global destinations sustainability index
TRANSCRIPT
LAUNCH: Celebrating Leadership
Our journey began in Gothenburg 2010
70 people from 5 nations created a common vision…
We realized we needed a way to understand and compare destination sustainability performance
25 cities benchmarked performancein 2012 and 2013
• 7% overall increase in destinationperformance compared to 2012
• MICE industry performance(software) increased a significant11%
• By 2013 45% of CVBs had developed asustainability strategy, up 20% from2012
• 74% now have sustainabilityinformation on their destinationwebsites compared to 25% in 2012
• Eco certification increased to 60% oftotal hotel room inventory and 59% ofthe congress and exhibition centres
We created and launched the Scandinavian Destination Sustainability Index
It evolved to become the GDS-Index
The Global Destination Sustainability Index (GDS-Index) is a collaborative business initiative created to help Destinations, Convention Bureaux, Event
Planners and Suppliers drive the adoption, promotion and recognition of sustainable practices in their city and in the global events industry.
In 2014 we decided to share the project and make it global
Our Mission
The Global Destinations Sustainability Index is a collaborative project
between ICCA, the ICCA Scandinavian Chapter, IMEX and MCI. MCI is
responsible for the benchmarking, assessment and consulting of cities
and overall programme management.
Today: Index Partners
Launch in March 2016, today we have
• 5 capitals and 20 destinations from Norway, Iceland, Finland, Denmark and
Sweden
• Barcelona, Frankfurt, Geneva, Glasgow, the Hague, Houston, Stuttgart, Sydney
• Our goal is to have 100 destinations by 2020
Participating Cities
How does it work?
Developed by MCI Sustainability Services and 25 Scandinavian cities the GDS-Index
methodology measures and compares the social and environmental sustainability
strategies, policies and performance of the participating cities.
The GDS-Index is based upon a performance review of four key areas:
Benchmarking Methodology
The destination CVB or DMO completes a questionnaire gathering answers and
providing 40 key performance indicators.
MCI Sustainability Services assess and validate the answers, requesting further
information if required.
The website is then updated with the destinations ranking.
The GDS-Index is based upon a performance review of four key areas:
Benchmarking Process
Finding Destinations
Analyzing Destinations Overview
Analyzing Destinations In Detail
Comparing Destinations
For cities starting on sustainability –it takes approximately 12 to 20 hours spread over 2
to 4 weeks to gather the required data.
Nearly all data is already held by the CVB or its partners (hotel, restaurants association).
Generally the CVB team have to talk with the environment department of the city
municipality to get some data.
For advanced cities and cities repeating the Index it takes between 6 to 10 hours.
The GDS-Index is based upon a performance review of four key areas:
How much time is involved?
In-depth Assessment
-1
4
9
14
CommunityDevelopment
Marcom
Monitoring &Reporting
Policy andIncentives
Standards &Education
Strategy &Engagement
Leadership Performance City PerformanceCities and CVBs wanting help to improve their strategy can choose the Assessment
Package.
This is a more in-depth assessment of destination strategies, policies and
initiatives, identifying gaps and opportunities for improvement.
The custom report looks at 6 categories and over 80 criteria; presenting the benchmark
analysis, performance scorecard and strategic suggestions for improvement.
Implementation Planning
CONSULTING
If needed, our experts can support Convention Bureaux, cities and private-public initiatives to efficiently craft long-
term sustainability strategies.
We help by sharing best practice from other destinations and co-creating custom
implementation plans to achieve their sustainability goals.
CATALYSECOLLABORATION
BUILD & PROMOTE BRAND REPUTATION
DRIVE PERFORMANCE
RESPOND TO & DRIVE CLIENT DEMAND
ACCELERATE INNOVATION
How will the GDS-Index Benefit CVBs & Destinations?
“One of the main hurdles for Convention bureau professionals is the threat of “anotherthing on my to do list and another bill to pay”. CVBs need to understand thatparticipating in the Index actually saves time and money, and helps them with their jobof promoting their destination.”
Anna Lindström, Convention Bureau Manager Uppsala, Sweden. 2013 Index Award Winner
“The Index is a unique example of how collaboration, including the sharing of bestpractices and expertise, can improve performance of organizations anddestinations for the benefit of our clients and our communities. The Index hasprovided us with new knowledge and inspiration that helps position Copenhagenas a leader in Sustainable Meetings.”
