Prize winning meetings product at Scandic

With Swan-marked printed material and whiteboard pens, improved sorting at source and the abolition of non-reusable packing, among other environmentally friendly policies, Scandic makes it easier to be a green conference arranger.

The IMEX meetings exhibition, held in Frankfurt in April, saw Scandic receive the IMEX Green Meetings Award for their sustainable meetings product.

"With virtually all of our hotels Swan-marked, it is natural that we take the next step and offer fully sustainable meetings," says Jan Peter Bergkvist, Scandic's Vice President Sustainable Business, and a member of Scandic's management board. "Along with strict environmental standards we also try to take into consideration accessibility, safety and health. It is difficult for conference arrangers to ignore these unique advantages when choosing a meetings location," he concludes.

Since the hotels are built and renovated to Scandic's standards of environmentally friendly contruction, resourses are saved and emissions of environmentally damaging subtances is minimised. Furthermore, natural resources are protected through controlled energy and water use. The meeting itself becomes more sustainable due to the exclusive use of environmentally approved meetings materials, such as Swan-marked writing tools and notepads, board wipes and Good Origin coffee (which is both organic and sustainable), as well as by offering tap water instead of bottled water. In this way, Scandic expects to save up to 185 kilos of carbon dioxide per meeting.

Scandic hosts close to 200,000 meetings per year. Therefore, this objective compliments the hotel chain's strategy of reducing the direct carbon dioxide emissions to zero by 2025.