The Global Destination Sustainability Index (GDS-Index) has released its second ranking of the world’s most sustainable cities for business events.

The top 10 performers with the highest overall scores were all from Europe, with Gothenburg in Sweden taking the lead with a score of 92 out of a possible 100 points.

The cities with the 10 highest overall scores

The 2017 results were announced at the recent ICCA Congress, with the Overall Leadership Award going to Gothenburg, who also won the Innovation Award for her pioneering app which facilitates greater accessibility for events.

Glasgow was recognised with the Most Improved Award for her sterling achievement in engaging stakeholders through her People Make Glasgow Greener campaign and for driving sustainability performance in the last year.

(From Lefton photo: ICCA’s Nina Freysen-Pretorius; Gothenburg Convention Bureau’s Annika Hallman; Glasglow Convention Bureau’s Aileen Crawford; and ICCA’s Martin Sirk

Overall, destinations with a sustainability strategy for the business events sector increased by 25 per cent, average CVB sustainability performance rose by 11 per cent, with destinations such as Oslo (2), Aarhus (21) and Malmö (9) increasing their overall performance by more than 20 per cent.

Meanwhile, five Asia-Pacific cities made the list: Melbourne, Australia (12); Sydney, Australia (15); Sapporo, Japan (18); Kyoto, Japan (19); and Goyang, South Korea (28).

The GDS-Index is a collaborative platform that promotes the sustainable growth of international meeting destinations through knowledge sharing, capacity building, and benchmarking across four key areas: city environmental strategy and infrastructure; city social sustainability performance; industry supplier support (restaurants, hotels and convention centres); and Convention Bureau strategy and initiatives.