Green Meetings in Taiwan Help Build a Sustainable Business Environment. Recently the concept of the “Green Meeting Industry Council” has been pitched at the International Meetings Exchange (IMEX). To work towards achieving the goals of “zero environmental pollution,” “comprehensive recycling responsibility analysis on the global MICE industry,” and “establishing acceptable standards and guidelines for implementation” for green meetings by 2020, the Ministry of Economic Affairs’ Bureau of Foreign Trade (BOFT) has developed the Taiwan MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferencing, Exhibitions) Mobile Application Platform that Taiwanese MICE businesses may utilize free of charge. Venues such as the Nangang Exhibition Hall, Kaohsiung World Trade Center, Kaohsiung World Games Stadium, etc. are also taking part through practical actions.

Meetings and Exhibitions of the 21st Century are Headed Toward Internet, Paperless Trends
As MICE events of the past focused heavily on economic development, it was inevitable that a large amount of pollution was generated and resources expended on transportation, printed material, and exhibition ground construction whenever a major international exhibition or conference was held.

In the 21st century, MICE events must strike a balance between economic development, ecological environment, and social justice. Making information available on the Internet is a vital step in implementing green meetings. The widespread use of smart phones and tablet computers makes it possible for visitors to download exhibition information, meeting schedules, and peripheral transportation details that the organizer makes available as electronic files beforehand. Digitized information can greatly reduce the need for printed promotional material and conference handbooks, reducing the amount of resources wasted. After taking into account the trend of placing information online, the Taiwan MICE Advancement Program developed the Taiwan MICE Mobile Application Platform, which is being comprehensively promoted in 2012 for various professional conference organizers (PCOs) and international conference organizers to utilize. Through the links formed by social groups and the immediacy of the Internet, visitors will be able to convey events and exciting real-time scenes, cuisine, and happenings in Taiwan with this smart phone application. On-line information-sharing mechanisms will then indirectly market Taiwan to the world again and again.

Taiwan MICE Mobile Application Platform Available to International Conferences in Taiwan Free of Charge
The Taiwan MICE Mobile Application Platform is already being promoted to all PCOs and international conference organizers in the practical spirit of green meetings. International conferences that have used or are about to utilize this service include, among others, the 22nd Regional Congress of the International Society Blood Transfusion (ISBT Taipei 2011), the 21st International Conference on Management of Technology (IAMOT 2012), the 21st Annual Wireless & Optical Communications Conference, the International Association of Prosecutors (IAP) 8th Asia Pacific & Middle East Regional Conference, and the 8th Asia Pacific Symposium on Neural Regeneration (APSNR) in conjunction with the 5th Pan Pacific Symposium on Stem Cells and Cancer Research (PPSSC).

The BOFT hopes that as the number of users of the Taiwan MICE Mobile Application Platform grows, we will continue to accumulate great user experience from international visitors so that the value and reputation of the Taiwan MICE Mobile Application Platform can be enhanced through word-of-mouth marketing. Providing smart technological services will establish a professional image for Taiwan’s MICE industry and provide a further edge for those in the MICE industry when bidding to host various international conferences in the future.

Venue Facilities and MICE Events Must Abide by Green Energy Regulations
The Kaohsiung World Trade Center, whose completion and opening is expected in 2013, is located near Kaohsiung Harbor. The wave-like roof design incorporates scenery from Kaohsiung Harbor, while the design concepts utilized within the center are a meld of modern technology and green architecture. The building has now obtained a Green Building candidacy certificate in seven indicators: greenness, water reserve, energy saving, reduction of CO2 emission, indoor environment, water resource, and improvement on sewage and garbage.

In 2010, the BOFT officially launched the MICE Event Carbon Footprint Research Project at the Nangang Exhibition Hall. The exhibition hall’s hardware facilities were diagnosed and analyzed for energy conservation in accordance with ISO 14064 protocol so as to gradually achieve the greenhouse gas emission reduction targets for the exhibition hall and meet goals set for Green MICE.

In addition, the architecture of Kaohsiung World Games Stadium, completed in 2009, abides by energy conservation, waste reduction, ecological, and health-oriented design concepts. It has also received gold grade Green Building certification in nine indicators. Organizers can set implemental guidelines for reduced carbon emissions for events held at the venue, so that participating vendors, decorating companies, and visitors can all comply with these guidelines. Examples include asking participants to bring their own reusable bags, not providing paper copies of seminar material, etc. so that these guidelines are implemented among all participants.

You can have more informations about meetigs and MICE in Taiwan when you visit the IMEX in Frankfurt and meet the specialists from Taiwan on their stand.