The International Centre has launched three new sustainability initiatives, further demonstrating its commitment to environmental stewardship, community outreach and employee engagement.
To begin, the Mississauga-based centre has received two sustainable venue certifications: Level One ASTM/APEX Certification for Environmentally Sustainable Meetings and Events, and 4 Key Rating from Greey Key Meetings v2.0.
The former is a standard made in part with the Green Meetings Industry Council (GMIC) to develop different levels of voluntary specifications for the events industry surrounding sustainable events and meetings. The 4 Key Rating is a new rating system formulated by Green Key Global in conjunction with the MPI Foundation. It assesses sustainability and CSR initiatives based on six specifications: Core Areas (waste, water, energy); Communication; Activities; Health; Exhibitions; and Audio/Visual.
“We have been committed to sustainability and CSR for many years now, and it is exciting to reach a new level in this commitment,” says Sonya Porter, sustainability officer, The International Centre.
The International Centre is the first Canadian venue to receive a 4 Key rating with the new Green Meetings Standard, and one of only 10 venues in North America with an ASTM/APEX Certification.
Secondly, the International Centre has taken its partnership with Humber College’s School of Hospitality, Recreation and Tourism to a “new innovative level.” Beginning in September 2014, The International Centre will be the site of one of the program’s mandatory courses outlined in the student curriculum. Using on-site resources, real-time situations and management staff, the Centre will design and teach the course weekly for a 15-week period.
“After great discussions on creating something innovative, we feel this opportunity to provide real-life situational learning is a bonus for the program and for Humber students,” says Trevor Lui, the Centre’s director of Operations & Sustainability and the new course’s instructor. “We value our partnership with Humber and have great alumni embedded in our workforce here; we hope this is the beginning of something much bigger.”
The Centre’s third initiative is the launch of an updated version of its sustainable event guide. Developed by the International Centre, the guide incorporates sustainable principles at all levels of an event’s organization and implementation. Offering organizers and members of planning groups helpful tools and resources to achieve more sustainable events, the guidelines are fully scalable for events of all sizes and varieties.
“This is a tried-and-tested tool built specifically for our customers where we’ve taken care of the heavy lifting to achieve a more sustainable event,” says Lui.
Download a copy of the guide at www.internationalcentre.com/about-us/corporate/corporate-social-responsibility
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