Integrating Corporate Social Responsibility into conference organisation: a commitment for the future

At a time when cor­por­ate social respons­ib­il­ity (CSR) is tak­ing centre stage, the organ­isa­tion of pro­fes­sion­al events is no excep­tion. More and more par­ti­cipants and com­pan­ies are look­ing for con­fer­ences that are eco-respons­ible, inclus­ive and have a pos­it­ive impact on the host region.
But in prac­tic­al terms, how can social respons­ib­il­ity be integ­rated into a con­fer­ence? What are the levers for redu­cing the envir­on­ment­al foot­print and pro­mot­ing a more eth­ic­al and inclus­ive approach? Finally, how can a ven­ue like the Centre Inter­na­tion­al de Deau­ville (CID) sup­port organ­isers in this transition?

Our CSR commitment 

What does corporate social responsibility mean for event organisers?

Cor­por­ate Social Respons­ib­il­ity (CSR) applied to events aims to organ­ise con­fer­ences that respect sus­tain­able, eth­ic­al and inclus­ive val­ues. It is based on three pillars:

• The envir­on­ment: redu­cing car­bon foot­print and waste, pro­mot­ing eco-respons­ible practices.
• Social: ensur­ing access­ib­il­ity for all, pro­mot­ing diversity and inclusion.
• The loc­al eco­nomy: favour­ing loc­al ser­vice pro­viders and mak­ing a pos­it­ive con­tri­bu­tion to the region.

In the events sec­tor, CSR is not just a label, but a key cri­terion for par­ti­cipants and spon­sors. A respons­ible con­fer­ence enhances the image of the organ­ising com­pan­ies while meet­ing the expect­a­tions of today’s society.

The CID: an eco-friendly con­fer­ence centre 

Organising an eco-responsible conference: reducing your environmental footprint

Pro­fes­sion­al con­fer­ences and events gen­er­ate a sig­ni­fic­ant envir­on­ment­al foot­print: energy con­sump­tion, waste pro­duc­tion, travel, etc. To min­im­ise this impact, a num­ber of prac­tic­al steps can be taken:

Choose a venue committed to a sustainable approach

A con­ven­tion centre that is cer­ti­fied or com­mit­ted to an envir­on­ment­al policy is a major asset. The CID Deau­ville, for example, imple­ments optim­ised resource man­age­ment and aims to con­tinu­ally reduce its eco­lo­gic­al footprint.

Reducing waste and combating plastic

• Opt for digit­al com­mu­nic­a­tion media rather than paper.
• Elim­in­at­ing plastic bottles in favour of water bottles and foun­tains.
• Encour­age select­ive sort­ing and recyc­ling of mater­i­als used.

Favour responsible food

Eco-respons­ible cater­ing favours loc­al, organ­ic and sea­son­al products. Redu­cing food waste by adapt­ing quant­it­ies and work­ing with loc­al asso­ci­ations is also an excel­lent way of achiev­ing this.

Encouraging soft mobility

Encour­aging par­ti­cipants to opt for the train, car­pool­ing or pub­lic trans­port helps to reduce the car­bon foot­print of travel. The CID Deau­ville, loc­ated close to train sta­tions and major roads, facil­it­ates these alternatives.

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Promoting inclusion and ethics at events

A respons­ible con­fer­ence is not just about envir­on­ment­al issues: it must also be access­ible, eth­ic­al and inclusive.

Ensuring accessibility for all

• Provide facil­it­ies adap­ted for people with reduced mobil­ity (PRM).
• Provide clear and intu­it­ive sig­nage.
• Provide sign lan­guage inter­pret­a­tion or sub­titling for conferences.

Vis­it the CID Deauville

Promoting diversity and inclusion

• Encour­age the diversity of speak­ers and pan­els to rep­res­ent all profiles.
• Raise par­ti­cipants’ aware­ness of inclu­sion issues through ded­ic­ated work­shops and conferences.
• Provide relax­a­tion and well-being areas access­ible to all.

Establishing fair relations with partners and suppliers

An eth­ic­al event favours loc­al ser­vice pro­viders who are com­mit­ted to CSR. Work­ing with respons­ible com­pan­ies guar­an­tees prac­tices that respect employ­ees and the environment.

Cal­cu­late the car­bon foot­print of your event

A congress rooted in its region: positive impact and lasting legacy

An event should be more than just a passing fad, it should have a pos­it­ive impact on the host region.

