Jena Convention Bureau: Promoting a Bright Future for a City of Education & Science
The German city of Jena is renowned as a centre of education and research. Historically, the Friedrich Schiller University was founded in 1558, and the city was regarded as the world centre for optics with the formation of Carl Zeiss in 1846. More recently it is home to the Jena Declaration, a call for change in strategy to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Jena Convention Bureau (JCB) is a division of JenaKultur, which is owned by the local council and works to promote the city to national and international Meetings, Incentive, Conference and Event (MICE) planners and participants. Jena Convention Bureau acts as an interface between the city, with its education and industry institutions, and event planners, as well as supporting congress applications and conducting market research. In March this year, Jena Convention Bureau received its Green Globe certification with a score of 88%.
Jenny Marx, Project Manager, Jena Convention Bureau said, “In order to receive Green Globe certification we had to research and put together a lot of information about our work and how our office is being operated. We had to evaluate how we are ‘actually’ doing things.”
Sustainability is a city-wide effort which the Jena Convention Bureau benefits from as well as contributes to. The city council provides regulations to ensure good governance across many areas. Heritage is preserved with historic buildings restored according to conservation standards, while the council is also committed to a climate neutral future by 2035. Additionally, Jena has signed the United Nations Agenda 2030, which includes a package of measures to achieve the 17 UN Sustainability Development Goals over the next 8 years.
Staff at Jena Convention Bureau benefit from Germany’s strict adherence to social standards, including provision of health insurance, sick pay, paid vacations, and overtime. Strict workplace safety regulations are also part of daily work life, and JCB’s mother company JenaKultur and the city council mandate a Code of Behavior for employers and employees. In addition, JCB provides annual reviews for employees and a paid supplement for using public transportation, as well as conducting other day to day actions such as ensuring only recycled paper is used for printing across its offices.
Regarding the process and outcomes of certification, Jenny Marx said, “It was a lot of work but in the end we realized that we are already running our office sustainably - our office building has been restored according to conservation standards, we use renewable energy, we recycle as much as we can, our (very few) brochures have been printed on recycled paper, green standards have been set for purchasing office supplies and cleaning products and we work paperless in the office. The next step is to educate ourselves on actually running sustainable events and to advise our partners and clients accordingly."
Contacts:
Jenny Marx
Projektmanagement
Jena Convention Bureau
JenaKultur
Fachbereich Tourismus / Marketing
Jena Convention Bureau
Markt 16
07743 Jena
Deutschland
Tel. +49 3641 49-8332
Fax. +49 3641 49-8050
jenny.marx@jena.de
www.jenakultur.de
Bradley Cox
Director Communications
Green Globe Certification
1223 Wilshire Blvd. Suite 925
Santa Monica, CA 90403 / U.S.A.
Phone: +1-310-337-3000 ext. 105
Skype Direct +1 760 536 6581
Mobile +61 400 848 746
bcox@greenglobe.com
www.greenglobe.com
About Green Globe Certification
Green Globe is the worldwide sustainability system based on internationally accepted criteria for sustainable operation and management of travel and tourism businesses. Operating under a worldwide license, Green Globe is based in California, USA and is represented in over 83 countries. Green Globe is an Affiliate Member of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO). For information, please visit www.greenglobe.com
