Virtuoso hosted its first-ever Impact Summit from June 2 to 5 at Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise, attended by 105 individuals from nearly 20 countries.

The invitation-only event brought together Virtuoso’s sustainability-focused advisors and partners to discuss solutions for furthering progress on the three pillars of sustainability identified by Virtuoso: supporting local economies, celebrating culture and protecting the planet.

For two and a half days, the event offered peer-to-peer discussions on best practices, industry challenges and new opportunities.

During the opening session, Virtuoso’s Vice Chair and Sustainability Strategist Jessica Hall Upchurch welcomed attendees.

Speaking of the event’s purpose, she said, “This is a space for exchanging ideas, having future-focused discussions and engaging in meaningful collaborations.”

“This event was designed to create stronger connections in our co-created ecosystem and to accelerate and amplify our collective journeys to making the world better,” she added.

Virtuoso Senior Vice President of Global Events Jennifer Campbell shared that using emissions data gathered from attendee travel and event operations, Virtuoso had offset 64.6 metric tons of CO₂ through Planetair’s verified Canada Tree Portfolio reforestation project, ensuring a carbon-neutral footprint for this year summit.

Vice President of Sustainability Javier Arredondo moderated a panel of Virtuoso senior executives, who explored how the organization supports, amplifies and incorporates sustainability into the group’s business practices and network offerings.

An ideation session followed each panel, where participants collaborated on key topics.

The organization said that a variety of guest speakers took the stage as well, including tech entrepreneur, investor and Virtuoso board member Gilad Berenstein, who discussed the role of AI in advancing sustainability efforts.

Another guest was Chris Imbsen, director of sustainability for the World Travel and Tourism Council, who shared data and insights on the public and private sectors’ support for sustainable tourism.

Virtuoso Chairman and CEO Matthew D. Upchurch and Andrea Grisdale, CEO of IC Bellagio, discussed their work in lifting up and providing a voice to small and medium-sized enterprises that play an outsized role in serving the travel industry.

Virtuoso Vice President of Global Public Relations Misty Belles also led a panel of the media in attendance.

The Impact Summit was rounded out with Design Your Day activities each afternoon, in which attendees could choose from a variety of sustainability-focused activities.