ABSTRACT
Whilst climate change and environmental issues are becoming increasingly important for all sectors of the economy, the MICE sector (meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions) is at particular risk due to the amount of international and domestic travel associated with it, thus contributing to greenhouse-gas emissions, and the high resource use associated with large-scale events. Business travel is particularly vulnerable, in that it can be considered as a discretionary activity, potentially replaceable in some cases by technology such as Skype, video-conferencing and virtual meetings. Understanding the role of sustainability within event management is an important avenue of research, given the size of the events industry and its potential to negatively affect communities and the environment. All stakeholders are demonstrating concern for the environmental credentials of business events, including the supply side, delegates and meeting planners. The existing research suggests that there is a range of drivers and barriers to ‘greening’ in the business events context. Competitive advantage, image enhancement, supply chain/customer corporate social responsibility policies and consumer demand have been identified as significant drivers of greening, with a lack of time, resources and knowledge being considered as barriers.
