The ISO 20121 accreditation was awarded by SGS, the awarding body on behalf of ISO, in November 2021. The CCD is one of only three venues in Ireland to hold this accreditation. Having the standard shows The CCD’s commitment to sustainability and to leading event sustainability in Ireland. The venue’s hospitality service partners, Fitzers also hold the standard.
In addition to ISO 20121, The CCD also holds Quality Standard ISO 9001 and Environmental Standard ISO 14001, as well as British Security Standard BS 7499.
The CCD has been focusing on sustainability for some years now, with a vision to become Ireland’s most sustainable venue and a leading expert in sustainable event delivery in Europe. They have identified four ambitions to achieve this vision, together with the support of industry partners, clients and delegates:
- Carbon neutral by 2025.
- ISO 20121 by 2021.
- Sustainable hospitality.
- Eliminate single-use plastics by 2023.
As part of the external audit process for ISO 20121, The CCD was recognised for its achievements including:
- The venue is supplied by 100% certified renewable electricity.
- Single-use plastics removed from the venue’s cash catering offering.
- The CCD held its first carbon-neutral event in 2021.
- The CCD achieved Gold Healthy Venue accreditation in 2021.
Clients are offered the option to offset carbon emissions from their event by planting trees. To date, 300 indigenous trees have been planted.
Speaking about the accreditation, Stephen Meehan, CEO of The CCD said, “We are proud to be accredited with ISO 20121. As the world’s first carbon-neutral constructed convention centre, The CCD is one of Europe’s most environmentally-friendly venues and this accreditation demonstrates our commitment to long term sustainability and leading event sustainability in Ireland. We will continue to push ourselves as a business to always improve on our sustainability efforts and the impact we make on the environment.”
Alan Gallagher, Director of Event Operations at The CCD added, “We will continue to ensure that the venue leads and influences suppliers and clients to make the rights choices and come up with innovative sustainable ideas for events held at The CCD.”
The CCD aims to set the standard for green events and is committed to a secure and sustainable future by positively impacting the environment, economy and society. An annual external audit will take place for The CCD to continue to hold the ISO 20121.
