Manchester-based events industry consultancy, Sustainable Events, together with its not-for-profit educational arm, Positive Impact, has published its Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Report using guidance and permance indicators designed specifically for the events industry.
By publishing its own GRI Report, using the Event Organiser’s Sector Supplement (EOSS) indicators, Sustainable Events’ MD Fiona Pelham hopes to encourage others to share comparable best practice by adopting one over-arching sustainable reporting method.
The GRI is a non-governmental body based in Amsterdam, which produces an international framework for companies to report on their sustainability. In addition to this general framework, the EOSS further supports the ability to report on issues that are specific to event management.
“The EOSS, developed specifically for our sector, captures the issues that matter most for event planners, including site selection, transport of attendees, sourcing supplies and services, plus managing the impact of an event as well as its legacy impact,” says Pelham. “It allows organisers to report their sustainability permance in a comparable way, which in turn helps clients to be more sustainably aware.
She says the company is committed to its vision of a sustainable meetings and events industry, and believes that sharing best practice is an important part of making this vision a reality.
“We have come a long way since our last report in 2010, which covered a period of six months,” adds Pelham. “At the time we were aiming to produce a report every year, but due to other priorities and staff changes this was
not achieved.”
As part of the company’s ISO 20121 management system Sustainable Events identified its key issues, risks and opportunities through a SWOT and PESTLE analysis. It then created objectives and targets from this process.
Sustainable Events allocates time each year as part of its monthly strategy days to consider these, and each month reviews any significant changes and incorporates any relevant feedback from interested parties.
As a business in the meetings industry, with an international reach, staff travel is inevitable, and Sustainable Events recognised that this has an associated carbon footprint. As part of its ISO 20121 management system, the company rather prioritises issues where it can have the most control and impact.
However, the company has taken a number of steps to reduce the need for staff travel, including an increase in online education and support delivery, and the creation of a delivery programme to allow event sustainability professionals to run workshops, therefore reducing both deliverer and attendee travel.
Sharing best practice and lessons learned
Sustainable Events says it believes that sharing best practice is an effective way to inspire others, and in addition to case studies and resources on the Positive Impact website, it shares best practice through presentations, workshops and its Sustainable Events Corner at the EIBTM tradeshow in Barcelona. It has recently created a Positive Impact Ambassador programme which allows individuals passionate about sustainability to share their experiences and highlight education available.
At the Sustainable Events Summit, which took place in January 2013 at The Crystal in London, industry figures shared their experiences and signposted legacy resources, such as those from Coca-Cola and London 2012. The event featured ‘Living Case Study’ sessions where representatives from organisations implementing sustainability talked about their successes and challenges.
The Positive Impact vision for a sustainable event industry in 2020 was launched at that summit. This vision was created with the support of industry experts on sustainability. Information about ISO 20121 and GRI EOSS was also shared with attendees and community members.
Organisations that attended the Summit have now begun to pledge to take steps towards a more sustainable event industry, and through its post-event survey Positive Impact has received positive feedback and suggestions for improvements for next year. A number of supply chain representatives and partners attended the event and will have also acquired new knowledge and shared their challenges and successes.
Within events, there are two areas that are particularly relevant in relation to sustainability permance: sourcing and legacy.
Sustainable Events says its decisions in relation to sourcing are guided by its business values and the ISO 20121 management system. The company does not currently have an up-to-date sourcing policy or strategy and admits this is something that it is aiming to address in the next year.
Events also have a huge opportunity to leave a lasting legacy, either through physical infrastructures and technology, or through information shared, training and skills. The company sees its role in the industry primarily focused on providing inspiration and education around sustainability, and the legacy of events such as the Sustainable Events Summit is therefore very important to it.
Financial impacts from sustainability initiatives
Through monitoring and measuring as part of the ISO 20121 event sustainability management system Sustainable Events has identified areas in which it can make cost savings within its office operations, and it has seen its clients make significant financial reductions, particularly in their energy and waste bills.
At the Sustainable Events Summit, by engaging with a local University Sustainable Events was able to provide students with volunteering opportunities so that they could gain event management experience, and their support allowed the company to save money within its budget.
The Sustainable Events GRI Report 2013 also includes detailed information about the management of the Sustainable Events Summit. It also details the company’s approach to the environment, product responsibility, society, labour practices and economic permance.
The Sustainable Events Summit 2013 at The Crystal in London was an event designed to bring together a community of people inspired to take action around sustainability and currently exists as one annual event, although this may change in the future. At this year’s event, a total of 215 attendees were present which included delegates, staff and volunteers and content providers such as speakers.
Maaike Fleur, Senior Manager at the GRI, adds: “Public sustainability reporting is still quite a new concept for event organisers, but we anticipate that this EOSS guidance will help them be more transparent about the impact of their activities.”
To read the full GRI Report 2013 and to find out more about sustainability reporting for the events industry, visit positiveimpactevents.co.uk
This was first published in the July/August issue of CN. Any comments? E-mail conferencenews@mashmedia.net
