Environmental awareness is on the rise

There’s an increasing attention for the sustainable side of entrepreneurship. Environmental consciousness seems to be bigger and more widespread than ever. For example, research from Capterra (Dutch text) shows that 99% of the Dutch are at least partially aware about sustainability. Internationally, research from Mastercard has shown that 54% of the consumers worldwide want to decrease their own carbon footprint. 62% thinks companies have the responsibility to be eco-friendly, now more than ever.

These developments of course have their consequences for the event business. The need for sustainability works on three levels: the companies that want (help) to organize an event; the conference centres and other facilitators; and of course the visitors themselves. It’s good to see the importance of a healthy environment is being more widely supported than ever before, on all these levels. Of course, organizing a sustainable event takes time and effort, but it’s also a great way to show your company’s social commitment. It’s easy to be cynical about the latter, but even in that case, it’s hard to deny the positive effects of these efforts.

Don’t let the environmental impact become a breaking point

In the end, your event needs visitors, no matter how much effort you’ve put in to organize it. The impact on the environment can be a reason not to visit an event (or to attend it digitally). This can be a real breaking point, especially for international meetings. This means you’ll have to choose a location that can easily be reached by public transport, even from abroad.

If taking the plane is still necessary after all, you can compensate this a bit by taking other measures. Aside from the impact by travelling, the volume of waste is one of the less charming sides of the event industry. Actively reducing waste is a big contribution to containing the ecological impact of the event. Furthermore, in case almost all of your visitors went there by train, also dealing with that mountain of waste is a real win-win situation, of course.

You can outsource sustainability

Most companies are used to outsourcing certain operations. At the same time, services have become much more extensive. A good conference centre doesn’t just facilitate your location. Nowadays, it’s also your partner for a wide scale of services that help you to create an unforgettable experience.

Sustainability can be seen as a part of that total package. An environmental conscious event location for example invests in a well-insulated building, but also thinks about how to improve the cooperation with their suppliers. After all, sustainability is teamwork. On the one hand, this means you don’t have to worry about these issues. On the other hand, you can show your visitors you made an environmental conscious choice. Again: it’s easy to be cynical about that, but there’s definitely a positive effect.

The Beurs van Berlage is a conference centre that really values top-notch service and sustainability. Would you like to know more about our green measures? Then download the free infographic Five-star quality and sustainable.

Amsterdam Conference Centre Beurs van Berlage and Faircom Media have formalised their partnership. Jeroen Veenstra, General Director Faircom Media, and Marcel Schonenberg, Managing Director Beurs van Berlage, signed their new cooperation agreement earlier this week. This partnerships with Faircom Media ensures the Beurs van Berlage that event branding of future events in the Amsterdam Conference Centre will be offered at a highest possible standard.

Sustainable solutions
Together with Faircom Media, the Beurs van Berlage will continue to invest not only in the highest standard of event branding, but also in the most sustainable solutions for branding, stand construction and signage in the monumental building in the historic heart of Amsterdam in the coming years.

In August this year, the Beurs van Berlage received the Green Globe Certificate, as the first Dutch conference and events centre, recognising their efforts in making events more sustainable. “We were looking for a new partner that could offer sustainable solutions in the field of stand construction and event branding. That is exactly what we have found in Faircom Media,” says Director of Operations Marc de Winter. The sustainable solutions that Faircom Media offers include the recycling of the various materials used for stands and printed media, the use of sustainable materials in the construction of stands and, last but not least, smart solutions to minimise transport movements.

Exceeding expectations
The Beurs – designed by H.P. Berlage – was opened as a stock exchange and trade centre of the Netherlands in 1903. It has a long history of trade, craftsmanship and mercantilism. In recent years, the monument has developed into a unique, inspiring, first-class conference location. The mission of the Amsterdam Conference Centre is to offer all visitors a unique, high-level experience and to exceed the expectations of its customers and guests. Above all, the Beurs van Berlage wants to think in terms of sustainable solutions in order to make events unforgettable.

“Together we join forces to guarantee the best quality for our clients. We will combine our knowledge of the market and the Beurs van Berlage’s strength in hospitality to be able to meet and exceed our clients’ wishes – in the most sustainable way,” concludes Jeroen Veenstra.

Personal encounters are of great importance to people. We are therefore meeting each other more and more. However, there are still important measures that we must adhere to, to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. This means that the organisation of all meetings must be professionalised to guarantee the safety of visitors. The event industry in the Netherlands has fully responded to this, and they are committed to organising events with the same luxurious appearance as before. How do they do this? You will read it in this blog!

