The Meetings Industry Association (mia) has appointed leading venue sustainability expert Warren Campbell as an ambassador to its council to champion sustainability.
As the mia moves forward with its high-profile #20PercentLess initiative encouraging the business meetings and events industry to use less single-use plastic, the association is keen to ensure sustainability and the campaign remain a key focus across all areas of its activity.
mia chief executive, Jane Longhurst, said: “Sustainability will remain a key trend and focus for the sector over the next few years. As we will be continuing to inform on sustainable practices and are calling for the industry to join our pledge to turn the tide on single-use plastic and reduce the sector’s reliance by 20 percent, we feel it is the right time to appoint a ‘champion’ to ensure the importance of the campaign, and the surrounding initiatives, are continually reflected at board level.”
Following his appointment as general manager of 15Hatfields in 2008, Warren has spearheaded a campaign to make the venue one ofcentral London’s most sustainable. Among other achievements, 15Hatfields, which is part of the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health, now has a zero waste to landfill as well as a strict ‘no bottled water’ policy that has already prevented one million plastic bottles being dumped into the ground. It has pledged to go completely single-use plastic free in 2019.
Jane is delighted that Warren has accepted the role. She said: “Warren’s knowledge, experience and enthusiasm for sustainable practices is infectious. After hearing him speak at our recent roundtable and discovering the tangible results he has achieved at 15Hatfilelds, we felt he was the perfect choice to help us inspire our members, share best practice and set a benchmark for the industry.”
Warren Campbell, general manager of 15Hatfields, said: “I am absolutely thrilled to be joining the mia board as a voluntary ambassador and using my experience to help encourage the industry to use less plastic and share best practice. Only by working collaboratively can we instigate change and make a positive impact.”
To find out more about the mia, visit www.mia-uk.org.
Author: Adam Parry
Adam is the co-founder and editor of www.eventindustrynews.com Adam, a technology evangelist also organises Event Tech Live, Europe’s only show dedicated to event technology and the Event Technology Awards. Both events take place in November, London.
