The Aeris Futuro Foundation promotes green events
The Aeris Futuro Foundation is unrolling its newest project: "Green Events - A promotional and educational campaign for an aware and sustainable lifestyle". Funding for the project comes from the program "Environmental protectioin and sustainable development from EEA and NORWAY GRANTS", managed by ECORYS Polska Sp. z. o. o. The goals of the initiative are educating about and promoting the development of "green events", as well as emission reduction and 'offsets' as a means of implementing sustainable practices at work and at home. These practices offer tangible economic, social and ecological rewards.
-During the last several years, there has been an observable increase in interest in ecology on the part of businesses as well as other social groups and institutions. A side effect of every action is its negative influence on the environmental and climate due to a low level of environmental awareness, overexploitation of natural resources and the wasting of energy, prioritizing economic criteria, says Joanna Mieszkowicz, Executive Director of the Aeris Futuro Foundation. Institutions are starting to search out opportunities to organise events adhering to the principles of sustainable development and corporate social responsibility (CSR). The scale of such initiatives remains small due to weak promotion of the events - adds Joanna Mieszkowicz.
This project is addressed to representatives of firms and institutions who are responsible for organising various kinds of events, CSR, PR, human resources, sustainable development, and environmental protection in their workplace, as well as those who are only starting their search for reliable information on the subject. They will gain invaluable knowledge, as well as the tools needed to effectively limit their environmental impact while maintaining the quality of their work; they will expand their catalogue to include CSR-friendly projects; employees' satisfaction will increase, as well as levels of loyalty.
-We are engaging companies which offer environmentally friendly goods and services, in order to help promote them and strengthen their market presence; this is especially important during periods of economic turmoil, says Monika Krusiewicz, the project's education and promotion specialist. -Representatives of local and regional government and nongovernmental organisations will also be invited to participate in this project. Their involvement will allow them to gain support for their own local sustinabililty initiatives. A further effect of the ten month project will be the launch of the website www.zielonewydarzenia.pl, the publication of a set of guidelines about organising sustainable events and a catalogue of firms and institutions active in the green event sector, adds Monika Krusiewicz.
Sustainable events ("zielone wydarzenia" in Polish) are those which, at every level of planning and realisation prioritise environmentall sound practices - reducing the negative impact of a given event by saving energy and resources. Carbon neutral events take it one step further through the use of offset initiatives such as afforestation, energy efficiency and using renewable energy sources.
About the Aeris Futuro Foundation
Established in 2006, the Foundation aims to effectively fight climate change, protect biodiversity and landscape diversity, support local initiatives, and promote reponsible business practices. More information can be found at: www.aeris.eko.org.pl
Contact
Monika Krusiewicz
Education and promotion specialist
Tel: 0692 44 86 87
e-mail: mkrusiewicz@aeris.eko.org.pl