Food and Drink
As far as catering is concerned, there are a lot of options to facilitate this in a safe way. The hospitality industry has shown to be very innovative in recent times. An example of this are the many pick-up and delivery options that have been set up. Even star restaurants joined in, and showed that it is also possible at a high level to offer your guests a unique experience in this way.

Such a set-up can also be applied during events. Many event venues have indicated to offer meals and snacks covered in personal boxes. Drinks are also offered in disposables. In addition, plenty of concepts are being developed to ensure that (gala) dinners take place safely. Are you curious about the possibilities that an event location offers? Please feel free to request this information from the relevant organisation.

Routing & Space
In addition to a safe solution for catering, it is of course also important to allow participants of the event to keep sufficient distance during the breaks. The surface of the event location is therefore crucial for the number of participants that can participate in your event.

Communication & Branding
Communication with individual visitors will also be extremely important in the coming period. They will be informed about the least busy routes to the event location, which entrance to take at what time, where to have lunch, which rooms to avoid if it gets too crowded, and how to safely get from one session to the next. Some locations even offer the possibility to participate virtually in a session by means of an app, if the room is too full at that moment.

In addition to individual communication to visitors, there is of course also sufficient (digital) signage available at event locations. You can almost always have these screens designed in your own corporate style, so that your brand and logo are visible everywhere during the entire event. There are also more and more possibilities to combine a live event with a virtual component. This also allows international visitors to participate in the event. In this online environment it is also possible to have your own house style reflected.

Finally
In the coming period, several technical developments will be shared in the field of events. Are you curious about the possibilities that these technological developments entail? Then take a look at this webpage of the Beurs van Berlage. They are currently working on an online environment that also offers the unique ambiance and appearance of the monumental Beurs van Berlage to participants who cannot be present in Amsterdam themselves.

It was a strange experience. What no one ever thought possible actually happened: overnight, the world of events and conferences came to a complete standstill. Suddenly the Beurs van Berlage, just as many other event venues, was confronted with an empty agenda. “All the same, at the start we were still quite busy”, Evelien van Kessel. “Primarily with rescheduling events. This involved many complex activities: you have to reassure organisers, create space in the already full agenda, examine whether the current form of the event will still be suitable a year from now, and discussing with hotels about the already booked rooms for multi-day conferences.”

Checking what is still possible: restart with small events

It quickly became evident for the Beurs that the solution was not to sit around and wait for the pandemic to pass by. The requirements from the market had to be seriously listened to and new products and services had to be developed. Special attention was given to what was possible, despite all the restrictions and uncertainties. This resulted in a restart with small-scale events, such as concerts and diploma presentations. Rooms were also made available for shareholder's meetings and examinations, and the Beurs was even fitted out as a polling station for the national election. “This was an excellent way to help other sectors that had a lack of space. It was also a relief for our own personnel, because doing nothing is not part of our DNA.”

The next step: entering the Beurs virtually

However, the Beurs did even more, for example by responding to the increasing demand for hybrid and virtual events. Together with partners Faber Audiovisuals, Univate and Plugged Live Shows, a platform was quickly developed that provided organisers with the opportunity to expand their physical event with a virtual experience, or even make it completely digital.

You can enter and participate in the digital Beurs with the ‘Beurs van Berlage Virtual Live Events Platform’. The doorman personally welcomes you, after which you can enter the Beurs foyer. You can hear the buzz from the other participants in the background, just as at a live conference. Evelien is very enthusiastic about this, because in this way it is still possible to experience the ambiance of this monumental building and the personal hospitality. “With an online conference you are often provided with a link. If you click on this link, you normally enter a Zoom environment. But the Beurs is more than this, it is a location that you choose because of its rich history and character. With the platform the experience, even if digitally, is that you are actually in the Beurs van Berlage. The carousel in the platform enables visitors to communicate with other conference visitors, and even ask questions live to the speakers.”

In order to raise hybrid and virtual events to a mature level, the Beurs designed a completely new state-of-the-art event studio: Studio Berlage. Studio Berlage is not just a green screen where a speaker is projected against a different background, but a real stage in one of the historic rooms of the Beurs. Use is made of a LED base surrounded by a virtual world. This enables a lively remote interaction between the audience, the presenters and/or several keynote speakers.

In addition, the Administration Room was converted into a smaller studio, Studio 1903, that is fully equipped to support organisers of smaller online webinars, seminars and other small-scale virtual events.

