Event Marketer Spring 2022 - 13

preserving natural outdoor spaces-as a
way of life.
" Nothing is thrown out and put in a
landfill when we manufacture a Subaru, "
says Matt Barber, brand partnerships and
experiential marketing manager at Subaru
of America. " That ethos, that commitment
to sustainability, applies everywhere for us,
including in our events. "
Subaru's long-standing WinterFest
music and mountain lifestyle adventure
tour is almost an entirely waste-free event.
During the festival, which resumed this
year after a two-year pandemic pause, all
single-use waste moves through alternative
waste streams with hard to recycle items, like
snack wrappers and coffee cups or lids, sent
to TerraCycle waste management company
to be remade into new plastic products.
Strategic partnerships with eco brands
Klean Kanteen and Leave No Trace supply
consumers with green takeaways like beverage
containers and tote bags stuffed with
high-end, reusable items that to help them
integrate sustainable practices into their lives.
The brand's Love Promise initiative
and partnership with the National Forest
Foundation is helping out areas devastated
by climate change impacts, like the Sierra-at-Tahoe
Resort, a regular stop on the
WinterFest tour, which was destroyed by a
massive wildfire.
" We're going to do everything that we
can to just come in and boost the morale, "
says Barber, as the brand plans a stop at
the resort on its tour this year. " We want
to make sure that we bring the community
together and keep them excited about the
resort and help them get on their feet. "
VENUE PERSPECTIVES
To meet the increasing demands from event
partners, venues and hospitality brands like
MGM and Hilton are developing comprehensive
guides and consultations for clients.
Globally, Hilton hospitality brand is
helping travelers plan more sustainable
trips. The brand doubled its investment
eventmarketer.com
in social impact to cut its environmental
footprint in half by 2030. Kelly Knowlen,
vp-sales engagement and special events at
Hilton, points to the brand's Travel with
Purpose effort, an Environmental, Social
and Governance (ESG) strategy to drive
responsible travel and tourism globally and
to redefine sustainable travel.
" Through LightStay and our sustainable
meetings offerings, which include
Meet with Purpose and EventReady with
Hybrid Solutions, we now have the ability
to offer carbon-neutral meetings at participating
hotels, " Knowlen says. " Customers
have the opportunity to align with our
hotels to customize our programs to assist
them in achieving their individual sustainability
goals. "
MGM Resorts International continues
to grow its sustainability commitment,
which began in 2006 with the construction
and development of the CityCenter resort
complex that officially opened in 2009. The
development is the largest privately-funded
LEED Gold development in the world.
Since then, all MGM's buildings are aligned
with these standards.
Interest in MGM's convention segment
for sustainable and socially conscious practices
has grown as clients seek venues that
align with their corporate values, says BritTHREE
SUSTAINABILITY
PHRASES TO MASTER
ESG Standards:
Environmental, social and
governance standards that measure
how sustainably a company is
operating and how likely it is to
attract socially conscious investors
Sustainability Intelligence:
Leveraging big data to make
informed sustainable decisions
Conscious
Consumption:
Awareness for consumer health and
related impacts on the environment
SPRING 2022 EVENT MARKETER
13
tany Price, director-corporate sustainability
at MGM Resorts International. Price even
pulls out a " sustainable deck of cards " featuring
52 ideas, from menu selection to
décor and signage, to help clients who don't
know where to start.
" Our commitment goes beyond construction
and also focuses heavily on the
operations of the hotels, from energy and
water conservation, responsibly managing
materials and wastes, responsible procurement
through our environmental preferable
purchasing policies, and even working
with convention clients on sustainable
event programming, " says Price.
MGM also offers clients the option
to purchase swag from minority-owned
businesses, and partners with various local
non-profits to donate leftover swag to the
local community.
" We've really seen the events industry
as a catalyst to help propel that positive
change, and when we initially started
engaging with clients on the topic of sustainability,
it was really primarily focused
on environment, but it's actually much
broader than that, " Price says. " Sustainability
is social, economic, environment, and
it's a sweet spot when all those are happening
in synergy. "
-Andrea Zarczynski
http://www.eventmarketer.com
Event Marketer Spring 2022

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