The Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) has released the GSTC MICE Criteria, now publicly available for non-commercial use.
These criteria are tailored for Venues, Event Organisers, and Events & Exhibitions, aiming to help businesses adopt sustainable practices in line with the increasing emphasis on sustainability. The development of the GSTC MICE Criteria was supported by the Singapore Tourism Board (STB).
The GSTC MICE Criteria will help define sustainability in a holistic manner; raise awareness of the breadth and nature of sustainability; serve as the basis for certification for sustainability; serve as basic guidelines for education and training on sustainable MICE practices; and help consumers identify sustainable MICE businesses.
The Criteria also offer both the public and private sectors a starting point by providing basic guidelines for MICE businesses to become more sustainable, including guidance for identifying more sustainable suppliers and service providers.
The GSTC will launch an Early Adopter Programme for the MICE Criteria. This programme will run for two years, allowing industry players to apply the Criteria in the field and form a network for knowledge and experience sharing. Information on the programme will soon be announced.
The GSTC Criteria serve as the global standards for sustainability in travel and tourism. The Criteria are used for education and awareness-raising, policy-making for businesses, organisations and government agencies, measurement and evaluation, and as a basis for certification. They are the result of a worldwide effort to develop a common language about sustainability in tourism and are arranged in four pillars: (A) Sustainable management; (B) Socioeconomic impacts; (C) Cultural impacts; (D) Environmental impacts.
The GSTC MICE Criteria are the third GSTC Criteria set, in addition to the GSTC Industry Criteria (for Hotels and Tour operators) and the GSTC Destination Criteria. The GSTC Attraction Criteria are currently under development.
