COP15 as a Case Study For two weeks between the 7-19 December 2009, 33,526 people from NGOs, media, business and government gathered in Copenhagen to discuss climate change. This historic meeting included government participation from 192 countries, including 126 heads of state, making it the largest political meeting ever celebrated outside of New York and the largest concentration of government leaders at any one time. In addition 6,000 journalists covered the conference, making it the largest media event ever held in Denmark.
The 15th Conference of the Parties (COP15) was an historic affair not only for its significance, but also for the complexity of organising a twenty-four-seven event for twelve days. This involved:
• 76,673m2 of conference space.
• Between 11,000-15,000 guests passing through 23 scanners daily.
• Security provided by over 2,000 police officers, UN officers and security staff.
• Over 2,500 official meetings.
• 300 tons of food used to prepare 200,000 meals that were served by
100 chefs and 450 catering staff.
• 350,000 glasses of tap water and 250,000 cups of FairtradeTM coffee.
• 5,500 computer workstations and internet connection for up to 8,000 laptops.
• Seven football pitches of carpet.
COP15 provides a bold and inspiring example of the potential for sustainability by demonstrating how large events can facilitate sustainable destination transformation. Through active, positive stakeholder engagement initiatives and effective, ongoing improvement of the event management system, the Danish
Foreign Ministry charted a course for success that can now serve as model for cities and event owners around the world.
The Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs took a strategic approach to sustainability underscored by the use of the BS8901 sustainability management system for events and reporting triple bottom line results using the GRI reporting guidelines.
Key successes of the conference include:
• 100% of 72,374 tons of the events carbon emissions were offset.
• 93% of the participants used public transport to and from the venue.
• 75% of the food and beverage was certified organic.
• €532,000 saved by not giving gifts and invested in the education of
11 international students.
• 53% of hotels in the Copenhagen area and the Bella Center congress
venue were eco-certified.
• 40% of food was sourced within a 100 mile (160km) radius.
• 20% reduction in CO2 emissions at the Bella Center (compared to 2007).
• More than 250 hours of TelePresence meetings held over 149 sessions.
• 4%of equivalent venue energy consumption generated by onsite wind turbine.
• 1st UN event to achieve BS8901 certification of its management system.