The ISO 20121 international sustainability standard, released for public consultation this month, is based on efforts in the UK to improve sustainability awareness. It gives event organisers, venues and suppliers a way of adhering to recognised sustainable management methods around the environment, economy and society.
It’s a timely directive given the London 2012 Olympic Games. London is paying great attention to its green credentials, having made a commitment to deliver the greenest ever Games.
So far the standard is supported by 25 countries, but according to the chair of the Association of Event Venues (AEV) Sustainability Working Group and sustainability advisor at London’s Earls Court and Olympia, Emma Wellman, UK event organisers are in danger of being overtaken by their international counterparts when it comes to sustainable practices.
“There has been a lot of interest in [UK domestic sustainability variant] BS 8901 but slow uptake, particularly from UK organisers,” she tells EW. “There is more uptake from corporate events and less from exhibitions, although some exhibition organisers have made changes to the way they are working.
“The rest of the world wants the British standard and if we are not careful, we could fall behind on something we started.”
Wellman believes the international events industry is now fully behind a flexible management system. “Our standard forces you to think about it yourself,” she says. “It’s so important to do this in our industry because one size doesn’t suit everyone, so we’ve kept the freedom by being a management standard. This is an opportunity to be more creative. You don’t have to do things in the same way as the company down the road.”
ISO 20121 is being created and implemented by an international committee of event and standards experts. Each of the 25 countries participating has a mirror committee at home to communicate the sustainability message and toolkit to its own industry. Wellman flagged Australia, Canada, the US, France, Sweden, Germany, Brazil and Japan as active participants.
“The standard has been well received internationally and it’s very exciting,” she says. The standard has also been the catalyst for BS 8909 sustainable management standard for the British film industry, now being trialled.
Of the excuses used to resist “sustainability”, the most common is that it’s too difficult to understand and implement. Others are yet to appreciate ‘going green’ does not happen overnight.
But Wellman points out sustainability is key to enticing the blue-chips to our events. “Events are perceived as wasteful,” she says. “This is a chance to show how productive they are and how we as an event industry can have a positive impact on the planet.”
Any comments? Email exhibitionworld@mashmedia.net