Jonas Wilstrup, Deputy CEO and Convention Director at Wonderful Copenhagen
“The Index has helped Stockholm become better as a destination. It´s easy to say youcare about sustainability, but when you dive down into the Index, you learn about yourown destination and it all becomes clear where and how we should focus to improveourselves, and the service we offer our clients.”
Karin Mäntymäki. Director Stockholm Convention Bureau
How will the GDS-Index Benefit CVBs & Destinations?
"The GDS-Index represents a good opportunity to highlight the cities that are committed to sustainability also in the area of tourism and meetings. And Barcelona wants to participate."
Jordi William, CEO Turisme de Barcelona
“Geneva has a commitment to improve to be a sustainable destination. By participating inthe Index we aim to better engage our clients and suppliers as well as our local communityto work together and make sustainability a standard way of working in our city.”
Anja Loetscher, Director, Geneva Convention Bureau
“The Meetings and Events Industry needs to be a champion for the development of local economies, the environment and society. Participation in the Index helps bureaux and cities focus attention on developing sustainability programs which can benefit us all in the long run. Furthermore it also helps in terms of positive market profiling and positioning.”
Sigurjóna Sverrisdóttir, ICCA Scandinavia Chair
and Director of Exhibitions and Events at the Reykjavik Convention Bureau
Delivering Value for CVBs & Destinations
“Helsinki works continuously to be a model city of smart and sustainable development.The Index challenges us to reflect on our values as a member of the society. Itencourages us to improve our performance in all matters related to environmental,social and financial responsibility including transparency and open democracy.”
Kaiju Pitkänen, Convention Director at Helsinki Convention & Events Bureau
“Being involved in this project has been a great inspiration to Gothenburg.Through the benchmarking and sharing of best practices we have improved andelaborated our services towards our clients and congress delegates, and madesustainability a key part of what Gothenburg stands for.”
Lennart Johannsson, Director of Gothenburg Convention Bureau
GDS-Index is an exciting approach towards a global sustainability benchmark formeetings destinations. It will help identifying future improvements and positionStuttgart on an international level.
Karina Grützner, Business Development Manager, Stuttgart Convention Bureau
Delivering Value for CVBs & Destinations
The Scandinavian Destination Sustainability Index wasrecognised with the UN WTO Award for Innovation in 2014.
“The unique feature of the GDS-Index is that this isa bottom-up phenomenon, driven by thedestinations themselves.
We believe this is an excellent platform for leadersin sustainability from every region to showcasetheir policies and good practices, and for anyambitious destination to swiftly improve theircompetitiveness.”
Martin Sirk, CEO of ICCA
The Index: International Recognition
How does my CVB participate?
Service Levels & Pricing
There is special pricing for ICCA Scandinavia Members
LAUNCH
• March 2nd Launch at ICCA Scandinavia Chapter Conference
• Press Release
• Launch website
COLLATE
• Destinations start to collect and submit data
• Phase 1 –May 20th
• Phase 2 –August 1st
• Benchmarking starts
• Support offered to destinations
PROMOTE
• Media activation
• Chapter activation
• Country activation
• New partnerships
ENGAGE
• 2 sessions at IMEX 16, Frankfurt, Apr
• Mon 14:00
• Wed 9:00
• IMEX US 16, Las Vegas, Oct
ANNOUNCE
• Final results announced at ICCA Congress 16, Sarawak, Nov
• Workshop
• Awards
Timeline
The GDS-Index helps destinations to engage clients and partners around sustainability, and develop a strategy in alignment with the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
We are working on a partnership with the UN WTO and the GSTC to create a MICE relevant sustainable destination certification
Next Steps
Develop and implement tools to monitor sustainable
development
3 Specific SDGs for Business Tourism
“”
• Contact us to participate
• Tweet, facebook, linkedin the press release and web
• Tell your CVB and destinations friends. Invite them to join
• Join the sessions at IMEX
Call to Action
Make Some Noise
https://www.facebook.com/GDSIndex/
@GDS_Index
http://gds-index.com
33
The Index is about PROGRESSNot perfection
For more information, kindly contact:
Guy BigwoodMCI Group Sustainability Director