International Convention Centre Sydney (ICC Sydney) has appointed Jess Zickar to the role of corporate social responsibility (CSR) manager, to support the venue’s operations, team and clientele in continuing to achieve best practice outcomes for delivering events.
In alignment with the ASM Global Acts worldwide sustainability and equity program, ICC Sydney’s CSR program delivers leading environmental sustainability practices and creates meaningful and lasting legacies for its clients, stakeholders, team and community.
ICC Sydney CEO and Group Director – Convention Centres | ASM Global (APAC), Geoff Donaghy said the venue has strengthened its commitment to its parent group’s program across three key CSR pillars of: Protect the Environment, Invest in People, and Strengthen our Community.
“The team is delighted to welcome Jess Zickar on board to remind event organisers how ICC Sydney is uniquely and expertly equipped to support the integration of corporate social responsibility initiatives at their next business event,” Donaghy said.
Supported by its new recruit, the venue has developed a suite of initiatives to assist clients to reduce the environmental footprint of their events while maximising positive social contributions across the local community.
“With over 11 years’ experience in the environmental science industry, Jess brings her in depth knowledge of environmental impact, sustainability, and community engagement to her role at ICC Sydney and we are excited to see the enrichment her appointment will bring to our CSR practices and Legacy Program.”
ICC Sydney is one of the first signatories of the EEAA Sustainable Events 2030 Pledge to achieve environmentally sustainable events by 2030. Focusing on seven key impact areas: exhibitor waste, attendee waste, food and beverage (suppliers, carbon footprint, food waste and packaging waste), staging signage and promotions, stand design, logistics, and electronic equipment, the pledge reaffirms the venue’s commitment to work towards a more sustainable future.
ICC Sydney is also a signatory of the Joint Meetings Industry Council’s Net Zero Carbon Events initiative which launched in November 2021 to steer the global events industry towards the common goal of achieving carbon neutral events by 2050.
ICC Sydney’s CSR Manager, Jess Zickar said the pledges set a roadmap for the venue over the next 28 years as it continues to achieve new milestones that demonstrate its commitment to combat the impacts of climate change.
“With the support of a passionate event delivery team, we’re continuously introducing smarter ways to reduce our environmental footprint. We recently launched a new waste technology management system in collaboration with BinTracker to provide event organisers with a detailed waste report of their event in an effort to reduce our overall environmental footprint,” Zickar said.
BinTracker is a comprehensive waste reporting platform that allows the ICC Sydney team to monitor and report on waste from individual events in real time. Using weight-scales, unique bin identification QR coding, and waste tracking software, the platform provides event organisers daily waste reports detailing the total waste being generated during an event, accompanied by a percentage breakdown of waste being diverted into each stream.
“By having access to real time waste data, our hope is that event organisers and attendees will be empowered to make more positive waste choices while at ICC Sydney.
“By providing an informed baseline assessment of event waste, we increase waste diversion from landfill and have the opportunity to use this data to help shape future opportunities for improvement — which is truly exciting.”
