ISO 20121 certification for the city’s major events
The invitation of Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne, Secretary of State to the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs and Philippe Augier, President of France Congrès et Evènements, on 13 June 2019 Cannes City Hall took part in formalising the “Responsible International Destinations” programme. 9 cities became pilot municipalities with a view to obtaining this certification: Biarritz, Bordeaux, Cannes, Deauville, Marseille, Metz, Nancy, Nantes and Rennes.
Reaction of David Lisnard, Cannes Mayor and Vice-President of France Congrès :
“I am pleased to report that Cannes has been selected as a pilot city of the Responsible International Destinations programme. We have long striven for excellence in terms of environmental quality and we act with the wellbeing of future generations in mind. Today our goal is to work together on a city level towards obtaining ISO 20121 certification and thus co-build a new attractive feature for Cannes and a way of protecting our environment”.
On a highly competitive market where the stakes are both local and international, in 2009 the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès became the first European Centre to have triple certification: ISO 9001 - ISO 14001 - OHS18001 and ISO 26000.
For 10 years, the city and its Palais des Festivals et des Congrès have stood out for their strong environmental initiatives: for the International Fireworks Festival, there is systematic cleaning of the sea surface and seabed; for each trade fair or congress, carpets are refurbished, just like the emblematic International Film Festival’s red-carpet which is 100% recycled; for each event waste sorting is carried out and an onus is always placed on environmentally-friendly practices.
The initiative, strongly encouraged by France Congrès, is in line with the drive for environmentally responsibility, initiated by “G7 France Biarritz 2019”, in collaboration with Green Evènements.
The choice to make Cannes and the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès part of the pilot mission represents a wonderful opportunity to further enhance our commitments by achieving ISO 20121 certification for the city.
This certification, which combines foresight and responsible construction of the French events sector, further consolidates the strategy for ecological acceleration undertaken in 2014 by the Mayor of Cannes to benefit Cannes residents and visitors”.