Working with local businesses and associations

Sup­port­ing the loc­al eco­nomy by choos­ing region­al ser­vice pro­viders con­trib­utes to the region’s dynam­ism. What’s more, work­ing with com­munity organ­isa­tions helps to cre­ate a pos­it­ive social impact.

Offering solidarity and team-building activities with an impact

Incor­por­at­ing respons­ible activ­it­ies into the event, such as cor­por­ate volun­teer­ing or aware­ness-rais­ing work­shops, can increase the com­mit­ment of par­ti­cipants and cre­ate a pos­it­ive col­lect­ive dynamic.

Leave a lasting footprint

• Donate unused equip­ment to loc­al charities.
• Sup­port envir­on­ment­al pro­jects through car­bon off­set­ting initiatives.
• Trans­form­ing cer­tain infra­struc­tures into spaces that can be reused for oth­er events.

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How does the CID Deauville contribute to social responsibility in the organisation of congresses in France?

The Centre Inter­na­tion­al de Deau­ville (CID) is act­ively com­mit­ted to an eco-respons­ible approach to redu­cing the envir­on­ment­al impact of the events it hosts. This com­mit­ment is reflec­ted in a num­ber of con­crete actions:

An ISO 20121 convention centre: a guarantee of responsible management

The CID Deau­ville is ISO 20121 cer­ti­fied, an inter­na­tion­al stand­ard ded­ic­ated to respons­ible man­age­ment in the events sec­tor. This cer­ti­fic­a­tion attests to the imple­ment­a­tion of prac­tices designed to min­im­ise the eco­lo­gic­al foot­print of events, while integ­rat­ing social and eco­nom­ic considerations.

Deauville, an ‘Innovative Sustainable Destination

The town of Deau­ville has been awar­ded the ‘Innov­at­ive Sus­tain­able Des­tin­a­tion’ label, reflect­ing its com­mit­ment to sus­tain­able tour­ism and respons­ible events. This dis­tinc­tion under­lines the joint efforts of the muni­cip­al­ity and the CID to pro­mote envir­on­ment­ally-friendly and inclus­ive practices.

Concrete actions for eco-responsible events

The CID Deau­ville is imple­ment­ing a series of meas­ures to organ­ise respons­ible congresses:

• Sus­tain­able mobil­ity: loc­ated in the heart of Deau­ville, the CID makes it easy for par­ti­cipants to walk between accom­mod­a­tion, cater­ing and meet­ing areas, thereby redu­cing the car­bon foot­print asso­ci­ated with transport.
• Loc­al and sea­son­al cater­ing: part­ner cater­ers favour loc­al and sea­son­al products, sup­port­ing the region­al eco­nomy and redu­cing the envir­on­ment­al impact of trans­port­ing goods.
• Optim­ised man­age­ment of resources: the CID adopts eco-respons­ible prac­tices, such as using low-energy con­sump­tion equip­ment, redu­cing heat­ing and air con­di­tion­ing dur­ing set-up and dis­mant­ling, and recyc­ling waste through rig­or­ous select­ive sorting.
• Work­ing with loc­al sup­pli­ers: By work­ing with region­al sup­pli­ers for tech­nic­al, audi­ovisu­al, secur­ity and clean­ing ser­vices, the CID is sup­port­ing the loc­al eco­nomy while redu­cing the car­bon foot­print asso­ci­ated with travel.

Our energy con­ser­va­tion plan

By choos­ing the CID Deau­ville to organ­ise their con­gresses in France, com­pan­ies are asso­ci­at­ing them­selves with a part­ner com­mit­ted to social respons­ib­il­ity, guar­an­tee­ing events that respect the envir­on­ment and bene­fit the loc­al community.
Integ­rat­ing social respons­ib­il­ity into the organ­isa­tion of con­gresses is now an imper­at­ive if we are to respond to envir­on­ment­al, social and eco­nom­ic chal­lenges. An eco-respons­ible event is an oppor­tun­ity to enhance a com­pany’s image while hav­ing a pos­it­ive impact on society.
CID Deau­ville, with its strong com­mit­ment to CSR, sup­ports organ­isers in this approach by offer­ing prac­tic­al solu­tions tailored to the needs of each event.
Would you like to organ­ise a respons­ible con­fer­ence in France? Con­tact the CID Deau­ville and find out how you can give your event a pos­it­ive impact!

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