The release and its publisher
GDS-Movement published the release on its blog on 15 September 2026. Radisson Hotel Group co-issued it. The subject is “Accelerating Sustainable & Regenerative Events: A Guide for associations & PCOs.” The guide runs 12 pages on Radisson’s media server.
The release addresses associations and professional congress organisers. It states that the guide carries practical tools, destination data and measurable frameworks.
Two statements from two publishers
Inge Huijbrechts, chief sustainability and security officer at Radisson Hotel Group, states that the industry faces an implementation challenge. She states that the guide gives planners tools, frameworks and collaboration models.
Guy Bigwood, chief executive and chief changemaker at GDS-Movement, states that destinations hold a role in the transition toward sustainable and regenerative events. He states that the GDS-Index helps destinations measure and improve their sustainability performance.
What the GDS-Index measures
The guide describes the GDS-Index as GDS-Movement’s benchmarking and performance improvement programme for destination sustainability. It benchmarks four baskets. City environmental performance covers climate, energy and emissions, circularity and waste, water, air quality, transportation, biodiversity and tourism alignment. City social performance covers SDG alignment, corruption, personal safety, diversity, inclusion and equity, health, safety and wellness, accessibility, resident engagement and funding. Supplier performance covers hotels, airports, agencies including PCOs and DMCs, restaurants, venues, attractions, academia and tourism and event businesses. Destination management covers strategy, governance and reporting, policy and certification, capacity building, impact measurement, marketing and communications, diversity, equity and inclusion, mobility and climate action.
The session the guide records
The guide states where its material came from. The insights were first shared at a session at the Radisson Collection Hotel, Grand Place Brussels on 5 December 2025. More than 30 representatives attended, 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.
The three figures and the report behind them
The release opens with three figures. 66 percent of associations consider sustainability highly important. Fewer than 34 percent have embedded it into their operations. 3 percent report an advanced sustainability programme.
The guide footnotes the three to “The State of Sustainability in Associations: ICCA/Destination Canada 2025.” ICCA and Destination Canada fielded the survey between May and August 2025 and published the report in November 2025.
The report carries the 66 percent figure. It splits the number into 45 percent rating sustainability very important and 21 percent rating it extremely important. The 2025 figure compares with 60 percent in 2023.
The second and third figures against the report
The report carries no measure worded as the second figure. Its integration table reads 62 percent for event planning procedures, 50 percent for business and strategic planning, 38 percent for procurement and operations, 34 percent for requests for proposal, 33 percent for an event code of conduct, 29 percent for a transport and travel policy and 27 percent for mission statements. The report also uses 34 percent for the share reporting no change in participant demand for sustainable options.
The report carries no advanced-programme measure. The guide prints the sentence and footnotes it to the report.
Two counts for one indicator set
The release states that destinations are assessed against 74 qualitative and quantitative indicators aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and the Global Sustainable Tourism Council Destination Criteria. The guide prints 76 twice. One line reads “built on 76 qualitative and quantitative indicators.” Another reads “Co-created by destinations for destinations: 76 qualitative and quantitative criteria.” Both numbers come from the two publishers.
What a group-sales team can quote
The launch, the guide, the session record and both named executives verify against the two publishers’ own material. The 66 percent figure verifies against the report the guide cites. The 34 percent and 3 percent figures rest on the release and the guide. Ask the destination or the hotel group for the measurement behind either number before a bid uses it.