A Case Study in Collaborative Supplier Partnerships

Globally there are hundreds of convention centres, which host more than 24,000 different association meetings each year (International Congress and Convention Association, 2016). Unlike the hotel sector (Bohdanowicz-Godfrey, 2013) and tourism operations sector (Carlsen & Edwards, 2013a) which have documented “practices towards more sustainable modes of operation” (Carlsen & Edwards, 2013a: 33), little has been documented in the research literature about the collaborative potentials of a convention centre to deliver benefits beyond tourist visitation (Edwards et al., 2014; Mair & Jago, 2010). This case study makes a contribution to this research gap by examining a convention centre, International Convention Centre Sydney (ICC Sydney), with significant purchasing power to work with and influence suppliers in a backward supply chain. ICC Sydney’s Feeding Your Performance (FYP) initiative encourages environmentally sustainable behaviour as part of its organisational practices and supports and collaborates with a range of suppliers who are working to improve the agricultural ecosystems in their farming areas. Ecosystem is defined as “the minimum aggregated set of processes (including biochemical, biophysical and biological ones) that ensure the biological productivity, organisational integrity and perpetuation of the ecosystem” (Swift et al., 2004:115).