AFEA Praised for Raising Awareness on Sustainability in Greek Meetings Industry

Ariadne Stagkou-Bell, CSR & Communication Specialist at CSR Hellas and AFEA CEO Operations and Development Sissy Lygnou. Photo source: @IAPCO

AFEA Travel and Congress Services, a PCO, DMC and corporate travel expert in Greece, and CSR Hellas were recently honored with the 2021 Driving Excellence Collaboration Award by the International Association of Professional Congress Organisers (IAPCO).

Founded in 2000, CSR Hellas is a non-profit organization that promotes the meaning of Corporate Social Responsibility to both the business community and the society.

The organization and AFEA received the award for jointly promoting the principles of sustainability in tourism and all related activities including congresses and events.

IAPCO represents 138 companies consisting of over 10,300 congress and events professionals from 40 countries.

The Driving Excellence Collaboration Award was introduced this year to celebrate successful sustainability partnerships in the MICE industry.

According to an announcement, the partnership between AFEA Travel and Congress Services and CSR Hellas is considered an excellent example of the adoption of UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by small and medium enterprises.

“We are very happy and proud that through this international award we can highlight our excellent collaboration with the CSR Hellas network, as well as our continuous effort to raise awareness on sustainable development within our industry,” AFEA CEO Operations and Development Sissy Lygnou said during the awards ceremony that took place in Barcelona, on the sidelines of the IBTM Leaders Summit 2021 last month.

She added that AFEA, as an active member of IAPCO, invests in synergies that contribute to a better and sustainable future for the MICE industry.

IAPCO President Ori Lahav with AFEA’s Sissy Lygnou and CSR Hellas’ Ariadne Stagkou-Bell. Photo source: @IAPCO

The partnership between AFEA and CSR Hellas began in 2017 when AFEA integrated social responsibility practices to its strategy and endorsed the 10 principles of the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC).

Furthermore, AFEA became a member of the CSR Hellas network and under the organization’s guidance developed its “Sustainable Events” service based on four (#2, #3, #8 and #12) of the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

CSR Hellas supports activities taking place under the UN’s Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development and promotes synergies with SMEs to achieve sustainability goals within the European Union’s policy until 2030.

AFEA and CSR HELLAS continue their cooperation aiming to further raise awareness of sustainable development to companies active in the tourism sector.