The idea is mainly for Thai Mice (Meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions) operators to be part of the effort in reducing global warming and getting them ready to enter the low-carbon society that will help strengthen the competitiveness of Thai exhibition industry as a whole.
Thongchai Sridama, acting on behalf of the President of TCEB, said the Mice industry plays a role in supporting the development of all industries in Thailand, because exhibitions are significant marketing tools to market products, innovation and technologies to new customers.
But the organisation said it was aware that exhibitions have an impact on the environment, so it has joined with the TGO to develop the direction on carbon footprint assessment of exhibition industry.
Mr Thongchai said the co-operation would assist operators in the exhibition industry to evaluate the impact of carbon emissions from each exhibition, manage each exhibition in a way that actually reduces the destruction of the environment, which includes saving energy, reduction of raw materials, and proper recycling.
“This cooperation will help create a clear framework for industries to operate, bearing in mind the importance of the environment as well. Moreover, it will help strengthen the competitiveness of the Thai exhibition industry at the international arena by being more than just a platform for products,” he said.
Mrs. Prasertsuk Chamornmarn, Acting Executive Director of the TGO, said the organisation has been contacted by many event organisers about the carbon footprint assessment in their businesses.
“Currently, official calculation of the carbon footprint has been published in many countries and Thai organisations, too, have already calculated the carbon footprint. However, Thailand still lacks the standards to verify the accuracy of each data.
“The cooperation between TCEB and TGO has been initiated to develop the standard for assessing the MICE industry. The carbon footprint assessment standard in Thailand will be the national standard with reference to others in different countries.”