the UN CEO Water Mandate.
Some initiatives taken on by Carlson Rezidor include:
- A redesigned breakfast menu that reduces water use and carbon emissions by 20%.
- A guest towel reuse program that has provided clean drinking water for life for 6,900 children.
- A soap recycling program that has diverted 1.7 tons of soap from landfill to where it is needed, by creating fresh bars of soap for distribution in local communities with limited access to them.
- Water conservation initiatives that have reduced overall consumption by 30% since 2007, and, in the spirit of continuous improvement, work toward an additional 10% reduction by 2020.
EIC congratulated Carlson Rezidor for its sustainable efforts in a special ceremony.
