British Ecological Society Annual Meeting awarded ‘Best Sustainable Event’ by Visit Belfast
Visit Belfast have honoured the British Ecological Society (BES) in their 2024 Ambassador Award, with our Annual Meeting, held at the ICC Belfast in 2023, winning ‘Best Sustainable Event’.
Our Annual Meeting is the largest ecology conference in Europe. In 2023, it brought together more than 1,300 delegates from over 50 countries, across six continents.
We are committed to minimising the environmental impact of our conferences, avoiding and reducing carbon emissions where we can. To achieve this at our 2023 Annual Meeting in Belfast, staff travelled to the city by ferry, and we encouraged our delegates to do the same. All meals provided at the venue were vegan and used local produce where possible. The event itself was paperless and ICC Belfast had no single use plastic onsite.
On top of this, residual emissions were offset and additionally we set aside funding to invest in peatland restoration.
Change can happen at any level – the trick is starting the journey.
The BES was among a total of 14 winners unveiled at the Ambassador Award ceremony at Titanic Belfast. Mark Emmerson, Vice President of the BES and Grants Committee Chair, was there on the night to collect the award for ‘Best Sustainable Event’ on behalf of the BES.
Hazel Norman, CEO of the British Ecological Society, said:
“‘How do we host 1,300 ecologists in the most sustainable way possible?’ This is just one of the questions the BES asked itself as we strive to lessen our footprint. It’s fantastic that Visit Belfast has recognised our efforts and is a wonderful acknowledgement for the team. Change can happen at any level – the trick is starting the journey. And just to be clear, the food was delicious!”
The Ambassador Awards are part of Northern Ireland’s Ambassador Circle Programme which is led by Visit Belfast and supported by Belfast City Council, Tourism Northern Ireland, Invest Northern Ireland, Queen’s University Belfast, Ulster University and ICC Belfast.
Gerry Lennon, Chief Executive of Visit Belfast, said:
“The Visit Belfast Ambassador Awards recognise those leaders who have helped us to put Belfast and Northern Ireland on a global stage and build our reputation as a world-class destination for business events. I congratulate everyone for their important and vital contribution.
Our 2024 Annual Meeting in Liverpool has already sold out, but you can still book tickets to our policy debate on how to manage land use in a nature and climate crisis. The debate will take place on Monday 9 December at the Museum of Liverpool.
To keep up to date with our sustainable events taking place in 2025, keep an eye on the events section the website.
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