The Guide and the Buyers It Serves
Radisson Hotel Group and GDS-Movement published Accelerating Sustainable & Regenerative Events: A Guide for Associations & PCOs. The file runs 12 pages and sits on Radisson's media server. GDS-Movement prepared it for Radisson Hotel Group.
The content comes from a session at the Radisson Collection Hotel, Grand Place Brussels on 5 December 2025. More than 30 representatives attended from the hotel, association, PCO, CVB and venue sectors. The European Society of Association Executives and Copenhagen Convention Bureau co-hosted the session. Antonia Alomar of GDS-Movement wrote the report, and Radisson Hotels handled design and editing.
The Certification Numbers a Sales Team Can Quote
The guide reports that 59% of hotel rooms in GDS-Index destinations hosting Radisson hotels hold third-party certification. It reports 43% of PCOs certified and 74% of major congress venues certified. The three figures come from GDS-Index data on the destinations where Radisson operates.
The guide argues that certification data removes procurement risk for an association.
The Implementation Gap the Guide Names
The guide's introduction carries its headline line: only 3% report having an advanced sustainability programme. A footnote attaches that sentence to The State of Sustainability in Associations: ICCA/Destination Canada 2025.
The launch release adds two figures the guide does not carry. It states 66% of associations consider sustainability highly important and fewer than 34% have embedded it into their operations. The release names no study for either figure.
Five Actions the Guide Sets Out
The document lists five actions for associations and PCOs. Bring destination partners into the process earlier. Favour certified supplier networks and sustainability credentials. Build social impact and legacy initiatives into event design. Plan low-carbon mobility for delegates and stakeholders. Set up sustainability-linked measurement, reporting and incentive frameworks.
Radisson's Own Portfolio Figures
The guide prints Radisson's own numbers. As of 2024, 58% of the Radisson hotel portfolio is verified under the Hotel Sustainability Basics standard or holds a third-party eco-label such as Green Key.
Under the Think Planet pillar of its 2024 Responsible Business Report, the group reports a 33% reduction in carbon emissions per square metre and a 21% reduction in energy footprint per occupied room against a 2019 baseline.
The Indicator Count in Two Documents
The guide prints 76 qualitative and quantitative indicators twice, aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the Global Sustainable Tourism Council Destination Criteria. The release says 74. Inside the guide, 74 appears as a share, among them the major congress venues holding third-party certification.
The Names Attached to It
Inge Huijbrechts, chief sustainability and security officer at Radisson Hotel Group, said the barrier sits in implementation. She said the guide gives planners practical tools, trusted frameworks and stronger collaboration models.
Guy Bigwood, chief executive and chief changemaker at GDS-Movement, said destinations carry the measurement. He said the GDS-Index helps destinations measure and improve their performance and gives organisers the information they need.
The Dates on the File
The guide PDF carries a creation date of 8 May 2026 and names Adobe InDesign 21.2 as its producer. Hotel News Resource dated its copy of the release 17 September 2026 and carries the text in full.
What the Record Leaves Out
The release gives no source for the 66% figure, the 34% figure or the 3% figure. It carries no page count, no version number and no publication date for the guide.