Exploring Economic Transition, the annual tourism event organized jointly by hub.brussels’ hospitality cluster and visit.brussels, took place on December 5. The aim of this year’s event was clear: to inspire and, above all, provide concrete solutions to Brussels’ players in the sector, with a view to achieving even greater sustainability, innovation and social commitment. A vital necessity for this ever-changing ecosystem.
Yes, the theme of transition is still at the heart of the tourism sector’s concerns. As proof of this, more than a hundred Brussels-based tourism, events and cultural companies turned up at Comet Meeting’s Place Stéphanie premises to take part in the unique immersive course specially designed by the “How I Met” networking agency.
In groups of three or four, participants were invited to embody (and save) fictitious companies facing transition issues. “A hotel chain manager seeking to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, for example, the director of a restaurant-caterer wishing to make its delivery service more ecological, or an incoming agency looking for financing and wishing to welcome disabled people to its team,” explains David Laschet, founder of How I Met. “These avatars are obviously pretexts for engaging in discussion and naturally addressing the issues of one’s own business with the specialists“.
In fact, as solution providers, some twenty real-life transition experts were invited to showcase their know-how. This large pool covered the entire spectrum of the issue, from calculating, reducing and offsetting one’s carbon footprint with Brussels-based companies Tapio and Greentripper, to tailor-made sustainable development strategies represented by Sustainability Addict, Better Business and 21 Solutions, and social inclusion with On s’adapte.be, PassMuraille and Diversicom.
“The vast majority of our companies are convinced of the benefits of integrating ecological and social impact into their business plans, yet 85% of them say they don’t know exactly what to do,” explains Isabelle Grippa, CEO of hub.brussels. “It’s a current paradox of the Brussels economy that we work on every day.
Because there’s no shortage of ideas. Participants were able to discover concrete, innovative solutions such as those from Brussels-based start-up Better – a “give-back” system enabling company employees or customers to contribute to social and environmental causes -, Meet my Job – a recruitment platform dedicated to jobs with a positive impact – , Coduco, – coaching to help companies implement a sustainable and responsible purchasing policy – or Groom Consulting, a consultancy specializing in the digitalization of hotel establishments.
The evening, which was both productive and relaxed, was also an opportunity for Isabelle Grippa to stress the need to “provide information on the various public support schemes available. It’s important to know that 7 out of 10 companies in Brussels are unaware of the existence of regional support and bonuses available to facilitate this transition“. This figure was sufficiently eloquent to justify the presence of a representative of the Shifting Economy – an initiative of the Brussels-Capital Region to support companies in their efforts to decarbonize and socially regenerate – and of Bruxelles Environnement, who came to present its “Energy Pack” to improve the energy efficiency of professional buildings, and its “Mobility and Fleet Pack”, free support in finding new alternatives for moving staff. Not forgetting, of course, the various hub.brussels experts who support and help companies to rethink their business model, access available subsidies or identify areas for improvement in more sustainable and responsible hospitality.
After the activity and before a networking aperitif, Patrick Bontinck, CEO of visit.brussels , reminded the audience that “the sustainability of the tourism offer is – along with digitalization and accessibility – one of the measures of Brussels’ attractiveness“. He also took the opportunity to announce the recent launch of the “Sustainable Partner of Brussels” super-label, and Brussels’ participation in the forthcoming “European Capital of Smart Tourism” competition. Who knows, after this year’s third-place finish and the fantastic Brussels initiatives presented that evening, perhaps we can hope to climb one or two more steps onto the podium…
