Business event suppliers in Taiwan will see a greater drive to achieve green MICE practices with the release of 2022 Taiwan MICE Sustainability White Paper.
At the Taiwan MICE ESG Day on December 28, 2022, the Bureau of Foreign Trade (BOFT) announced the release of the 2022 Taiwan MICE Sustainability White Paper, which was co-published by UFI – the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry. The event included a ceremony to issue ISO certifications to MICE suppliers who were counselled by Taiwan’s MICE Promotion Program (MEET TAIWAN).
BOFT, together with KPMG and the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA), teamed up to establish SIRCO (Sustain & Integrate Resources and CO-operate for mutual benefits and sustainability), providing MICE suppliers with clear guidelines on Green MICE practices.
The white paper propels Taiwan to a higher level in the global Green MICE market.
Kai Hattendorf, Managing Director and CEO of UFI, said, “In UFI, we believe that the climate crisis is one of the biggest challenges we face in the exhibition and meeting industry over the coming years. The most important thing is that every player in the industry works together, minimising the negative impact on the environment.”
Referring to the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the BOFT’s Green MICE Guideline, and Taiwan’s Pathway to Net-Zero Emissions in 2050 published by the National Development Council, the 2022 Taiwan MICE Sustainability White Paper covers an entire range of details and scenarios.
It also takes the MICE industry and stakeholder features into consideration. Combining five factors (sustainability, impact, resilience, collaboration and ownership) and comprehensively considering the life cycle of the MICE industry, the SIRCO cooperative serves as a standard not only for carbon reduction and governance practices. It also extends the positive impact of Green MICE to other industries, utilising the MICE industry as an important driving force for sustainable development.
BOFT will launch a Sustainable Empowerment Counseling Service next year for Taiwan MICE events by applying the 2022 Taiwan MICE Sustainability White Paper, providing customised services and working with industry players to achieve event sustainability.
Together with MEET TAIWAN, BOFT also assists MICE venues with achieving sustainability goals.
Last year, BOFT assisted Hilton Taipei Sinban to complete their ISO 50001 Energy Management System and counselled Big Dome Event Rental Service Co., Ltd. for publishing the first-ever sustainability report.
This year, Taipei Nangang Exhibition Centers I and II were the first venues to accomplish the Greenhouse Gas Inventory according to the ISO 14064-1: 2018 standard. The International Convention Center in Tainan, which just celebrated its opening this April, rapidly acquired the ISO 20121 Sustainable Event Management Systems standard. Kaohsiung Exhibition Center is the only venue in Taiwan which is GBAC STAR™ certified.
Through the collaboration of Green-certified venues and MICE suppliers in Taiwan, MICE sustainability in Taiwan is becoming stronger and more mature. As a backup force of Taiwan’s MICE industry, BOFT has assisted related stakeholders in reaching Green Goals.
Thanks to the hard work of national and local governments and MICE suppliers, sustainable MICE events are now a reality in Taiwan. The awareness of significant issues, such as Net-Zero Emissions and Sustainability, has quickly risen these years.
2023 is a brand new start for the MICE industry to recover from the pandemic, and BOFT will continue promoting Green MICE businesses and bolstering industry strength, empowering the energy of Taiwan’s MICE industry to revitalise the Taiwanese MICE brand.