Online will remain due to its significant added value

The Beurs van Berlage believes that hybrid events will continue, because the online component adds tremendous value. An important benefit is that organisers can now increase their reach. “Normally speaking there is room in the Beurs van Berlage for a maximum of 1300 conference participants. By adding an online component, you can increase the number of participants almost indefinitely. But you can also attract an entirely different target group, because online also works as an on-demand model. People who are only interested in a specific part of the conference only watch that item. Furthermore, watching remotely is very interesting for people who do not want, are not able or are not permitted to travel. You can choose to watch sessions at a later time. You can achieve better results from your event with online additions. Because of the possibility to split a video recording into smaller sections, you can choose to offer them again at a later time. This can be done via a digital channel, for example by means of a subscription, but also during another event.”

Live events will return in full force

But regardless of the value of all the online options, Evelien still believes in the power of live events. “A spontaneous conversation on the floor is very different than communicating via a screen. It is obviously a completely different feeling to visit an event in an international hotspot with charm; a magnificent building, the place to be in the warm heart of Amsterdam, where special things happen.”  

She is convinced that live events will return in their full glory. In her opinion, this will certainly be accompanied by new challenges when it also involves an online component. People watching via a screen are often easily distracted, so that it is more difficult to hold their attention. Conversely: as easy as it is to attend an event from your living room, it requires extra effort to attract people to an on-site visit.

“If you want to be successful with a hybrid event, than you have to actually offer two separate programmes. Those programmes will need to provide a greater differentiating factor than previously. Live conferences are all about an inclusive programme for the entire day, including a good lunch, clean toilets, clear signposting and hospitable personnel. The online component is far more about matters such as the ability of the speakers, the session topics and the content.”

Working together to make a success of your event

The Beurs van Berlage wants to assist organisers of conferences and other events, on how they can best grip their live and online participants. “We have every facility available to completely organise and host an unforgettable conference from A to Z, live, hybrid or completely virtual. Our employees are very experienced and, together with our partners, can relieve an organiser of many tasks. Consider, for instance, the preparatory stage, the registration, the organisation of hotels during the event, the event itself with everything it entails, but also the aftercare. We have everything available to make every event a great success.”

The entire situation during the past eighteen months has certainly led to a great deal of creativity at the Beurs van Berlage. It is clear that the organisation is resilient and can quickly adapt to change. “We never gave up. The crisis has taught us that you always have to have a plan B. An event can then always take place, even if something unexpected occurs. We can always support our customers in some way. Together, we will make a success of your event and ensure that we achieve your ultimate objective: that visitors have an unforgettable experience,” Evelien van Kessel concludes.

Would you like to organise a (hybrid) conference or event in the Beurs van Berlage? Read more here or please contact us.

The corona crisis has disrupted society. The medical world has had to perform at peak performance for months to cope with the influx of patients. There is a big difference in other sectors. Some are busier than ever, while other sectors have virtually come to a standstill. What all sectors have in common is that this situation requires a great deal of creativity and adaptability.

Knowledge exchange about safety at conferences

A lot of new knowledge is needed to deal with the new situation. As a result, almost everyone has a great need to exchange experiences and knowledge. This concerns knowledge about how to deal with the current situation surrounding the corona crisis, but certainly also knowledge exchange that is essential to stay up-to-date in one's own field. Conferences have always been an important time to network and transfer knowledge. But is it still possible to organise these safely?

An important consideration for this is the safety of passenger transport. Now that the lockdown measures have been scaled down, the traffic on the roads is slowly increasing again. In addition, the NS timetable is also being scaled up again. This also increasingly applies to international train traffic. Event locations also facilitate parking and alternative transport options, such as bicycle rental and taxi services. It is therefore again possible for visitors to travel safely to event locations.

Virtual or hybrid events

The event industry, like many other industries, has recently been busy looking for opportunities to allow personal meetings to take place safely. One of the most striking possibilities is the increased possibility of hosting virtual or hybrid events. Many event locations have the technical capabilities in-house to offer both speakers and event attendees the option to only attend the event online. For speakers there is sometimes even the option of presenting by means of a hologram.

Adjust routing in building

In addition, many event locations have adapted the routing in the building. As a result, visitors no longer walk past each other. Instead, pedestrian traffic from hall to hall becomes one-way. Because visitors no longer walk past each other, the risk of contamination is considerably reduced and visitors have enough space to move through the building in a safe way and to keep sufficient distance from each other.

Are you curious about how event locations give substance to safe gatherings in practice? Take a look at the possibilities in the Beurs van Berlage and download the info sheet on the right. We offer various innovative solutions to allow your conference to take place in a safe manner.