Not Your Average Survey: The UN Wants to Hear from Meetings Industry

Author: Barbara Palmer       

UN sustainability survey

The United Nations want to know how it can help the meetings industry better reach its 17 Sustainable Development Goals. (Courtesy UN)

For the first time since the member states of the United Nations adopted a set of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2015 and created a 2030 Agenda toward Sustainable Development, the international body will hold a summit to assess the initiative’s progress.

Even beyond the international summit — which will be Sept. 24 in New York City — “events are obviously very important for these goals, because events bring people together and coming together is how we’ll be able to innovate and create solutions,” said Fiona Pelham, CEO of the U.K.-based nonprofit Positive Impact, told Convene.

But meeting professionals have an opportunity to participate in another significant way — the United Nations has invited global industries, including the meetings industry, to tell them what they, the UN, can do to help each industry work towards the goals that have been set.


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In advance of the summit, meeting professionals can complete a survey about how they rank the importance of the UN’s 17 sustainable development goals relative to them, and about their ability and commitment to make progress toward achieving them in their day-to-day operations. The data will be submitted to the United Nations and used to help the organization understand what can be done to assist each industry in achieving the goals.

PCMA already has committed to working with other industry associations and organizations, including the Monterey County Convention & Visitors Bureau, toward reducing the impact of meetings on the environment. It’s part of PCMA’s broader commitment to work with its members to use events to achieve social and economic transformation.

Take the survey at this special MYWorld 2030 site.

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