Thailand’s Exhibitions to Grow Sustainably as TCEB Takes Lead on Road to “Net Zero Events” from 2023

The Association News, News Desk, 02 March

To raise the standards and enhance sustainable MICE events, Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) has integrated Bio-Circular-Green (BCG) economic model, which is now a national agenda, with United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals or SDGs, and announces its journey to a ‘Net Zero Events’ goal, starting from 2023.

TCEB aims to create the awareness in carbon calculation and compensation while encouraging MICE entrepreneurs to realise the importance of Carbon Neutral MICE industry and adopt it as part of MICE events. Alongside, we have crafted special support scheme for sustainable events, the main focus of which is the use of minimal resources, such as recyclable or locally-sourced materials or products, use of electronic mode in event management, food waste prevention. We have also certified event venues with standards of sustainable development, environment, energy management, and many more such as Thailand MICE Venue Standard (TMVS), Thailand Sustainable Event Management Standard (TSEMS). Since the first launch of our sustainability schemes in 2013, Thai MICE entrepreneurs have a solid foundation in eco-conscious initiatives with strong participation in such areas as food waste prevention, energy management, direct purchase of produce from local farmers, and greenhouse gas reduction. This partly contributed to Bangkok earning 2nd ranked city title in Asia for holding sustainable events in 2018 and 2019, according to Global Sustainability Destination Index.

Furthermore, TCEB, in collaboration with Thailand Greenhouse Gas Management Organization (TGO), has created useful tools for organisers to host ‘Carbon Neutral Events’. The key tool is Carbon Footprint Calculator, which we promote among MICE entrepreneurs through carbon footprint courses. Since 2019 until the present day, there have been MICE activities and international trade shows including “Propak Asia,” “Tissue and Paper Bangkok,” Food Ingredients Asia” and “CPHI South East Asia” by Informa Markets, for instance, which are able to reduce CO2 emission by more than 2,000 tons and over 300,000 kilograms of food waste with over USD 1.2 million in economic value. Such output helped reduce carbon footprint by more than 781 tons. In years to come, TCEB will maintain and promote CO2 emission policy and initiatives.  ‘Net zero’ is both a national agenda and global call and is in line with our master plan to make Thailand a sustainable MICE destination.