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ASSOCIATIONS NEWS
TECH AND GREENING Technology may offer myriad benefits to the events industry and it can also greatly assist with event greening. But what about electronic waste, asks the Event Greening Forum? E-waste refers to any type of electronic device that has come to the end of its life. What makes handling this waste problematic is, first, the amount of waste being produced, and second, what is in it. Malcolm Whitehouse, Operations Manager at the e-Waste Association of South Africa (eWASA), says it’s estimated that, on average, every person produces 6kg of e-waste a year. It’s important to divert this from landfill as most e-waste contains toxins. These can leach into the earth or be released into the air if burnt. “Safely disposing of your e-waste is simple; you can find any one of our 600 national members on www.ewasa.org. They comply with our waste management standards, and will recycle as much e-waste as is possible, and in a safe way. What cannot be salvaged is then disposed of responsibly.” There is no cost to have your e-waste disposed of in this way. To find out more or to download the EGF’s Minimum Standards for Sustainable Events, visit www.eventgreening.co.za.
www.theevent.co.za
Rudi Van Der Vyver Chief Executive Officer at SAACI
SAACI –PROFESSIONALISING THE BUSINESS EVENTS INDUSTRY As we kick off 2018 at SAACI we’ve launched various programmes toward the end of 2017 geared to professionalising the business-events industry within Southern Africa. Professionalisation is not exclusively measured by regulation, although this is one aspect of it. We however view the professionalisation of the industry to be a phased approach with a large focus being placed on learning/education and business ethics. These will then naturally progress into policies or guidelines for operation within the industry. Another component of professionalisation is the nurturing, growth and guidance of new entrants into the industry to create sustainability but, that being
said, this growth and sustainability needs to be created using the correct business practices to promote the overall growth of the industry. Part of this education and learning as an example is the SAACI Mentorship program set to launch in March 2018. With this programme, we link up industry experts as Mentors with future industry leaders as mentees to ensure effective knowledge transfer and coaching within the industry. This allows us to, as an industry, continue to grow and move forward and not make the same old mistakes but rather be innovative in our thinking and approach to business. Keep an eye out for communications during the year on all our projects, partnerships and calls for input from our members to truly affect change and move our industry into a space of formailsed professionalism.