Meeting News - February 11, 2008 - (Page 19)

Edited by Elizabeth West elizabeth.west@nielsen.com Transportation & Services Big Leap Toward Sustainability Airline to run industry’s first biofueled flight this month South Norwalk, CT—One of Virgin Atlantic’s Boeing 747s will take to the skies this month using a sustainable type of biofuel that does not compete with food and freshwater resources. The flight, which will run from London’s Heathrow Airport to Amsterdam, will mark the first time that a commercial aircraft is flown on a biofuel; it will be passenger-less but will serve as a showcase for the airline’s vision to reduce the carbon emissions of the aviation industry. “The demonstration flight…will give us crucial knowledge that we can use to dramatically reduce our carbon footprint,” said Richard Branson, Virgin Atlantic’s president, in an issued press release. “Virgin Group pledged to invest all its profits from its transportation companies toward developing clean energy, and with this breakthrough we are well down the path to achieving our goals.” The move complements a program launched last November that allows Virgin Atlantic customers to buy their carbon-offsets aboard their flights. Virgin Atlantic was the first airline in the world to establish such a program. Green programs like these are becoming big conversation topics in the meetings industry, as exempli- Be Prepared, Says GEP to DMCs Virgin Atlantic Takes Another Members must meet new risk coverage requirements Washington, DC—Global Event Partners (GEP) announced in January that its U.S.-member destination management companies will now be held to new standards regarding risk coverage for their events. The standards were unanimously approved by GEP’s members at the organization’s annual Best Practices meeting in November in Dallas. Among the standards that GEP partners must follow, effective immediately, are maintaining current certificates of insurance of $1 million in liability for all key suppliers, conducting at least one annual meeting with key suppliers to reiterate safety expectations and review insurance and vendor agreements, and requiring key suppliers to name the participating GEP-member DMC involved in their events as additionally insured. For meeting planners, this comes as good news, as it eases their risk management load when planning events. “We are just coming out of the gate with this but have already received a much better response than I anticipated,” said Chris White, GEP’s CEO. “But this is also a long-term effort, and we will always be striving to go above and beyond what most DMCs do regarding this subject. We want to make our clients comfortable about it, because we all have had firsthand experiences with things that haven’t gone so well, and it is important for clients to know that this time around they are covered.” According to White, the move toward risk management standards came about from one member DMC’s experience in dealing with an accident during a group event. “Because the DMC had really buttoned up its risk management priorities beforehand, it was absolved from responsibility. Afterward, that member DMC offered its co-GEP members the opportunity to look at the efforts it took in advance of the accident, and suggested a standard be made throughout the organization,” said White. “So this wasn’t a top-down regulation—it came from within the organization, with one member DMC looking out for the others. The attitude was ‘let’s all do this.’” GEP is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. Based in Washington, DC, it comprises 65 destination management companies worldwide. Virgin Atlantic strives for environmentally friendly flying. fied by the formation of the Convention Industry Council Task Force on Sustainability and Responsibility. The task force’s goal is to provide environmental and social responsibility information and education to the industry; its first meeting was at the 2008 Professional Convention Management Association’s annual meeting in Seattle in January. “It is amazing to hear about the continued rapid advances in sustainable technology by key partners in the meetings supply chain,” said Bruce MacMillan, task force chair and CEO of Meeting Professionals International. “As awareness of the sustainability and responsibility imperative grows with all our industry partners, these investments will be the key to future competitive advantage and profitability.” Virgin Atlantic provides service from 10 U.S. cities to London and operates long-haul service to 33 destinations around the world. MeetingNews 19 Attendees Can Live the Adventures Seen on Discovery Channel Programming on popular network inspires memory-making experiences for buyout iscovery Channel fans need not feel left out anymore: Viewers of its popular television shows can now experience firsthand the adventures they see, thanks to Discovery Commerce’s new partnership with Excitations, a premier provider of experiences. Now available at www.discoverystore.com/experiences are more than 100 ready-to-purchase adventures in such categories as animal and nature, water, air, green gifts, and kid-friendly. Among the adventures are Formula race car driving, hang-gliding trips, D wolf watches, and underwater photography excursions, with prices starting as low as $50. www.meetingnews.com February 11, 2008 http://www.discoverystore.com/experiences http://www.discoverystore.com/experiences http://www.meetingnews.com

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Meeting News - February 11, 2008

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