CTICC first GRI certified convention centre in Africa
The Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC) is the first convention centre in Africa to have had its sustainable initiatives certified according to the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) measurement standards. The GRI is a global network-based organization that produces a comprehensive international sustainability reporting framework for leading organisations. Speaking today at the centre’s Annual Results Press Conference, CTICC Chief Executive Officer, Rashid Toefy says” As a convention centre, whose values are entrenched around economic, social and environmental advancement, sustainability considerations permeate every aspect of our business. It’s what drives us to innovate, create opportunities and effect change in the meetings and events industry in terms of sustainability”.“Becoming GRI certified was the final step in the centre’s journey to achieving complete sustainability” says Toefy. The first step was making a commitment to becoming sustainable, and then putting international measures in place to achieve these objectives, like ISO 14001 (Environmental Management) standards and then lastly to be able to effectively measure and report on progress on these initiatives. The centre has successfully met and exceeded all three objectives, achieving its goal of being a leading environmentally sustainable convention centre. “Embedding sustainability into your long term strategy is vital if you want people to invest in you. If you don’t have sustainability at the core of your operations, society will reject your products and services” added Toefy. Ethical considerations are a key driving factor behind consumer behaviour and being GRI compliant means that our organisation has met the most stringent regulatory requirements possible in terms of fair, sustainable and ethical business practices. “South Africa is one of the world’s leaders in terms of Corporate Governance and it’s fitting that Cape Town is one of the few cities in the world that boasts a GRI certified convention centre” says Toefy. CTICC has produced a comprehensive sustainability report that measures the centre’s successes in terms of its sustainability accolades, which include being one of the few international convention centres to belong to the United Nations Global Compact and the Green Meetings Industry Council.
Date Created: 2011-10-19 |
|
|
