Sarah Yeats, managing director of events agency Sledge, says now is not the time to prioritise profit over planet.
From ‘tick box’ to taking action
While the events industry has no doubt increased its focus on sustainability in recent years, in 2024 in particular, I’ve noticed a more seismic shift away from treating it as a nice to have ‘tick box.’
Now, more of us are recognising it is indeed a must have, and I’m seeing this across the board – from clients and suppliers, to fellow agencies.
It means, however, that a strategic rather than surface level approach is essential, and having been on this journey since 2021, when we opted to become employee owned, I’m the first to admit that truly embedding sustainability throughout an organisation’s operations won’t happen overnight.
Don’t be afraid to look to external experts for support, bring employees on the journey, and commit to making small, daily changes which, over time, can all add up.
Are we measuring in the right ways?
Whether it’s the rise of industry-wide platforms or use of our own organisational tools, measuring an event’s impact, and proving demonstrable ROI have never been so important, and this is due to a combination of factors, from clients’ requirements, to a desire to achieve internal objectives.
However, there can be a disconnect between measuring the results and knowing how to interpret and then communicate them to stakeholders.
This is where big picture thinking comes into play. We need to collaborate with our clients from the outset, analyse their policies, agree on our goals and KPIs, and implement the appropriate practices from the pre-planning stage.
This ensures we know what we’re measuring, that sustainability is prioritised throughout the project life cycle, key messages are communicated, and ultimately, we can closely analyse and share the most relevant and accurate data, so that we can all continually improve.
A fear of greenwashing has led to ‘greenstalling’
With so much talk about greenwashing, some of us are afraid to share our learnings and experiences externally.
A report released by green consultancy Carbon Trust earlier this year highlights this: it found one in four of the 400 businesses it surveyed from the UK and beyond were ‘greenstalling.’ We fear judgement or backlash by celebrating our small wins, so much so, we’re opting to stay quiet.
Clients want to do better, yet aren’t always sure where to begin.
From maintaining or enhancing brand reputation in a world where consumers look to purpose-driven brands, to attracting and retaining the best talent, and protecting their organisations for the future, their motivations may reflect all or some of these.
As such, many now have dedicated sustainability policies and departments. At the same time, they aren’t always sure how these could be brought to life in live event environments.
This is where it’s over to us to provide real strategic and creative value, and having our own systems and toolkits is vital here to develop experiences that showcase how sustainability can translate into real, tangible spaces – and hopefully we’ll encourage and inspire them to continue to act in this way for all future events.
Looking ahead, embedding purpose throughout our entire operations, stepping up and pro-actively educating clients, and collaborating will be key to our continued progress.
