we04 new research results from icca member universities - lise lyck

Sustainability in Relation to the Meetings Industry

Presented at the ICCA Conference in Shanghai at the International

Conference Centre November 2-6, 2013

Lise Lyck

Centre Director Center for Tourism and Culture Management (TCM)

Copenhagen Business School (CBS) Solbjerg Plads 3

DK-2000 Frederiksberg C Denmark

E-mail: [email protected] Phone: +45 3815 3450

Lise Lyck, Centre Director, Center for Tourism and Culture Management

Copenhagen Business School, E-mail: [email protected] 1

mailto:[email protected]

Overview

• The research project • Method • Scandinavian Sustainability Destination Index • Master thesis investigating sustainability in relation to

the Green Key • The Green Key Eco-label • Investigation of Danish hotel managers on

implementing sustainability • Strategic considerations based on the investigation • Conclusion


Copenhagen Business School, E-mail: [email protected]

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The Research Project

• Research Question:

Can green meetings be economically profitable?

• Limitation:

Focus is on sustainability in relation to hotels, not so much in relation to transport and events etc. It is concentrated on Nordic experiences.



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Method

1) Study of two secondary sources - The Scandinavian Sustainability Destination Index - A master thesis on ”Exploring the Green Key”, based on

interviews with politicians and specialists and investigations of corporations and citizen evaluation of sustainability

2) Presentation of a new primary source

– In depth interviews with hotel managers in Copenhagen

3) Strategic considerations 4) Conclusion



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Scandinavian Sustainability Destination Index

• Developed by the Scandinavian Chapter of ICCA • The index measures an compares social and

environmental sustainability performances between capital and regional cities in the five Nordic countries Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden

• The intention is to promote sustainability performance at a regional level as well as to inspire other destinations

• It does not include the economic dimension of sustainability in the meetings industry



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Results from the Scandinavian Sustainability Index 2012



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BENCHMARKING HARDWARE SOFTWARE TOTAL

Gothenburg 21 22 43

Uppsala 25 15 40

Copenhagen 22 16 38

Stockholm 21 17 38

Oslo 20 18 38

Malmö 18 19 37

Trondheim 21 16 37

Helsinki 15 20 35

Aalborg 21 12 33

Aarhus 19 14 33

Tampere 18 14 32

Karlstad 18 13 31

Stavanger 15 15 30

Reykjavik 19 8 27

Espoo 14 11 25

Turku 18 3 21

Results from the Scandinavian Sustainability Index 2013

BENCHMARKING HARDWARE SOFTWARE TOTAL

Uppsala S 25 22 47

Gothenburg S 21 26 47

Stockholm S 25 21 46

Malmö S 23 18 41

Reykjavik Iceland 18 21 39

Copenhagen DK 23 16 39

Aarhus DK 20 18 38

Turku Finland 19 19 38

Oslo N 20 17 37

Trondheim N 21 15 37

Odense DK 24 12 36

Bergen N 20 15 35

Helsinki Finland 15 19 34

Aalborg DK 21 12 33

Karlstad S 19 13 32

Tampere Finland 16 14 30

Sønderborg DK 18 11 29

Stavanger N 15 13 28

Espoo Finland 15 13 28

Kolding DK 18 8 26



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Development from 2012-2013



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Improvement from 2012-2013



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Cities:

Master thesis investigating sustainability in relation to the Green Key

• Investigation of the Danish hotel industry with focus on sustainable operations

– Politicians (government as well as opposition in favor of sustainability)

– Private sector organisations and state sector organisations agree on sustainability as a preference

– The corporations: big in favor of sustainability (SMEs) more mixed approach

– Guests/citizens: difference between their saying and their doing

• Conclusion: strong trend towards sustainability



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The Green Key Eco-label

• Established in Denmark in 1994. Now an international eco-label applied in 42 countries

• It aims to: – raise the awareness of leisure establishment staff and

clients,

– increase the use of sustainable methods of operation and technology,

– run ecologically sound and responsible businesses, and thereby

– reduce resource and energy usage



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Investigation of Danish hotel managers on implementing sustainability

• 11 in depth interviews have been conducted

with hotel managers of hotels in Denmark, including non-chain hotels, domestic and international hotel chains as well as small and big hotels in Denmark

• All of the hotels are Green Key-certified



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Investigation of Danish hotel managers on implementing sustainability

Central findings: • Increased demand for sustainability, especially from

corporations

• Factors regarding the economic aspect of engaging in sustainability: 1. Due to the increased demand for eco-certified hotels the

engagement in environmental sustainability is considered a necessity

2. Profitable to invest in green tech and energy-friendly solutions, due to the decrease in costs

3. Sustainability can be used in branding, but it is not widespread 4. The hotel managers have different strategic behavior



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Strategic considerations

Context: Framework in the form of regime and common stakeholder views Stakeholders: Politicians, industry organisations, state institutions, hotels, customers in the form of corporations and private guests/citizens Choice of strategic behavior: Forerunner versus follower



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Conclusion • Strong context for increased sustainability

• The Scandinavian Sustainability Destination Index values have increased in the Nordic countries

• The master thesis on the Green Key based on all stakeholders shows an increased commitment to sustainability

• The investigation of Danish hotel managers on their implementation of sustainability shows that costs can be reduced and how it can be done. It also presents the challenges of increased use of ecological products and of staff training. It also demonstrates the differences in use of forerunner and follower behavior

• In total, investments in the green meetings industry can create a positive economic return

• A potential for export of sustainability management systems from the Nordic countries to the rest of the world



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we04 new research results from icca member universities - lise lyck

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