What does it mean for organizations to actively promote corporate responsibility, especially during events where they convene their communities to further their work worldwide? In our series highlighting our clients and their innovative ideas around events, this issue focuses on Corporate Responsibility. Our clients have been up to some cool stuff!
Environmental Justice Walking Tour
Photo Credit: Kristina Marusic for Environmental Health News. Here’s a feature story about this example of corporate responsibility.
At CleanMed 2023, a conference focusing on sustainability in the healthcare industry, 50 attendees participated in a walking tour where local guides discussed the industrial history of Pittsburgh and the toxic legacy it left behind.
Participants learned about the impact of industrialization on the city and its residents, including:
- Prevalence of hazardous chemicals
- Explosive products traveling through populated areas
After the tour, the group met for roundtable discussions with local environmental justice leaders to exchange ideas and understand the challenges involved with educating residents about the connection of their health issues to their environment.
Local STEM Students at ROSCon 2023
ROSCon partnered with local area high schools to bring 25 STEM students to ROSCon. The conference supported their registration and lunch.
Attending this conference allowed them to experience the robotics industry’s culture first-hand. Their day included the following activities:
- Attending the opening ceremony with a shout-out to the students attending the conference.
- Introduction to the Robot Operating System (ROS)
- Learning from the Robotics industry experts
- Discovering education & career paths in the Robotics industry
- Guided tour with exhibitors
- Discussion with Brian, OSRF Chairman from Nvidia
- Robot Demos
By including the STEM students in the conference, ROSCon has demonstrated its corporate responsibility to the community to ensure future generations have exposure to technology and the possibility of a career path in the robotics industry.
IMEX Frankfurt 2023 E-Buses to Train Station
At IMEX Frankfurt 2023, the event provided four fully electric buses for attendees to travel from the venue to the Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof, one of Europe’s largest rail transit centers. The buses made continuous circuits throughout the day to make getting to and from the venue convenient. Of the 37,500 km traveled by IMEX Frankfurt contracted ground transport, an estimated 1,000 km were powered electrically.
By helping to facilitate direct linkage with low-carbon rail, it’s possible to travel 24,390 km on 1 MT of carbon compared to just 3,922 km via air travel– that’s 84% more km per MT.
Hackathon for Good
A technology summit included a hackathon competition for the teams to focus on creating innovative applications that were concentrated on four of the UN Sustainable Development Goals:
- Goal 5: Gender Equality – Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.
- Goal 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure – Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization, and foster innovation.
- Goal 12: Responsible Consumption and Production – Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns.
- Goal 13: Climate Action – Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts.
The winning teams decided which sustainability charity would receive the cash awards.
More details on this activity can be found on this article.
More Ways to Give Back
At another conference, the corporate responsibility program of choice was a simple program that promoted drinking water in a reusable bottle. The Hydrate and Help water bottles were given to each attendee, who scanned their bottle with each refill, which gives money to water charities and helps reduce waste.
Another excellent example of providing opportunities for a corporate responsibility program is building hygiene kits. Attendees put together hygiene kits and blankets, which are then donated to local organizations like United Way.
Corporate Responsibility & Creative Community Impacts
Corporate responsibility is a way for your organization to give back to not only the host city where your event is but it gives back to the planet. The programs you choose to include can be a variety of initiatives that connect with your values and mission. As you can see, each of these examples reflected the organization, and the impacts of these programs would lead to more good in the world.
What corporate responsibility initiative will you include in your next event?
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