ISO 20121: Do we really need a global sustainable events standard?

Following the first meeting on the journey towards a new international standard for sustainable meetings, conferences and events, Ian Whiteling looks at the reasoning behind the initiative. 

In the aftermath of the severe bashing the meetings and events industry took in certain quarters during 2009, there’s a clear desire to get across the unique social, economic and environmental benefits that conferences, concerts, sports competitions, festivals and other live activity generate. But surely, for the industry to be taken seriously, at the same time, it needs to address the considerable waste and other negative social and environmental impacts that result from events.

To harmonise the event industry’s global efforts to tackle this challenge, international standards organsation ISO is to develop a worldwide standard promoting the sustainable management of events. It will be produced by a new ISO project committee, ISO/PC 250, Sustainability in Event management, and around 30 countries are already involved as participants or observers.

“The future standard will provide a framework that event planners, venues and other members of the event supply chain can use to implement, maintain and improve sustainability within their way of working,” says the committee’s chair Fiona Pelham.

A big difference
The standard (ISO 20121) will take a management systems approach requiring identification of key sustainability issues, such as venue selection, operating procedures, supply chain management, procurement, communications, transport, among others.

“The future ISO standard will make a great difference to the event industry,” says Pelham. “Just imagine the change in thinking that could follow as the international event industry starts to systematically address its negative social, economic and environmental impacts.”

Global meetings industry association Meeting Professionals International (MPI), was the first to certify an event – its 2008 European conference – to the British sustainable events standard BS 8901. MPI’s director of corporate social responsibility Elizabeth Henderson believes having a globally recognised standard is the way forward.

“As sustainability is becoming increasingly important for the event industry, individuals, companies and countries are setting multiple and differing standards. ISO 20121 will be developed with extensive stakeholder engagement, so the industry can have one internationally recognised framework to implement sustainability,” she says.

A tailored approach
The standard promises to respond to the unique needs and nature of the events sector, “taking an innovative and flexible approach geared to producing results”. It will be applicable to any organisation or individual (whether clients, suppliers or event managers) working with all types of events (exhibitions, sporting competitions, concerts, etc).

“A great advantage is that the standard will act as a harmonised benchmark for the industry. It should also provide a powerful tool for demonstrating commitment to sustainability in a globally recognised manner, as well as for assisting companies looking to become more sustainable,” says Anne Hayes, BSI head of market development.

The proposal for the development of ISO 20121 was jointly submitted by the ISO member for Brazil (ABNT) and for the United Kingdom (BSI). Among the organisations to have expressed support for an international standard to date are the UK International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark, host of COP 15, the UN Climate Change Conference.

All aboard
ISO 20121 is expected to be finalised in 2012 to coincide with the London Olympics, and the first meeting took place recently. It was hosted in London by BSI, and addressed by Jan-Christoph Napierski, head of sustainability for COP15, and David Stubbs, head of sustainability for LOCOG 2012. All international standards bodies have been invited to be part of the development process and those that choose to be involved will work together with their country groups and the liaison representatives to build on BS 8901 to create ISO 20121.

Like BS 8901, the global standard will be suitable for all sizes and types of events. Meanwhile, implementing the recommended systems will not only help to reduce a company’s social and environmental impact, but is also likely to increase business efficiency and cut costs. The exact benefits will depend on the specific issues individual companies are facing. For example, if energy use was identified as an issue, an objective would be set to reduce it, which could result in considerable cost savings on top of a reduced carbon footprint.

Whatever happens to the meetings and events industry in the run up to the 2012 London Olympics, it appears that beyond this point it is unlikely to be the same again, as it pursues a more sustainable route right across the globe. Surely this can only help as the sector tries to prove itself in the post-recession era.