How to kickstart your corporate social responsibility

31 Oct 2022

Sustainability is at the core of ICC Sydney’s business practices. In alignment with the ASM Global Acts worldwide sustainability and equity program, ICC Sydney’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) program is committed to best practice environmental sustainability and creating a meaningful and lasting legacy for our clients, team and community. Adopting the three key CSR pillars of: Protect the Environment, Invest in People and Strengthen our Community, we have identified several initiatives to support our clients in reducing their environmental footprint while maximising positive social contributions through the world class events we deliver every day.

As the venue’s new Corporate Social Responsibility Manager, I am excited to share my environmental science knowledge, passion and expertise to achieve best practice environmental and social outcomes for each event we host.

With over 11 years of experience in leading project teams to deliver environmental impact assessments and environment and sustainability reporting across an array of industry sectors, geographies and clients including water resources, renewable energy, transportation and major infrastructure, I am excited to be part of the extraordinary ICC Sydney team as we work to support our clients, delegates, stakeholders and community partners to achieve their CSR goals.

Our pledge towards a sustainable future
ICC Sydney, proudly managed by ASM Global, is proud to be one of the first signatories of the EEAA Sustainable Events 2030 Pledge to achieve environmentally sustainable events by 2030. Focusing on seven key impact areas: exhibitor waste, attendee waste, food and beverage (suppliers, carbon footprint, food waste and packaging waste), staging signage and promotions, stand design, logistics and electronic equipment, the pledge demonstrates our accountability and commitment in working towards a more sustainable future.

ICC Sydney is also a proud signatory of the Joint Meetings Industry Council’s Net Zero Carbon Events initiative. Launched back in November 2021, this initiative steers the global events industry towards the common goal of achieving Net Zero Carbon by 2050. Following the best available science on the impacts of climate change, the pledge acknowledges the urgent need to accelerate towards global net-zero emissions and in particular, the role of the entire events industry; which includes organisers, venues, accommodation and travel to mitigate their impact and champion this much needed change together.

Learn more about ICC Sydney’s credentials and sustainability pledges here: Awards & Credentials | ICC Sydney

Managing waste for success
Managing waste and working closely with clients to divert as much waste from landfill is an area ICC Sydney feels highly passionate about. We recently announced our new partnership with BinTracker, a comprehensive waste reporting platform that allows the team to monitor and report on waste from individual events in real time. Using weight-scales, unique bin identification QR coding, and state-of-the-art waste tracking software, we can now provide event organisers with daily waste reports detailing the total waste being generated during an event, accompanied by a percentage breakdown of waste being diverted into each stream (i.e organics, landfill, recycling, dry waste, soft plastic, etc.).

By having access to this real time waste data, we strongly believe that team members, event organisers and attendees alike will be empowered to make more positive waste choices whilst attending or working an event at ICC Sydney.

We were fortunate enough to recently collaborate with Diversified Communications on their annual Australasian Waste and Recycling Expo (AWRE) to harness the power of our new BinTracker platform. As a result, we generated only 916 kilograms of waste over the two-day event — 81% of which was diverted from landfill, exceeding our current baseline target of diverting 75% waste from landfill for all events held at the venue. Read more on our case study here.

Leaving a positive legacy
As an iconic destination residing on Gadigal Country — next to the sparkling blue waters of Darling Harbour, ICC Sydney offers event organisers and attendees unique opportunities to activate sustainable event practices and engage with First Nations business and artists, local community groups, and educational organisations through our industry leading Legacy Program.

Spread across five key streams – First Nations, Environmental Sustainability, Innovators and Entrepreneurs, Generation Next and Creative Industries, ICC Sydney enriches the experiences of attendees while helping our client’s reach their CSR goals by connecting attendees with Sydney’s abundance of intellectual, social and cultural capital.

We offer event organisers a diverse suite of innovative ways to reduce the environmental impact of their event while leaving a positive social impact. From engaging with Australia’s First Nations People to implementing sustainable consumption practices and all the behind-the-scenes initiatives we are already implementing at the venue, we are confident that ICC Sydney can support you in reaching your CSR goals.

Jess Zickar
Corporate Social Responsibility Manager

Back to News