A guide built for repeat business
Radisson Hotel Group and the Global Destination Sustainability Movement published a joint guide for associations and professional conference organisers. The title is "Accelerating Sustainable & Regenerative Events: A Guide for Associations & PCOs." The release carries a Brussels dateline and reports an unveiling to industry stakeholders in Brussels.
GDS-Movement produced the guide. Radisson Hotels provided design and editing. Antonia Alomar of GDS-Movement wrote the text. The cover line reads "Prepared for Radisson Hotel Group by GDS-Movement."
The subject is a portfolio of meetings. The release states that many associations manage multiple meetings across different destinations, suppliers and planning cycles. It states that the spread creates complexity for consistent sustainability standards and reporting frameworks.
The four barriers the release names
The release lists four barriers for event organisers. Perceived costs. Limited access to sustainability data. Fragmented supplier ecosystems. A lack of practical implementation frameworks.
Inge Huijbrechts, Chief Sustainability and Security Officer at Radisson Hotel Group, gives the framing in the release. "The industry does not have a sustainability awareness problem; it has an implementation challenge," she said. She states that the guide provides planners with tools, frameworks and collaboration models.
What a destination can answer
The guide draws its destination material from GDS-Index destinations where Radisson Hotel Group operates properties. It prints the destination capabilities as percentages. 86 percent share sustainability information in RFP responses and sales materials. 100 percent provide sustainability tools and manuals. 83 percent tell organisers how to cut the carbon impact of their events.
Certification forms the second cluster. 59 percent of hotel rooms in those destinations hold third-party certification. 43 percent of PCOs hold it. 74 percent of major congress venues hold it.
Legacy programmes form the third cluster. 74 percent of the destinations run a donation programme for food. 62 percent run a donation programme for surplus event materials. 74 percent provide a list of organisations that offer social support programmes and volunteering opportunities. 64 percent share a carbon-offsetting programme.
Mobility forms the fourth. 86 percent provide low-carbon mobility guidance. 45 percent offer free or discounted public transport for all convention and congress visitors. 64 percent offer it for selected conventions and congresses.
Funding forms the fifth. 77 percent of destinations offer subvention, per a September 2025 survey by Conferli, #MEET4IMPACT and the GDS-Movement. 20 percent offer fully integrated support packages. 29 percent facilitate partnerships between organisers and local stakeholders. Berlin pays 25 euros per in-person attendee for a one-day meeting with a minimum of 50 participants. Lyon runs helpdesks for organisers.
The five actions the guide lists
The release lists five actions for associations and PCOs. Collaborate with destination partners earlier in the planning process. Prioritise certified supplier networks and sustainability credentials. Integrate social impact and legacy initiatives into event design. Incorporate low-carbon mobility strategies for delegates. Implement sustainability-linked measurement, reporting and incentive frameworks.
The checklist the guide hands a planner
The guide prints its own key planning priorities. Integrate sustainability requirements into the RFP. Choose venues that hold valid sustainability certifications. Ask about the transport incentives available to participants. Request destination guides, toolkits and legacy-planning resources. Enquire about funding and support for sustainable events.
The guide adds one instruction to buyers: "Ask for the GDS-Index in your RFP; this will save you a lot of time assessing a destination's sustainability efforts."
The proposition Radisson attaches to the guide
The guide closes on Radisson Hotel Group's Association Signature Events proposition. It names six supports. Competitive rates for accommodation and events with flexible booking options. A global hotel network with adaptable meeting spaces. Properties designed for delegates with mobility, hearing or vision impairments. Certified association properties, with the carbon footprint of association events automatically compensated. A single point of contact for planning and execution. Radisson Rewards points on association events.
Radisson states its portfolio position in the guide. As of 2024, 58 percent of the group's hotel portfolio is verified under the Hotel Sustainability Basics standard or holds a third-party eco-label such as Green Key. Under the Think Planet pillar of its 2024 Responsible Business Report, the group reports a 33 percent reduction in carbon emissions per square meter and a 21 percent reduction in energy footprint per occupied room, both against a 2019 baseline.
What the release leaves open
The release opens with three figures. 66 percent of associations consider sustainability highly important. Fewer than 34 percent have embedded it into their operations. Only 3 percent report an advanced sustainability programme. The release names no research house for the three. The guide footnotes them to "The State of Sustainability in Associations: ICCA/Destination Canada 2025."
The release gives no date for the Brussels unveiling. The guide places the first sharing of the material at a session at the Radisson Collection Hotel, Grand Place Brussels on 5 December 2025, with more than 30 representatives from the hotel, association, PCO, CVB and venue sectors. The session was co-hosted with the European Society of Association Executives and Copenhagen Convention Bureau.