On September 11 and 12, educators from Event Industry Council will deliver training for the Sustainable Event Professional Certificate at Cobo Center in Detroit. This is the first offering to event planners for the certificate in the state of Michigan.
Mariela Mcllwraith, director, industry advancement for the Events Industry Council, will conduct the SEPC training for Cobo Center employees as well as event producers. Cobo Center became the ninth U.S. convention center to achieve the Events Industry Council’s ASTM/APEX Sustainable Event Standard Certification in 2015 and recertified in 2017. Venues are certified after implementing a set of voluntary standards to create more sustainable meetings and events.
“The sustainable practices that Cobo Center has implemented over the last several years—in energy management, food recovery, and intensive materials reuse/recycling—are potent examples" for program participants, says Joel Heeres, director of the Office of Sustainability for the city of Detroit.
Combining active learning and experiential elements, the SEPC program is designed to enable participants to implement sustainability across all areas of their own events. Topics will include understanding the business value of event sustainability; practical solutions for improving environmental performance in food and beverage, transportation, and supply chain management; and effective methods for achieving corporate social responsibility goals. As part of the program, the participants will customize a roadmap for their own sustainable event.
Karen Kotowski, chief executive officer for the Events Industry Council, notes that “hosting the event at Cobo Center allows us to reinforce the sustainability curriculum with experiential elements.”
