ASSOCIATION, event and communication management company MCI has partnered ICCA Scandinavian Chapter to launch the Global Destination Sustainability (GDS) Index.
The index, which is the first sustainability ranking for event destinations worldwide, aims to promote sustainable growth of international meeting destinations by highlighting best practices and responsible business tourism.
It will evaluate the sustainability performance of cities and bureaus in four key areas: city environmental strategy and infrastructure; city social sustainability performance; industry supplier support; and convention bureau strategy and initiatives.
Guy Bigwood, group sustainability director at MCI, said: “Our vision is to have over 100 cities benchmarking and collaborating together by 2020. I am pleased to announce we have 25 Scandinavian cities based in Finland, Denmark, Norway, Iceland and Sweden, as well as our first wave of global cities including Barcelona, Geneva, Stuttgart and Sydney.”
Martin Sirk, CEO of ICCA, commented: “The unique feature of the GDS Index is that this is a bottom-up phenomenon, driven by the destinations themselves.
“We believe this is an excellent platform for leaders in sustainability from every region to showcase their policies and good practices, and for any destination to swiftly improve their competitiveness,” he added.
